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Get the farms out of the Wild Salmon Narrows! We're calling for emergency protection for wild salmon migrating through the Wild Salmon Narrows! Send a fax to DFO Minister Gail Shea and B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell telling them we need these farms out of the Narrows. While we continue to work towards a coast-wide transition to closed containment aquaculture, we are demanding the removal of the five active fish farms in Okisollo Channel of the northern Georgia Strait. Clearing a critical migration route of open net-cage salmon farms is an emergency measure needed to reduce the pressure of sea lice infection on wild salmon. The call for the removal of farms also has the support of esteemed scientists. In December 2009, a think tank of scientists gathered at Simon Fraser University to discuss possible causes of the Fraser River sockeye collapse and urgent next steps needed to protect this iconic species. The group released a statement noting that the 2009 return was the lowest in 50 years and that these sockeye have been declining since the mid-1990s to levels so low that they are almost unable to replace themselves. Their recommendations include addressing the lack of available data on farmed salmon health and the potential for transfer of disease and parasites to wild salmon as well as immediate measures to experimentally remove salmon farms from sockeye migration routes. To ensure your message is received loud and clear, please include a personal comment. |
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Fill out this form to send an email to DFO Minister Gail Shea, B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell, the Honourable Steve Thomson, Minister of
Agriculture of Lands, and the Honourable Barry Penner, Minister of the Environment. Ffollow the orange arrows to see the message below. |
YOUR MESSAGE: Dear Minister Shea, I urge you to close the active open net-cage farms in the Wild Salmon Narrows, a critical wild salmon migration route in British Columbia’s northern Georgia Strait. The global body of independent peer-reviewed science is clear: open net-cage salmon farms put wild salmon at risk of disease and parasite infection and jeopardize the health of ocean ecosystems. In B.C., not only are the Broughton Archipelago’s juvenile pink and chum salmon being affected by sea lice, but recent science indicates that net-cage farms in the northern Georgia Strait are putting Fraser River sockeye at risk of sea lice infection. This may have contributed to this summer's catastrophic collapse of the iconic sockeye run. The call to close salmon farms along wild salmon migratory routes also has the support of esteemed scientists who gathered at Simon Fraser University in December 2009 to discuss potential causes of the Fraser River Sockeye collapse and urgent next steps to protect this important species. Their recommendations included “immediate measures to experimentally remove salmon farms from sockeye migration routes.” The Province and DFO have the responsibility to protect the health of wild salmon, and the jobs and communities that depend on them. I implore you to remove all five active fish farms in the channel north and east of Quadra Island, and revoke the four inactive fish farm tenures to the south in Hoskyn Channel. There have been repeated calls for closed containment research and development funding from regional governments, government-funded committees, community groups, concerned citizens, and even support within the salmon farming industry itself. Please take this opportunity to make B.C. a leader in sustainable aquaculture by clearing the Wild Salmon Narrows of fish farms and making a substantial investment in closed containment. I look forward to your immediate action on this matter. Sincerely, Cc: |
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