Whole in the Water
Well-Known Member
An excerpt from the latest SFI-BC newsletter - good on them for their stance!
We need to continue to pressure the Fed govt, that we do not want anymore of these polluting and harmful net pen salmon feedlots in our waters. We need to get them on the land where they do less harm. This year is leading up to an election year and this is one of the few times that the ruling politicians will listen to the common people so take a lttle time and effort and make your voice heard on this, especially since they want to expand the number of feedlots!
But Fish Farms...However, amidst the positive outlook there are some significant issues that we continue to track. Recently we’ve been seeing and hearing a growing level of concern among anglers, those in the environmental community and First Nations about the federal government’s plans to allow the establishment of new salmon farms in BC. We mentioned this in our update a few weeks back and referred to a petition started by Alexandra Morton urging the province to block these plans.
The SFI has traditionally focused its advocacy efforts on issues regarding fisheries access, allocation, licensing and science. While the vast majority of our members oppose expanded net-pen salmon farming, we’ve made the strategic decision to follow the work of the many groups who are primarily focused on salmon farming and support and endorse rather than duplicate their efforts.
That is not to suggest, however that we have been silent on this important issue. The SFI has been raising serious questions about the impact of fish farms on wild fish stocks for more than a decade. <o
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We need to continue to pressure the Fed govt, that we do not want anymore of these polluting and harmful net pen salmon feedlots in our waters. We need to get them on the land where they do less harm. This year is leading up to an election year and this is one of the few times that the ruling politicians will listen to the common people so take a lttle time and effort and make your voice heard on this, especially since they want to expand the number of feedlots!
But Fish Farms...However, amidst the positive outlook there are some significant issues that we continue to track. Recently we’ve been seeing and hearing a growing level of concern among anglers, those in the environmental community and First Nations about the federal government’s plans to allow the establishment of new salmon farms in BC. We mentioned this in our update a few weeks back and referred to a petition started by Alexandra Morton urging the province to block these plans.
The SFI has traditionally focused its advocacy efforts on issues regarding fisheries access, allocation, licensing and science. While the vast majority of our members oppose expanded net-pen salmon farming, we’ve made the strategic decision to follow the work of the many groups who are primarily focused on salmon farming and support and endorse rather than duplicate their efforts.
That is not to suggest, however that we have been silent on this important issue. The SFI has been raising serious questions about the impact of fish farms on wild fish stocks for more than a decade. <o
></o>- The SFI board of directors adopted a formal policy in 2003, urging the federal and provincial governments to adopt the precautionary principle and ensure that they were not licensing fish farming activities that could impact wild fish stocks.<o></o>
- We have communicated this view to federal and provincial politicians and senior civil servants in writing and during our frequent meetings with them.<o></o>
- We invited Craig Orr and Alexandra Morton to make formal presentations at both our BOD meetings and at our annual industry policy conference....a conference, incidentally that is well attended by the senior decision makers from both the federal and provincial governments.<o></o>
- We made a formal presentation to the provincial legislature’s special committee reviewing finfish aquaculture and urged the committee to establish a clear scientific consensus on the issue and provide recreational anglers with assurances that wild stocks were not being placed at risk by fish farming activities.<o></o>
- We supported the development of new closed containment technology aimed at eliminating the threat of disease and/or lice transfer between farmed and wild fish stocks. While that project was ultimately unsuccessful, it will undoubtedly help to inform the next generation of closed containment projects.<o></o>
