What I was actually getting at is if these sites were proven to have been farming salmon actively, does it start to sway some of the NO FF's ever activists to a place where they start trying to proactively support the industry if it is proven to be sustainable and not harming our wild stocks?
Standing by.
If FF's are having an effect on the wild salmon populations then it doesn't really matter if we have an exact % or ranking on what that effect is. Ecosystems are incredibly complex and to think we can rank factors that influence wild salmon populations is unrealistic if not impossible and precisely WHY the FF supporters ask for this level of certainty... so that they can go about business as usual while the science continues to pump out findings that FF are harmful but not being able to quantify exactly what impact they are having to 2 decimal places
If FF's had ZERO (or close to it) impact on the environment or even if they had a small impact and made up for their small impact with financial contributions to improve the environment/province I would be on board with them. The reason I can now be categorized as an 'anti-FF' is because they have a 'more than ZERO' negative impact on the environment (including wild salmon) coupled with the fact they are subsidy-receiving, foreign-owned, evidence-hiding corporations who are not looking out for BC's environment as a whole or wild salmon specifically.
I will grant you that wild salmon face impact from many other causes that open-net pen fish farms. Human impacts are top of the list, with habitat degradation probably at the top of 'my' list. Habitat in the nearshore environment, specifically, is a large problem as estuaries and inlets have been hardened/developed to the point where this important habitat is severely worsened. Increasing ocean SST and acidification (climate change issues) are also clearly have substantial negative impacts. Overfishing in certain areas/species is not helping with the overall sustainability of wild salmon populations either. So what can we do? Well, start with some short-term solutions to tackle those issues negatively impacting wild salmon.... namely fish farms. Stop new tenures ASAP, move them off migration routes ASAP, hold them accountable for disease/waste and work to move them on land in a timely manner. Land-based operations have their own issues but they will help eliminate many of the current impacts the open-net pens are having on wild salmon.
If FF's are having an effect on the wild salmon populations then it doesn't really matter if we have an exact % or ranking on what that effect is. Ecosystems are incredibly complex and to think we can rank factors that influence wild salmon populations is unrealistic if not impossible and precisely WHY the FF supporters ask for this level of certainty... so that they can go about business as usual while the science continues to pump out findings that FF are harmful but not being able to quantify exactly what impact they are having to 2 decimal places
If FF's had ZERO (or close to it) impact on the environment or even if they had a small impact and made up for their small impact with financial contributions to improve the environment/province I would be on board with them. The reason I can now be categorized as an 'anti-FF' is because they have a 'more than ZERO' negative impact on the environment (including wild salmon) coupled with the fact they are subsidy-receiving, foreign-owned, evidence-hiding corporations who are not looking out for BC's environment as a whole or wild salmon specifically.
I will grant you that wild salmon face impact from many other causes that open-net pen fish farms. Human impacts are top of the list, with habitat degradation probably at the top of 'my' list. Habitat in the nearshore environment, specifically, is a large problem as estuaries and inlets have been hardened/developed to the point where this important habitat is severely worsened. Increasing ocean SST and acidification (climate change issues) are also clearly have substantial negative impacts. Overfishing in certain areas/species is not helping with the overall sustainability of wild salmon populations either. So what can we do? Well, start with some short-term solutions to tackle those issues negatively impacting wild salmon.... namely fish farms. Stop new tenures ASAP, move them off migration routes ASAP, hold them accountable for disease/waste and work to move them on land in a timely manner. Land-based operations have their own issues but they will help eliminate many of the current impacts the open-net pens are having on wild salmon.
Well, if the only filter we are going to use is an economic one - what does this industry put at risk? What is the worth of the sports- and commercial fisheries?
Not sure what you are saying exactly, but if the FF industry has a negligible effect on wild salmon and a significant impact to improving the lives of our First Nations I would conclude that is a significant and positive outcome. Furthermore, by producing salmon that is cheaper and more affordable than wild salmon commercially caught, you will through economics reduce the pressure again on the wild salmon (making them less valuable will mean less are caught). You can argue that the commercial fishing industry should have a equal concern afforded to it as the salmon farms, but I thought everyone was trying find ways to restore the wild salmon stocks?
