Media Releases

SOINTULA, B.C. –-Almost 28 percent of the economy of the Regional District of Mount Waddington is dependent upon a healthy ocean, according to new research commissioned jointly by Living Oceans Society and the Regional District of Mount Waddington. The study undertaken by GS Gislason and Associates Ltd. uses data from 2009 and interviews with local residents to measure both the direct contribution of marine industries to local communities and where in the regional waters these activities occur.

OTTAWA - Today in the House of Commons, New Democratic Party Fisheries and Oceans Critic Fin Donnelly tabled a motion asking for transparency and more study before genetically modified (GM) Atlantic salmon are approved for human consumption. US company AquaBounty has genetically modified a faster growing Atlantic salmon by inserting a growth hormone gene from Chinook salmon and genetic material from ocean pout.

February 24, 2011 VANCOUVER – An array of community and environmental groups, and business and fishing interests are expressing shock and disappointment with outgoing Premier Gordon Campbell’s decision to go against the wishes of the majority of British Columbians and side with the premiers of Alberta and Saskatchewan in asking the Prime Minister to defeat a bill that would permanently ban oil tankers through B.C.’s Pacific North Coast.

SOINTULA, B.C.— If Enbridge’s Northern Gateway pipeline is approved, Canadian taxpayers could be on the hook for billions of dollars to cover the clean up and compensation costs in the event of a catastrophic oil tanker spill, claims Living Oceans Society in a report titled Financial Vulnerability Assessment: Who Would Pay for Oil Tanker Spills Associated with the Northern Gateway Pipeline written by the Environmental Law Clinic at the University of Victoria.

Vancouver, B.C. - Environmental groups are once again applauding MPs who are taking the necessary steps to secure a permanent tanker ban on Canada’s Pacific North Coast. A Private Member’s Bill was tabled in the House of Commons today by Vancouver Quadra Liberal MP Joyce Murray, proposing a ban on crude oil tanker traffic in Hecate Strait, Dixon Entrance and Queen Charlotte Sound.

Vancouver, B.C. - Environmental groups are praising the vote today in the House of Commons in support of a legislated tanker ban for Canada’s Pacific North Coast. The motion was put forward by Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Nathan Cullen whose riding includes the Great Bear Rainforest and thousands of coastal jobs that depend on a healthy marine environment.

OTTAWA -– An unprecedented delegation of First Nations, commercial fishing, tourism representatives and environmental groups from Canada’s Pacific North Coast is in Ottawa today, calling on the federal government to ban oil tankers from the region. The federal government is currently considering allowing over 200 oil tankers per year to travel through some of the most dangerous waters in the world, despite polls that show 80 percent of British Columbians support banning crude oil tankers.

VANCOUVER-- Fishing is allowed in all but one percent of Marine Protected Areas (MPA) on Canada’s Pacific coast, according to a study conducted by Living Oceans Society and published in Marine Policy this month. This is in spite of the fact thatover half of the MPAs are officially rated as “strictly protected” and are intended to prohibit all fishing.

VANCOUVER, B.C. – Over 40 organizations from across Canada and the U.S. submitted a joint letter opposing the Canada General Standards Board (CGSB) proposed organic standards that allow antibiotic and chemical treatments of farmed fish. The signatories reflect a broad cross section of the scientific, conservation, consumer, and organic communities, and represent a collective membership of over one million people. The CGSB period for public comment closed yesterday and a revised draft of the standard will soon be released.