Public meeting in Port McNeill, BC re: Greig’s proposed salmon farms (Twyla Roscovich) On February 10, 2015, Grieg Seafood held an open house in Port McNeill on two new salmon farm applications it is proposing – a requirement of the application process to the Province of BC. It was a
Continue readingTag: Oceans
The Common Sense Canadian: Norway’s fjords flooded with escaped, diseased farmed fish
An escaped steelhead caught near Bergen, Norway, showing serious symptoms of disease On January 10, 2015 a hurricane of wind and snow hit the coast of Norway. They called it extreme weather Nina. When the winds finally calmed, the first sport fishermen to venture out on the fjords near Bergen
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Tide may be turning on farms destroying salmon habitat
A coho spawning in a small stream (Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife) I come today in praise of the Vancouver Sun and trust that events don’t prove that I should’ve approached the mainstream media with my usual skepticism. First, let me tell you a story from my early life
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Salmon Farmers’ ads more full of crap than seabed beneath their pens
Norwegian salmon farm (Karin Beate Nøsterud/norden.org) The BC Salmon Farmers’ Association continues to make assertions about open-net fish farms that don’t agree with the science, as a recent ad in the Globe and Mail demonstrates. It is surprising the industry, lead companies including the Norwegian Marine Harvest, Cermaq and Grieg Seafood,
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Harper’s new fish farm laws would open floodgates to waste dumping
The following is a letter by salmon farming critic and Common Sense Canadian contributor DC Reid to Prime Minister Stephen Harper on his government’s proposed gutting of aquaculture regulations, which would enable virtually unrestricted dumping of fish farm waste into our oceans. The public can comment on the proposed changes until October 22
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Pristine Coast doc reveals surprising, untold history of salmon farms
My first brush with the fish farming industry on our coast came around 2000 when I was broadcasting for CKNW. At that point, this was considered to be a “good” industry because their product would ease the pressure on the wild salmon. The big issue became the escape of Atlantic
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: New laws would enable fish farms to dump more waste, chemicals
Yardstick standing upright in waste layer below fish farm, up to 32 inch mark (Friends of Port Mouton Bay) Read this Aug. 27 story from CBC.ca on changes to aquaculture regulations that would enable the dumping of debris by fish farms, such as unused feed, feces, chemicals and anti-fouling agents.
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Farmed salmon escapes far more common than industry admits: study
Farmed Atlantic salmon (Photo: World Wildlife Federation) A new study published in ICES Journal of Marine Science estimates that that up to 1.5 million farmed Atlantic salmon escape from Norwegian netpens into the wild every year – far more than acknowledged by the industry. The study was led by Ove T. Skilbrei of the Institute of Marine Research
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Morton seeks answers from Grieg over farmed salmon die-off
A “mort-sucker” removes dead farmed salmon from a Grieg pen in Nootka Sound (Alexandra Morton) The following is an open letter from independent salmon biologist Alexandra Morton to the Norwegian owner of Greig Seafood. Dear Mr. Per Grieg Jr. owner Grieg Seafood (per.grieg@grieg.no): Several weeks ago I received reports that
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Vancouver Aquarium can keep cetaceans, with breeding restrictions
Beluga whales in captivity at the Vancouver Aquarium Read this August 1 story from CBC.ca on the Vancouver Parks Board decision allowing the Aquarium to keep cetaceans in captivity, with restrictions on breeding. The Vancouver Park Board voted unanimously to allow the aquarium to keep cetaceans in captivity at a
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Orcas face triple threat: Vessel noise, pollution, lack of food
Photo: NOAA By Dirk Meissner, The Canadian Press VICTORIA – Triple threats of pollution, vessel noise and the availability of food are making it hard for a group of orcas that live along the continent’s West Coast to increase beyond an estimated population of 80, says a decade-long U.S. study. Southern
Continue readingTHE CANADIAN PROGRESSIVE: Report: World’s Oceans on Brink of Collapse
The world’s oceans face irreparable damage from climate change and overfishing, with a five-year window for intervention, says environmental group Global Oceans Commission. The post Report: World’s Oceans on Brink of Collapse appeared first on THE CANADIAN PROGRESSIVE.
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Bloomberg: Farmed salmon a risky bet for environment, investment
A series of reports from the world’s leading business publication, Bloomberg, show the environmental, financial, and health challenges facing the farmed salmon industry are increasingly bubbling up to the surface. The three stories – dealing with the impacts of farmed fish on their wild counterparts, the risks of investing in
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Salmon Inquiry: First Nations angry at Harper’s lack of action
Chief Bob Chamberlin is one of many First Nations leaders frustrated with the lack of action of saving wild salmon Read this May 28 Globe and Mail story by Mark Hume on the increasing exasperation of many First Nations fisheries groups at the Harper Government’s lack of action on the $26 million Cohen Inquiry into
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: 60 Minutes grills BC salmon farmers, government
Top-rated American TV newsmagazine program 60 Minutes sunk its teeth into BC’s longstanding salmon farming controversy last night. While the program – hosted by renowned health commentator Dr. Sanjay Gupta – stopped short of passing judgement on the aquaculture industry, it left viewers with some real food for thought on
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Rafe Mair: Howe Sound under siege
Boaters raise the alarm over plans to re-industrialize Howe Sound (Future of Howe Sound Society) Howe Sound is Canada’s southernmost fjord. It is a natural beauty which should be declared a world-class heritage site. I grew up as a child on Howe Sound and well remember the men with the
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Salmon farms: Has anything changed after a decade of controversy?
The David Suzuki Foundation and others have run ads over the past decade decrying British Columbia’s open net-cage salmon farm industry. With significant expansion planned for the West Coast, the question remains: Has B.C.’s salmon farm industry improved? Salmon farming threatens some of the planet’s last remaining viable wild salmon
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: First Nations show Nancy Greene, Harper govt positive alternative to open net fish farms
Namgis First Nation-grown closed-containment salmon ready for market (Photo: Kuterra.com) Part 2 of DC Reid’s appeal to Canadian Senator and Olympic hero Nancy Greene Raine, who recently came out in support of a massive increase to open net pen salmon farms on BC’s coast. Read part 1 here. While Nancy
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Nancy Greene Raine: Fish Farms? What About Wild BC Salmon?
Senator Nancy Greene at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics (Photo: Wikipedia) I almost fell off my chair when I read that former Olypmic ski champion and Canadian Senator Nancy Greene Raine wants to triple the size of fish farming in BC. Taking such a position is badly out of step with
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: The truth unshelled about the shrimp at the table
Shrimp farming (Photo: Jughandle’s Fat Farm). Read this Jan. 14th article by TreeHugger about why you should stop eating shrimp, wild and farmed: Shrimp is the most popular seafood in the United States, with Americans eating an average of 4.1 pounds per person annually. As delicious as shrimp may be,
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