Ottawa -- Environmental organizations including the David Suzuki Foundation, the Living Oceans Society, and the Sierra Club of British Columbia are asking the federal government to commit to establishing a comprehensive marine-use and conservation-planning process for the Pacific North Coast Integrated Management Area (PNCIMA), on Canada’s West Coast.

SOINTULA, B.C. — Two speakers from Australia are coming to the North Island and Central Coast to share their experiences drawn from one of the world’s best examples of community engagement in action – the re-zoning of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Living Oceans Society is hosting the tour from March 25 to April 4 [see tour schedule on next page] that will feature presentations by Russell Butler and Graham Scott who will share the successes and challenges that they faced as community residents, First Nations and fishermen working to rezone the Great Barrier Reef.

Vancouver, Prince Rupert ─The Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform welcomes today’s decision by the B.C. government to institute an indefinite moratorium on open net-cage salmon farming in northern B.C. waters but voiced deep concern over more salmon farm approvals on the South Coast. It is a huge turning point that the provincial government is recognizing the need to protect marine ecosystems and wild salmon stocks from the impacts of current salmon farming practices, however the disregard shown for the health of B.C.’s South and Central coast is troubling.



Vancouver, Canada ─ Following Safeway’s decision yesterday to suspend purchasing of Chilean farmed salmon, the Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform (CAAR) is calling on Safeway to phase out sales of farmed salmon from all sources until the industry shifts to more sustainable practices.

VANCOUVER, B.C. ─ Living Oceans Society, Greenpeace Canada and concerned whale organizations are congratulating the governments of Canada and British Columbia for showing the leadership to mount an operation to recover logging equipment that sunk in Robson Bight last August. Today, B.C. Minister of the Environment Barry Penner and Fisheries and Oceans Canada Minister Loyala Hearn announced that the two governments had entered into a cost sharing agreement to raise the equipment.