Fish Farm Ads

[Rockfish]

http://www.timescolonist.com/business/Fish+farmers+dismiss+shock/4221987/story.html

Fish farmers dismiss shock ads
By JUDITH LAVOIE, Timescolonist.com February 3, 2011 11:05 PM •Story•Photos ( 1 )
Some of the anti-salmon farming advertisements are designed in a similar fashion to cigarette packets.Photograph by: GAAIA, .Aggressive advertisements by an anti-fish farming group, comparing salmon farming to cancer, have been dismissed as immature and inappropriate by the B.C. Salmon Farmers Association.

The newly formed Global Alliance Against Industrial Aquaculture unveiled the ads — which use graphic images and shock tactics similar to those used in warnings against smoking — at an international seafood conference in Vancouver this week.

"Salmon farming kills around the world and should carry a global health warning," said Don Staniford, GAIAA co-ordinator.

"We'll be rolling out the ad campaign later this month in newspapers across B.C. with donations from the general public, concerned fishermen and First Nations."

The ads carry slogans such as "salmon farming kills workers" and "salmon farming is just wrong." They include the Norwegian flag and the words "Norwegian owned," which has brought objections from the Norwegian parent companies of some fish farming companies, Staniford said.

But Kurt Oddekalv, leader of the Norwegian environmental group Norjes Miljovernforbund (Green Warriors of Norway), said salmon farmers are ignoring scientific evidence of health and environmental risks caused by the industry.

"In Norway, the industry is on death row with infectious diseases, sea lice infestations, chemical resistance and escapes," he said.

Mary Ellen Walling, B.C. Salmon Farmers Association executive director, said the advertisements are upsetting.

"We are not planning to respond to those ads. We think they are quite immature, inappropriate and irrelevant. We are not taking them seriously at all," she said.

The Salmon Farmers Association has a website — bcsalmonfacts.ca — on which there is good dialogue on salmon farming, Walling said.

"We are quite pleased with the level of discussion," she said. "Concerns have been raised [about salmon farming] and we realized we really needed to improve communication with the general public."

Major B.C. salmon farming companies and feed companies have pooled resources with the association and are running television and print advertisements emphasizing farmed salmon as sustainable and healthy food.

"We also have serious discussions going on with environmental groups," Walling said.

jlavoie@timescolonist.com

© Copyright (c) The Victoria Times Colon

Read more: http://www.timescolonist.com/business/Fish+farmers+dismiss+shock/4221987/story.html#ixzz1Cyrf7d78

Looks like there are now some ads to counter the Fish Farm Lobby Ads.

 

[Little Hawk]

Had the pleasure of meeting both Don & Kurt at a salmon farming conference up at Strathcona Lodge 2 or 3 yrs ago. I've been corresponding with Staniford for nearly 10 yrs now and both he and Kurt are passionate and actively involved in fighting the Norwegian industry. Staniford was working for a Scottish environmental outfit and some years back bagged himself a good job with the Pure Salmon organization and now lives in the States. He travels alot and was here in town some months back when Alexandra had the big-march on our Legislature.

Meeting fellow hunter Kurt (from Norway) at the conference was especially interesting to me. He struck me as a rough & tumble Viking dude - big & burly - his English is not great but okay and he relies heavily on the 'F-word' when relating his feelings about salmon farmers, much to the dismay of several of the meek & mild 'Saltspring fish-hugger' types at the meeting. His approach to fighting the fish-farmers is pretty much on par with Watson's methodology when dealing with whalers... "RAM'EM!"

 

[sockeyefry2]

Yes Kurt does have a "the end justifies the means" in his approach. I bvelieve he was advocating doing such things as vandalism and other illegal methods to force farms out of the water. He hasn't had much success in Norway where he is essentially dismissed as a petty nuisance. His form of protest has no place in Canada no matter how passionate you are. There are proper ways and means of affecting change.

 

[sockeyefry2]

Now Holmes. I know you are not really advocating the other methods as a means to get your own way.

 

[rico]

How long do you go down the 'proper ways and means of effecting change' route? I think the new ads by the fish farmers are "quite immature, inappropriate and irrelevant. We (the people of BC), are not taking them seriously at all,"

 

[sockeyefry2]

Yep and Egypt is not Canada. Suppose I didn't like sport fishing and in my opinion it was harming wild salmon populations and decide to start sinking sporties boats. That would be okay according to you right?

 

[Fish-Hunter]

holmes, i hear your logic and am starting to get where you are coming from. I think that some are reading your posts and freaking out to how harsh they sound, but when push comes to shove how the hell does one get anything done???

Do we sit around and talk about it for the next ten years to decide that something really does need (or rather "needed") to be done, and then sit around for another ten years to talk about what we are going to do, and then another ten years about how we are going to do what ever it is we decided to do and then yet another ten years to decide WHO gets to do it. Oh and then we had better have all of the appropriate studies completed so that IF something goes wrong when they make a change, that whoever makes the change, has their butt covered.

Or do we roll up our sleeves, pull on the gum-boots, get dirty and get the job done and carry on?

What do you do:

When the fire goes out? - Light another fire.
When the toilet plugs? - Get the Plunger.
When the truck breaks down? - Fix it!
When the boat runs out of gas? - Paddle! And don't EVER run out of gas again!
When you loose a hook? - Tye on another one, and get back to fishing!!!

Oh Shyte, now I've done it,,,, now they are going to start a whole new study of the effects on the marine environment due to lost fishing hooks. Everyone will have to stop using fishing hooks until this is figured out - LOL - can't catch fish without a hook, guess that we will have to line up to go buy some lice infested farmed fish! (you won't see me in that line!)

Cheers.