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Thank You for Supporting Aquaculture Reform in 2008!
Everyone at the Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform would like to usher in the holiday season by extending a huge thank you to all of you! Whether you’ve sent a fax this past year (as over 4,000 of you did), or let a friend know why you don’t eat farmed salmon, these actions are adding up in a very big way. Over the last year, we’ve seen some huge shifts by both government and industry that would never have been possible without your continued commitment to spreading the word and taking action to protect our oceans and our wild salmon from the impacts of net-cage salmon farming.
Here are a few of the victories we hope you’ll celebrate with us this holiday season:
• CAAR made history when industry giant, Marine Harvest Canada
(MHC), agreed to provide yearly alternating farm-fish free corridors in
the Broughton Archipelago in springtime to relieve some of the pressure
on out-migrating wild salmon from sea lice. We have agreed to develop a
joint monitoring program to assess net-cage impacts (like waste and sea
lice) on wild fish and ecosystems.
• Thanks to the pressure of Farmed and Dangerous supporters, Marine
Harvest Canada also supported a provincial government investment in a
closed containment technology fund.
• In the United States, the National Organic Standards Board heard
the science and your public concern loud and clear when they proposed
organic aquaculture standards. The approved standards are designed
to prevent business-as-usual salmon farming in net-cages from
qualifying for the USDA organic label.
• The scientific case against open net-cage salmon farming continues
to grow. A global assessment of salmon farming’s impacts on wild
salmonids showed a reduction in survival or abundance of Atlantic
salmon, sea trout and pink, chum, and coho salmon as production on
net-cage salmon farms increased. In many cases, reductions were greater
than 50%.
• The Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services,
in the 2009 Budget Consultation Process, recommended that the BC
government fund closed containment fish farm technology research. They
cited the CAAR/Marine Harvest submission in their report. Their
committee decision on Aquaculture states: “The Finance Committee
supports additional investment in aquaculture projects that offer the
potential of developing a made-in B.C. solution to the challenges
facing the global industry.”
• CAAR members went on the road with closed containment
presentations throughout coastal BC and got unprecedented results.
Resolutions and letters supporting government investment in closed
containment were passed by the Strathcona Regional District, the
Village of Sayward, and the Tofino-Long Beach Chamber of Commerce.
• Scientists from Fisheries and Oceans Canada are even finally
publicly acknowledging that open net-cage salmon farms are spreading
lice that kill wild salmon. (We could hardly believe it either! Here’s the proof! At the 5:05 mark of this NY Times video.)
• Consumers unite! Your recent effort to send emails and letters to
your supermarket was really successful. As a direct result of your
outreach, we’ve been hearing from markets that are suddenly more
interested in learning what they can do. And while we’re on the
subject, please drop us a line to let us know how your supermarket
responded.
With all of this positive, forward momentum it will come as no surprise
that our vision for 2009 is bolder than ever. In the coming year we
believe the tide will turn on open net-cage salmon farming for good. We
hope we can count on you to send a letter, sign a petition, or make a
phone call when your voice is needed.
Together we’ll work towards:
• Helping closed containment projects move ahead, supported in part by the BC government
• Freezing open net-cage expansion—no new farms and no production increases
• Ensuring that wild salmon have a safe route to sea in the
Broughton and wherever salmon farms are threatening their safe migration
• Using the strong and growing consumer preference for products
that don’t harm the environment—especially wild salmon—to make change
happen
• Bringing major businesses to the table to use their buying power to demand sustainable farmed fish
We hope you will continue to work with us over what promises to be an
exciting year. In addition to all of these big goals, we’d like to
provide you with a more dynamic online community in 2009. It’d be great
if we knew a bit more about you and what you care about. This quick survey will do just that. (It’ll only take 3 minutes, we swear!)
Thanks again for the outstanding dedication you’ve shown to protecting wild salmon and promoting sustainability.
Enjoy a safe and happy holiday season!
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