Perennial aquaculture naysayers
Grant Warkentin - Campbell River Mirror, November 08, 2012
Re: “Cohen commission report must be acted upon,” “Don’t be duped by story,” Nov. 7, 2012
Perennial aquaculture naysayers Leona Adams and Paul Dean seem to believe that if they repeat myths often enough, people will think they are facts.
They make numerous claims about the Cohen Commission report which are plainly false at worst, and distortions of the truth at best.
The good news is that anyone with a computer can easily test their claims for themselves. The entire report is available online for the public to read.
In his report, Justice Bruce Cohen plainly states that there is no scientific evidence to suggest that salmon farms are in any way linked with the decline of sockeye salmon. He also points out that the decline is coast-wide, from Alaska to California, and that the “elephant in the room” is climate change.
Too bad that Adams and Dean, who are eager to play the role of our environmental guardians, have completely ignored the “elephant in the room.”
Cohen’s report is a “proceed with caution” message for salmon farms. He suggests more research to show definitively that farms do not harm wild salmon runs, and we’re happy to follow his advice.
Aquaculture is part of the solution to saving wild salmon. You can’t save wild fish by catching and eating them all. We provide a healthy, safe alternative source of seafood to meet the growing demand which capture fisheries just can’t meet.
The Cohen report shows that farmed and wild salmon can co-exist in the same ocean. Now is the time to move on from the tired old debates and work together on tackling the “elephant in the room.”
Grant Warkentin,
Mainstream Canada Communications Officer
Here is the the Letter Grant Warkentin reponded to:
(Also, to read a Letter to the Campbell River Mirror by Dr. Gary Marty - Read Scientific Papers Thoroughly - and the Leona Adams Letter Click here. )
Don’t be duped by story
Paul Dean, Campbell River Mirror, Published: November 06, 2012
Re: “Salmon farmers put brave face on chilling report” (Mirror, Fri., Nov. 2, 2012)
I hope none of your readers are actually duped by the pathetic sob story you’ve published about the poor Salmon farmers.
As the environmental movement has been maintaining for years and is now suggested by the $26 million Cohen Commission the Salmon farming industry has caused untold and likely irreversible destruction to our wild fish stocks and environment. Unfortunately, our wild salmon and environment are priceless and can not simply be replaced with money or other wise.
Contrary to Campbell River Mayor Walter Jakeway; quoted as saying “We need this industry.” I beg your pardon Mr. Jakeway but we did just fine before the salmon farming industry came. It’s like the salmon farming industry has created a situation that we’re now dependent on. This sounds like the relationship between a drug addict and his pusher in a feeble scenario where the addict eventually dies from use of the pushers product. Has Mayor Walter Jakeway forgotten how vibrant a city Campbell River and many other coastal communities were before the salmon decline?
The jobs created by the salmon farming industry are but a fraction of what the commercial wild salmon industry used to provide to the economy before salmon farming appeared and began destroying it. And that’s just the commercial fishery. The sport sector and tourism is touted by B.C. as paramount and world class and contributes significantly to our economy. Why not give tourists something to boast about instead of us having to give embarrassing whining excuses about our stocks in decline?
Mayor Jakeway says, “We need to let the industry grow and if there are problems solve them.”
Mr. Jakeway doesn’t understand natural laws are being broken with salmon farming by densely populating carnivores in pens, and there is no right way to do the wrong thing.
BCSFA board member Clare Backman states “Our members are committed to farming responsibly.”
Cohen’s report proves these sort of statements from the salmon farming industry are worthless. This industry has had its chance to play clean, to be responsible and ethical, they chose not to and have destroyed our wild stocks and environment. This loathsome behaviour demonstrates who we are dealing with. We’ve now learned from this solely “profit at any cost” oriented industry that they are not trust worthy and certainly not deserving to continue practising in this country.
Clare Backman also states, “There is no science of fish farm harm.” The fact that BCSFA is maintaining their position of deceit, confusion and pseudo science with the public with statements like this proves the salmon farming industry has learned nothing from all this and are as unethical and devious as ever.
Clare Backman goes on to say, “We see this as an opportunity to work with the federal government, the regulators and the NGOs (non-governmental organizations) to satisfy those concerns.”
The BCSFA has known full well what the “concerns” are all along and the fact they want to “work with regulators and the NGOs” is actually just a camouflaged, negotiate to input minimal effort “to satisfy”, so they can maintain profits. This proves who we’re dealing with. This industry has had its chance and they’ve squandered it.
BCSFA board member, Stewart Hawthorn, said: “We are committed to protecting the marine environment and our iconic wild salmon and we support the call for further research” The reality is the research has been done & conclusion is SF is destructive. This is simply more deceit & an old stall tactic. If this industry truly wants to operate in a way that protects our wild stocks & environment they need to move the farms on to land in closed containment which they’ve repeatedly told us they do not want because its too expensive and is unprofitable.
B.C. Agriculture Minister Norm Letnick said the government will review Cohen’s report closely. He said the province wants to ensure there is a healthy sockeye salmon run and to play whatever role it can “to make that happen.” The various government departments and salmon farming industry had their chance long ago to make this work and they blew it. Instead they chose to deceive the public, destroy the environment and cover their tracks. Canadians and B.C. citizens especially are fed up with this industry. They’ve caused untold damage its now time for them to pack up and
And if any one believes this industry is a way to feed the worlds starving masses, this is not the industry that will ever do it. The energy inputs, intensive management and fishing down the worlds stocks of “forage fish” (Herring, Anchovies, Sardines) to turn into feed pellets and multitude of other secondary environmental damages caused, makes this product unsustainable.
We owe this industry nothing. In fact it owes Canadians uncountable compensation.
Paul Dean,
Vancouver
Original Campbell River Mirror Column:
Salmon farmers put brave face on chilling report
By Brian Kieran - Campbell River Mirror, Published: November 01, 2012
The Campbell River-based B.C. Salmon Farmers Association (BCSFA) is putting a brave face on the chilling findings of the Cohen Commission, while environmentalists celebrate what they see as a significant blow to fish farming in the area of the Discovery Islands.
BCSFA board member Clare Backman told the Mirror Thursday the association “does not see the report as investment chilling.”
“There is a big difference between what we read and what the commentators are saying,” he said. “There is no science of fish farm harm, but there is a lot of evidence of public concern. We see this as an opportunity to work with the federal government, the regulators and the NGOs (non-governmental organizations) to satisfy those concerns.
“Our members are committed to farming responsibly and that commitment will continue as we move forward in light of these recommendations,” Backman added. “It’s important that we continue with the important social and economic role we play in the coastal communities of B.C. while protecting our natural environment.”
Another BCSFA board member, Stewart Hawthorn, said: “We know that the fish on our farms are healthy and Justice Bruce Cohen has acknowledged the impressive data we made available. We are committed to protecting the marine environment and our iconic wild salmon and we support the call for further research in this small farming area.”
But the recommendations in the final report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Decline of the Fraser River Sockeye go way beyond a call for more research. Former B.C. Supreme Court Justice Cohen has called for a freeze on new salmon farms in the Discovery Islands.
Even though celebrity biologist Alexandra Morton described her testimony before the commission more than a year ago as “a depressing experience,” it appears that Justice Cohen agreed with the position she espoused that precaution should trump evidence.
In a blog blast to her followers Thursday, she shared the “good news” and “incredibly strong wording” in the report. She wrote: “The Cohen report (states that) salmon farms have the potential to import exotic viruses and amplify endemic ones. There should be an immediate freeze on farm salmon production on the Fraser sockeye migration route. DFO should be relieved of their duty to promote salmon farms.”
During the Cohen hearings more than a year ago, Morton maintained that “the pattern of the Fraser sockeye collapse...is so stark I do not know how anyone could avoid applying the precautionary principle to this situation immediately. Only the sockeye that closely passed salmon farms collapsed.”
In her blog Morton warns: “The Province of B.C. is in the process of renewing many salmon farm leases. If B.C. offers this industry long term leases, Justice Cohen’s recommendations and our $26 million (commission budget) will be wasted.”
Campbell River Mayor Walter Jakeway is not amused. “You don’t learn anything from a moratorium,” he told the Mirror. “It is not the answer. Salmon farming is a huge part of our economic base. We need to let the industry grow and if there are problems solve them.”
The Campbell River Chamber of Commerce was taking a more cautious approach. President Colleen Evans said: “This is such an important sector. We need to better understand the implications of the report. It’s all about finding a balance.”
B.C. Agriculture Minister Norm Letnick said the government will review Cohen’s report closely. He said the province wants to ensure there is a healthy sockeye salmon run and to play whatever role it can “to make that happen.” But NDP environment critic Rob Fleming called the report a “very clear rejection” of the Harper Conservatives’ approach to gut the scientific and research capacity of fisheries management on the coast.” Conservative Party leader John Cummins dismissed the Cohen report as a “complete and utter waste” of taxpayer dollars.
