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www.farmedanddangerous.org
The coalition is also threatening to take
legal action against the federal and BC governments
to try to put a halt to open-net
fish farms. They say the farms are threatening
the survival of wild salmon stocks by
spreading diseases like sea lice.
A report by CAAR claims that most of the
spawning runs of pink salmon off northern
Vancouver Island were wiped out by the
lice this year. The near collapse of pink
salmon runs in the Broughton Archipelago,
where millions of fish failed to return to
spawning rivers this fall, is being blamed
on fish farms in the area. Biologist
Alexandra Morton says fish farms there are
breeding grounds for the lice. (See page 30.)
You can learn more about CAAR by visiting
the website www.farmedand dangerous.org.
CAAR also encourages you to send a fax to industry
directly from that site.
FIRST NATIONS’ OPPOSITION
A BC Central Coast Native band is taking
the province to court over salmon farms.
The Heiltsuk First Nation has a “zero tolerance”
policy on the farms.
It says the province has gone ahead and issued
licenses to two companies to operate on
land the band is claiming in the treaty process.
Chief Pam Reid says the band should
have been consulted first.
“The bottom line is just a simple respect
from government and industry to come and
consult with us,” she said. “We live here,
live off the land. We harvest all year round
for different resources. Everything we live off
here is at risk.”
Reid says she wants the fish farms monitored
for how they dispose of waste.
She’s also worried about the farmed
salmon spreading viral infections to other
species in the water.
South of the border, the Tribes are also
getting active. At the 49th Annual Conference
of the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest
Indians in Washington this September, the
Tribes called for a moratorium on commercial
marine salmon net pens and support
for tribal salmon fisheries.
BRITISH PROTESTS
The Sunday Herald in Britain reports that
farmed salmon is the most contaminated
food sold by British supermarkets, according
to a new analysis by government advisors.
Among 100 different worst-case examples
of fruit, vegetables, meat and other
foodstuffs polluted by pesticides over the
past five years, salmon comes out bottom.
Every sample of farmed salmon in the batch
tested by scientists was found to contain at
least three toxic chemicals. The revelation
comes as the Scottish salmon-farming industry
faces its biggest, and potentially most
damaging, nationwide protest to date. Virtually
all fresh salmon sold in British supermarkets
is farmed. In October, protesters
picketed over 200 supermarkets in 80
towns, villages and cities across Scotland,
England, Wales and Ireland, urging shoppers
not to buy farmed salmon.
CONGRATULATIONS
Jennifer Lash of the Living Oceans Society
and coordinator of the Coastal Alliance
for Aquaculture Reform (CAAR) was recently
awarded the Jane Bagley Lehman
Award from the Tides Foundation. The
Award celebrates excellence in public advocacy
and visionary leadership for social
justice. Jennifer was selected for her innovative
approach and committed activism to
challenging aquaculture in the Pacific
Northwest. She traveled to San Francisco
in November to receive the award which
included a $10,000 grant.
Editor’s note: Jennifer worked with us on two
of WaveLength’s Ocean Kayak Festivals in
the mid-1990s. Congratulations Jen! ❏
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December/January 2003 www.WaveLengthMagazine.com
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