Protesters gather at the Marine Harvest fish farm on Swanson Island- (Photo: Swanson Occupation)

First Nations and environmentalists protest against salmon farming in BC

CANADA
Thursday, August 31, 2017, 23:00 (GMT + 9)

A group of protesters have occupied a salmon farm owned by Marine Harvest Canada to show opposition to the permits the Government has granted to the facility.

These campaigners -- from First Nations and other environmental groups -- claim they will not leave the plant, located near Alert Bay, British Columbia, until the provincial and federal governments revoke the granted permits, The Canadian Press reported.

The environmentalists argue that the farm is threatening their traditional way of life by impacting wild salmon and herring stocks, and demand an overall end to open-net fish farming in the sensitive Broughton Archipelago area.

Alexandra Morton, a biologist and long-time fish farm critic, is participating in the occupation with five others aboard a Sea Shepherd Conservation Society vessel.

Some environmentalists filmed a video showing Atlantic salmon inside fish farms in the area between Alert Bay and Campbell River, many of which was blind, deformed or diseased. The video was released by Sea Shepherd.

In this regard, Ian Roberts, a spokesman for Marine Harvest Canada, said no images indicate or prove disease, adding that deformities are very rare in salmon, but like other animals and humans, they can occur.

"We are able to remove any poor performing or deformed fish from our farms before they are sent to market," he said. "Our salmon are very healthy, are regularly checked for health by licensed veterinarians and audited by Fisheries and Oceans Canada."

Roberts explained that the First Nations members were allowed to remain on site to observe the firm’s operations as long as they remained respectful and peaceful.

He confirmed the company does not have a formal agreement with the 'Namgis, but he said the company has provided juvenile fish to the First Nation in the past for its land-based salmon farm, Kuterra.

For his part, British Columbia's Agriculture Minister Lana Popham said she has not reached out to the protesters, but she plans to raise the issue with First Nations leaders at a gathering in Vancouver next week.

The minister clarified that no new tenure permits for fish farms have been approved in BC since 2015 and that a committee is currently examining wild salmon and the aquaculture industry, and is expected to submit a report at the end of November.

The recent escape of Atlantic salmon from a Cooke Aquaculture pen farm off Cypress Island, Washington (US), has spurred debate in Canada about open-net fish farming and has led to calls for the country to focus on land-based aquaculture.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada has confirmed one Atlantic salmon was caught off southwestern Vancouver Island and officials were checking reports that two more of the non-native species were hooked off Sooke and Esquimalt.

Related articles:

- Washington Governor temporarily cancels permits for new salmon farms
- Conservation group to sue Cooke over salmon escape
- DFO closely monitors Atlantic salmon escape in US

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