Sustainable Seafood

VANCOUVER: Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan issued a decision today that may reverse the rapdily declining trend of Fraser River salmon stocks, including the commercially important sockeye and the endangered Chinook salmon relied on by Southern Resident Killer Whales. Wild salmon advocates at Living Oceans Society say the decision to keep salmon farms in the Wild Salmon Narrows (Discovery Islands) near Campbell River fallow means more wild salmon may avoid death from lice and disease pathogens proliferating around open net-pen salmon farms.

Vancouver:  In an unprecedented statement released today, Living Oceans joins the American Fisheries Society (AFS) and 110 aquatic scientific societies representing more than 80,000 scientists across the world to sound a climate change alarm.  The societies call for drastically curtailed global greenhouse gas emissions to avoid the worst impacts of man-made climate change to fish and aquatic ecosystems.

The effort to rid this coast of salmon farms is mounting as wild salmon runs collapse. An open letter to Prime Minister Trudeau and Premier Horgan, released today, is signed by 37 commercial and sport fishing organizations, religious and environmental organizations, marine tourism operators and unions. They demand that both leaders deliver their on promises to remove salmon farms from B.C.

VANCOUVER: Expensive new vessels are failing to control the parasites that are decimating wild salmon stocks, according to a report released today by Living Oceans Society. The report analyses the treatments given on the farms over the past two years and assigns a failing grade to the Hydrolicers and wellboats purchased by salmon farming companies at reported costs of $12 to $30 million.

The Glendale River in Knight Inlet used to have a massive run of pink salmon. It supported gillnet and seine fisheries and still returned a million fish to the spawning grounds. Today, no-one can find fish in the river. The grizzlies are starving and the eagles are absent. Read our latest blog here.

VANCOUVER:  Living Oceans congratulates the First Nations of the Broughton area on the success of their epic battle to protect the wild salmon of their territories. Today, the Nations, the Provincial Government and salmon farming companies announced a partial withdrawal of farms from the region, together with measures to limit the impact of others.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  The Report of the Independent Expert Panel on Aquaculture Science was released today by Dr. Mona Nemer, Canada’s Chief Scientist.  Prime Minister Trudeau appointed Nemer in September 2017, to the position which had been left vacant since 2008.

This report makes the bold recommendation that DFO’s Aquaculture science needs an external, non-government Science Advisor and Review Panel.  It repeats throughout the 28-page report that DFO science on aquaculture must be more transparent, consider localized impact and be inclusive of indigenous knowledge.

A report issued today by Living Oceans and Raincoast Research reveals that sea lice were out of control on Clayquot Sound salmon farms in 2018 because they have evolved resistance to SLICE, the single drug approved for use in Canada. The report provides evidence that Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) knew as early as 2014 that resistance was developing in sea lice, but did  not take measures to ensure the protection of wild juvenile salmon from the parasite.