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Fish Farm Update by Rod Marining and Don Staniford

Get Out Migration to Save the Sacred Salmon

"They came, singing and chanting, drumming and dancing. First they came as a trickle, then a flood, and still they came, in a multitude of generations and races, from towns and First Nations across the Island. They came with costumes, they wore their button blankets, they came with colourful salmon people signs. There were native singers, there was a samba band, there was a marching band, and they flowed onto the lawn of the BC Legislature in their joyous thousands. How many thousands may be a point of debate for years, since the Canwest papers, based apparently on the official police estimate, published a number five times lower than the unofficial police estimate at the time, cited by other media, of four to five thousand. They were all part of one of the greatest environmental marches in BC history". Watershed Sentinel

Nearly 5,000 people followed Alexandra Morton on the final length of her 500 kilometre ‘Get Out Migration’ to the BC Legislature buildings in Victoria Saturday – demanding that the government get net-cages out of the water and onto land in closed containment systems in order to save wild salmon. Local MP Denise Savoie declared the rally “the largest environmental protest in BC history.”

May 24, 2010 by Alexandra Morton

Dear Minister Steve Thomson, Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:

I am writing to request attendance at farm salmon harvests to assess unlawful consumption/destruction of wild fish such as commercial fishermen are required.

On May 19, I met with your assistants Harvey Sasaki and R. J. Senko and MAL scientists Drs. Roth and Sheppard. Our conversation raised several concerns.

First, your scientists still think stickleback are an important source of sea lice infection on juvenile wild salmon. This politically favorable hypothesis has been long debunked by scientists, including a DFO paper reporting that sea lice cannot survive on sticklebacks (Jones et al. 2006). It is unacceptable that MAL scientists refuse to accept scientific opinion on a subject of considerable public interest.

Second, international scientists warn that farm lice drug resistance is a growing global problem, but your team was unable to verbalize any precautions underway to protect BC. Drug resistance means fish farms switch to toxic bath treatments that are released directly into the ocean. Such a drug, Salmosan, is already advertised in Northern Aquaculture “in response to the serious and growing problems with sea lice.”

It is in the public interest for you to prevent lice drug resistance to protect BC fisheries from toxic bath chemicals.

I was told to defer to Dr. Sheppard’s opinion that drug resistance has not occurred in BC, but he could not produce a single test result. Senior scientist, Dr. Larry Dill recently testified: “I will comment on the resistance to SLICE first. I felt that Dr. Sheppard's commentary on that was highly irresponsible and very unscientific when he said there was no evidence for it... … contrary to the absolute nonsense claimed by provincial veterinarian Mark Shepherd there are a rather large number of credible scientists myself included who disagree with him when he says there is insufficient information to suggest that lice on farms is affecting pacific salmon in a detrimental way.” (Federal Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans May 12, 2010).

Minister Thomsen, the advice from your team is not credible and could be seen as unreasonably supportive of corporate interests. Downsizing the Norwegian salmon farm industry is the only way to prevent negative impact on BC. The MAL Crown Lands mission statement is … to provide the greatest benefits for British Columbians (http://www.al.gov.bc.ca/clad/). As such many fish farm leases must be rescinded. You can protect aquaculture jobs with the arising Canadian solutions.

The public wants their towns to thrive and thus want wild salmon. Corruption allegations are surfacing at the BC Rail trial concerning Liberal government payment to people to disrupt salmon farm protests. There are many reasons you should re-examine your assessment of Norwegian salmon farm impact on BC and allow public scrutiny.

I await your response.

Alexandra Morton
www.salmonaresacred.org

"It is Up to Us Again!" (Alexandra Morton blog, 12th May): http://alexandramorton.typepad.com/alexandra_morton/2010/05/it-is-up-to-us-again.html

"The Great Get Out Migration against Open Pen Fish Farms in BC" (Watershed Sentinel, 12th May): http://www.watershedsentinel.ca/content/great-get-out-migration-against-open-pen-fish-farms-bc

"New Video: Triumphant Victoria Finale for Salmon Migration" (The Common Sense Canadian, 18th May): http://www.thecanadian.org/k2/item/122-salmon-migration-victoria

"Salmon is a true symbol of our province" (The Vancouver Sun, 18th May): http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/Salmon+true+symbol+province/3040768/story.html

"How fish can tell us what we are doing wrong - 'Fish are the canaries in the mine shaft,' SFU biologist says as university hosts symposium aimed at finding new ways to track pollution" (The Vancouver Sun, 18th May): http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/fish+tell+what+doing+wrong/3040755/story.html

"Closed containment already viable" (The Times Colonist, 18th May): http://www.timescolonist.com/opinion/Closed+containment+already+viable/3041404/story.html

"Sea-lice threat" (The Province, 18th May): http://www.theprovince.com/lice+threat/3041237/story.html

"Judicial inquiry into salmon decline not needed, expert says" (The Times Colonist, 18th May): http://www.timescolonist.com/Judicial+inquiry+into+salmon+decline+needed+expert+says/3041363/story.html

"Closed containment the salmon solution" (The Times Colonist, 18th May): http://www.timescolonist.com/technology/Closed+containment+salmon+solution/3041401/story.html

"Comments might hold some vested interest" (Nanaimo Daily News, 18th May): http://www2.canada.com/nanaimodailynews/news/story.html?id=cc020081-3414-4204-a450-c31630a5dc2d

"The Get Out Migration For the Wild salmon Centennial Square, Victoria" (You Tube, 17th May): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omg1oR7IyR8

"Letter to Gordon Campbell" (Alexandra Morton, 17th May): www.salmonaresacred.org

"Wild salmon best protected by fish farm alternative" (Nanaimo Bulletin, 17th May): http://www.bclocalnews.com/vancouver_island_central/nanaimonewsbulletin/opinion/letters/93944209.html

Please sign the petition:

"We the undersigned stand against the biological threat and commerce of industrial net-pen feedlots using our global oceans. The science is clear these operations risk wild fish populations by intensifying disease, they deplete world fishery resources to make the feed. They privatize ocean spaces and threaten our sovereign rights to food security. Stop Buying and selling industrial net pen farm fish. Fish Farms Get Out of our Oceans"

Sign online now (and see who's already signed) via: http://www.salmonaresacred.org/petition-results

Wild Salmon Rally/Protest at Winter Olympics has 1-2 punch!

Just after the rally, with over 200 hundred people in attendance and TV crews, which went from 1 to 3 o'clock, an announcement came over the microphone. "Anyone wanting to walk to the Olympic Flame after the rally with some of your protest signs, please gather over here"

It took guts and nerve to march from Vanier Park (Planetarium), over the Burrard Bridge, into the heart of the Olympic beast, near last weeks Bay riot, right thru the Olympic mayhem of 200,000 tourists milling around and thru numerous police officers who were always whispering into their wrists, right down to the above picture, standing in front of the Olympic Flame.

Although, there were around 20 protesters with signs, the size or number of the Salmon Farm protest was deceiving. Put 20 protesters walking down a Vancouver street along with 200 Olympic tourists in toll, and wella, you have 220 protesters. At least that is what it looked like to police and other looky loos. The loud chanting did sound like 200 people. It took the surrounding Olympic public by surprise. What is going on here, the tourist thought and checked out all those anti Salmon Farming signs.

Each of the protesters were armed with WC2 made newspapers which were titled, Saving B.C.'s Wild Salmon, Where did they go? They handed out hundreds stickers, which said "SAY NORWAY To Uncontained Fish Farms."

Most were receptive. Here are some of the comments; "I am from Norway and those dam Salmon Farms destroyed our wild stocks of salmon also, I am from Vancouver Island and those fish farms are killing us, Right on, can I get a picture holding one of your signs", (Olympic tourists were picture crazy, wanting to give money to get their picture taken with the protest signs).

The best part were the two International TV cameras franticly asking questions. How do you cook Wild Salmon? Do Farmed and Wild Salmon taste different? One of the First Nations Elders said there are no more Wild Salmon in our rivers. Many Elders depend on Wild Salmon for their diet. They said that Norwegian owned Fish Farms in BC are breeding zones for Lice, and they were kill off our wild salmon and our way of life.

Then, there was the jocks, who did not know that there was such a thing a Farmed Salmon. They thought that all Salmon were simple all wild Salmon, "what is the difference between Wild and Farmed?" "I never thought about it", said one thirty something guy. (Wow do I live in a bubble, Yes, some people do not read anything, beyond the sports page). "Like, why are protesting Salmon? I love salmon." We kept on walking through the thick crowd. The majority seemed very receptive to what we were doing. Actually, appreciated what we were doing and were leaving at the end of the day with a political dimension to the Olympics.

As the helicopter flew constantly over our heads, keeping an eye on us, my mind kept thinking, what are they, the head of the one billion dollar policeman thinking? I could hear the questions in my mind as I walked. Should we put the Riot police on alert? How many are they? Are they the Black Bloc? Do you think they have a plan to blow up the flame? Are they the advance guard of other protesters? How come we, the police, did not know about this group, this protest? Our billion dollar intelligence is failing or fading. They did not take out a licence to protest. So and so on.

I love spontaneous actions.

It was a beautiful sunny day and we all had fun, Rod