In 2013 the salmon farming industry’s expansion plans were blocked when the B.C. government announced that it will not issue any new or expanded tenures for net-cage salmon farms in the Discovery Islands until at least September 30, 2020. The province acted in response to recommendations of the Cohen Inquiry into the Decline of the Fraser River Sockeye.
Living Oceans is an active stakeholder in the Aquaculture Stewardship Certification process, responding to every application for certification in Canada and participating in the scheme's various projects to revise the Salmon Standard.
ASC's Salmon Standard was created through a formal dialogue with industry. It was only implemented in 2015; almost immediately, we began to notice problems.
People around the world are increasingly aware of the crisis facing global fish stocks. Many wild fish species are in decline and there is growing demand for more ocean-friendly options in grocery stores. Living Oceans led a markets campaign for over a decade, encouraging shoppers and retailers to demand more sustainably produced farmed salmon. Thanks to your help, our efforts were rewarded with significant steps by leading grocery chains.
Land-based salmon aquaculture was pioneered right here in B.C., in the Kuterra facility owned by 'Namgis First Nation, near Port McNeill. While recirculating aquaculture technology has been used all over the world to raise fish to smolt size, Kuterra was among the first to tackle raising salmon to market size in its recirculating tanks.
Today, the industry stands on the cusp of change and B.C. can benefit from the work done at Kuterra, capitalizing on the global trend toward closed containment facilities.
In 2005, Kinder Morgan bought the TransMountain Pipeline which runs from Edmonton, Alberta to Burnaby, British Columbia. They announced plans in 2011 to expand their capacity by building a parallel line. In 2012, they announced a further capacity expansion to a new total of 890,000 barrels of oil per day.
The original pipeline was built in 1953 without the benefit of public or environmental scrutiny and there was no public review when, in about 2006, it began shipping diluted bitumen (dilbit) as well as other crude and refined oils in the pipeline.
Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines Project proposes two pipelines running between Alberta’s tar sands and a marine terminal in Kitimat, B.C. From the terminal, 220-320 supertankers would transport oil to Asia and the southern U.S. each year. Other tankers would import condensate, the highly flammable, explosive and toxic substance used to dilute bitumen so that it can be transported by pipeline.
Our ongoing media campaign and collaboration with other environmental groups has helped bring 80 percent of British Columbians onboard for a permanent tanker ban. Expect this figure grow!
The Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline was recommended for approval by a Joint Review Panel composed of Canada’s National Energy Board (NEB) and Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA) in December, 2013. The decision of the panel can be found here.
We’re countering the multimillion dollar sales pitch by Big Oil by providing the true facts about oil tanker traffic in newspapers, on the six o’clock news and on radio talk shows.
We travel to communities big and small to make sure people know the risks and costs they’ll face if tankers come to the coast.
We use Google Earth to show exactly what we stand to lose from an oil spill. Our interactive map is easy to use and informative, so check it out.
The following article originally appeared in the Vancouver Observer on February 5th, 2013, and can be viewed in it's original context here
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