B.C. government bans North Coast open net-cage salmon farms

British Columbia’s government placed an indefinite moratorium on open net-cage salmon farming in northern B.C. waters on March 27.

Urge the B.C. government to fund closed containment Sea-lice from open net cage fish farms are killing B.C.’s out migrating juvenile salmon. Call on the Province to create a $10 million fund to encourage closed system pilot projects.

This could represent a turning point for the provincial government who may finally have recognized how harmful current salmon farming practices are to ocean ecosystems, especially to wild salmon.

“We applaud the government for listening to the people of the north and granting a reprieve to the wild salmon and North Coast waters,” says Catherine Stewart, Living Oceans Society’s Campaign Manager. “Now it’s crucial that the Province act to move salmon farms to closed containment in the South and Central Coast before the wild pink and chum salmon fall victim to localized extinctions.”

Living Oceans Society, as a member of the Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform, is working to stop the negative impacts of salmon farming on wild salmon and the ocean ecosystem in British Columbia.

Now that the government has seen the light, will it act to protect the rest of B.C.’s coast from the open net-cage industry? Surely, if net-cage salmon farming is not appropriate for our northern waters it should not be allowed in the south.

Last May the B.C. Legislature’s Special Committee on Sustainable Aquaculture (SCSA) made several recommendations to make salmon farming sustainable. With the halt to farms in the north, the government has put in place one key recommendation.

Yet the same day the northern ban was announced, the Province approved a replacement license in Clayoquot Sound and a new, open net-cage farm in Nootka Sound. In fact, since the release of the SCSA’s report, the government has approved a total of six open net-cage licenses.

It remains to be seen if the Province will respond to a second critical SCSA recommendation: the implementation of closed containment salmon farming to protect southern B.C. waters and wildlife from the impacts of open net-cages.

Australians share lessons from Great Barrier Reef planning

Living Oceans Society is bringing two speakers from Australia to northern Vancouver Island and B.C.’s Central Coast to tell their stories from one of the world’s best examples of community engagement in action – the re-zoning of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.

Australia's Great Barrier Reef as seen from 2,300 km in space.

Lara Renehan, Living Oceans’ Local Marine Planner, will host the presentations that will feature Russell Butler and Graham Scott.

“These men are coming from half way around the world to share their experiences in a process that rezoned 300,000 sq. km. of ocean,” says Lara. “A marine planning process is getting underway in our region and we think that coastal residents will benefit from Russell’s and Graham’s experiences.”

The new zoning plan for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park took effect in 2004 and has been widely praised as a global benchmark for the conservation of marine ecosystems.

Living Oceans Society has been working to raise awareness about the need for a marine plan in the Pacific North Coast Integrated Management Area (PNCIMA) that includes the involvement of local communities and stakeholders. PNCIMA is a planning process that is being led by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) in partnership with Coastal First Nations and the Province of B.C.

The Speakers
	Russell Butler is an Aboriginal Traditional Owner who successfully negotiated the management of his peoples’ coastal territory with the Australian government. For Russell, being a Traditional Owner is about following in the footsteps of his ancestors. “It’s a good feeling to know we can go back there and know that it’s our home—a place where we belong,” Russell says. For over 60,000 years, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have been part of the unique living maritime culture. Today they continue to practice their customs and spiritual lore in their use of sea country and natural resources.
	Graham Scott is chair of the Capricorn Coast Local Marine Advisory Committee that worked with government to have the reef in their area rezoned so that it met differing stakeholders’ needs. Graham was one of the community leaders that got involved early to act as an “honest broker”, connecting stakeholders to planners and dispelling mistrust and misinformation. Thanks to his efforts, the rezoning result in his area is seen as one of the best by government and local communities. Graham has become increasingly involved in a range of coastal and marine groups since 2002, most recently CapReef, a community-based monitoring program that brings together government, science and community to monitor the impacts of the management changes to the Great Barrier Reef. CapReef was born out of the partnerships created during the planning process and capitalizes on the wealth of local knowledge and energy within the community.

Date and Locations
Prince Rupert Tuesday, March 25, 7:00 pm Northwest Community College	Bella Bella Monday, March 31, 10:00 am G.E. Darby United Church	Campbell River Wednesday, April 2, 7:00 pm Maritime Heritage Centre
Q'ay llnagaay, Skidegate                   Wednesday, March 26, 7:00 pm    Haida Heritage Centre	Port Hardy Monday, March 31, 7:00 pm Quarterdeck Inn	Port McNeill Thursday, April 3, 7:00 pm Black Bear Resort
Bella Coola Friday, March 28, 7:00 pm CE Centre, United Church	Alert Bay Tuesday, April 1, 7:00 pm Inner Coast Natural Resources Centre	Sointula Friday, April 4, 7:30 pm Fire Hall

Admission to the event is free and refreshments will be provided.

About the Great Barrier Reef: covering 344,000 km2 and stretching 2,300 km along the north-eastern Australian coastline, it is the largest coral reef ecosystem on the planet and is one of the most biologically diverse marine ecosystems in the world Marine Protected Areas cover approximately 30 percent of Reef a vital economic hub central to tourism, recreational boating and fishing, commercial fishing, diving, aquaculture, research and shipping rezoned in 2004 with significant stakeholder involvement and balanced ecologically sustainable use, commercial realities and an overarching conservation

Closing in on Sustainable Salmon Farming

What is closed containment farming? Does it work, is it in use anywhere in the world, is it economically viable and what will it mean for the B.C. coast? To explain how communities stand to gain from the new technology, Will Soltau of Living Oceans Society, and the Georgia Strait Alliance’s Michelle Young have prepared a travelling presentation called Closing in on Sustainable Salmon Farming.

LOS Local Campaigner Will Soltau is hitting the road to show communities the net worth of closed containment salmon farms.

The show is available for interested groups such as fish and game clubs, local governments, First Nations and service clubs across Vancouver Island.

“The benefits of progressing to closed containment would be immediate to the ecosystem, and ultimately to our coastal economy” says Will Soltau, LOS Local Campaigner. “In the longer term we’d all win. B.C. innovators will be at the leading edge of 21st Century sustainable aquaculture technology and we can help protect our wild salmon.”

The debate surrounding closed containment salmon farming has heated up since last May when the provincial government’s Special Committee on Sustainable Aquaculture (SCSA) called on B.C.’s salmon farming industry to make the switch to sustainability by 2012. The SCSA recommended that the provincial and federal governments, as well as the industry, fund the development of closed containment systems.

Making the move to ocean-based closed containment would reduce, and in some cases eliminate, the environmental impacts of open net pens: sea lice epidemics, marine mammal deaths, disease transfer, fish farm waste, and escaped fish. At the same time, it would likely reduce mortality rates among out-migrating wild salmon smolts, boosting the chances for higher returns which is good news for First Nations, commercial and recreational  fishermen and the tourism industry.

“We’ll give examples of growing salmon and other fish successfully raised in closed containment systems, both internationally and in B.C.,” Will says. “The presentation will inspire folks to look at lasting solutions to problems with the way salmon are farmed in B.C. today.”

If your organization would like to book, Closing in on Sustainable Salmon Farming and learn more about how closed containment can benefit your community, please contact:  

Will Soltau: wsoltau@livingoceans.org 250-973-6580
Michelle Young: michelle@georgiastrait.org 250-753-3459

Closing in on Sustainable Aquaculture is a Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform (CAAR) initiative.

Spurred by recent news of proposed oil pipelines and a supertanker port on the Central Coast of B.C., Robert Bateman takes a stand. Not a Pretty Picture is a moving portrayal of the lengths Canada’s pre-eminent wildlife artist is willing to go to in order to protect our precious coast from the threat of oil spills. “If we allow tanker traffic there is going to be an oil spill. One accident is too many,” Bateman says. Click here to see the video.

Mapping project to develop ocean use maps available to all - new staff hired

The British Columbia Marine Conservation Analysis (BCMCA) has hired Project Manager Dave Nicolson along with Coordinator Neil Davis and Assistant Jason Thompson.

Neil Davis (left) and Jason Thompson have joined British Columbia Marine Conservation Analysis as the comprehensive ocean mapping project gears up. Below: BCMCA Study area.

BCMCA is developing maps that show areas of high conservation value combined withinformation about how and where humans use the ocean and its resources.

The project was started in 2005 by Living Oceans Society, together with other environmental organizations, and has grown into a collaborative effort among First Nations, academics, and the federal and provincial governments.

“BCMCA will benefit a wide range of groups beyond the partners,” says Coordinator Neil Davis. “Anybody who has an interest or works in the marine environment can tap into this.”

The maps will give planners and stakeholders a common starting point to talk about the trade offs needed to set up Marine Protected Areas on the coast.

“One of the advantages of BCMCA’s maps and online atlas will be the centralization of information,” says Jason Thompson, Project Assistant. “Currently, there’s a lack of planning tools for environmental use.”

The project’s maps will bring together a comprehensive collection of scientific knowledge about life on B.C.’s coast and inform marine planning initiatives around the province.