On August 5th we docked in Alert Bay and were drummed in by First Nations from the Mamalilikulla, Namgis, Musgamagw, and Laichwiltach Nations. It is our Right and Responsibility to protect this place and thus salmon farms must be removed.
On August 5th we docked in Alert Bay and were drummed in by First Nations from the Mamalilikulla, Namgis, Musgamagw, and Laichwiltach Nations. It is our Right and Responsibility to protect this place and thus salmon farms must be removed.
So heart warming to follow this very important, international effort to conserve wild Pacific salmon and all that rely on them – Thank you Wild Salmon Warriors.
Perfect. Absolutely perfect. Art. Science. People who. care. The Salish Sea will live again.
Wow, what a wonderful welcome and support!
Beautiful photos.
Sure hope to see footage gets out to the media.
Thank-you.
WONDERFUL shots! BRAVO Alexandra!
Thank you for sharing your experiences and knowledge!
Thank you x’s a zillion!!! stand strong! stay strong! wild salmon warriors unite! wild salmon love forever! <3
So blessed to be there and share such an amazing experience with my kids.
Gilakasla Namgis people for taking this stand for everyone of us beautiful Kwakwaka’wakw people. So grateful to see these photos, I can feel the energy of our ancestors looking at these photos. Gilakasla Umagalis.
Very moving welcome and such an incredibly important cause. Thank you to all who are putting yourselves out there for the wild salmon. Your efforts give me hope that us humans can undo some of the mess we have allowed to happen. Thank you all so much!
you quote ” It is our Right and Responsibility to protect this place and thus salmon farms must be removed.”
The Cohen Commission Volume 3 Chapter two page 21 right hand column 8th line down.
” Once sockeye smolts have
made their way through the Discovery Islands,
they encounter fewer salmon farms. For example,
Fraser River sockeye smolts do not swim into the
Broughton Archipelago – the next major salmon
farm area along the coast – though they may
interact with salmon migrating out of that area.”
So what are you protecting the area from. You can either accept the Cohen findings or not, You seem to be very happy with his report, why not this part??
Scott, your commentary has become predictable, and continues to be exceptionally short sighted and juvenile. The Fraser sockeye are not the only fish that are placed in grave danger by these floating feedlots, if you actually followed the information being given you would see very solid and ongoing research into the damages farm based sea lice infestations have on the outgoing pink salmon though the archipelago. We all know and you make it very clear that you are a big fan of the farms and have satiated yourself on their propaganda. Your attempts at degrading this work are feeble and weak, doing nothing to counter the very real science done and ongoing, simply making you look like a stooge.
http://fairquestions.typepad.com/rethink_campaigns/ten-reasons-why-some-sea-lice-research-claims-are-false.html
Just some scientist’s studies, a little boring #4 caught my interest.
I’ll take a kick at this can
1. It is extremely rare that a researcher not under the payroll of a fish farming company to be given permission to take samples from within a fish farm pen. In the late ’90’s I was involved in a study looking into the link between fish farms and sea-lice and the lead researcher, despite many attempts, never received permission to take any samples from in the pens. The best we could do was to take samples from adjacent to the pens and infer that the closer we sampled to fish pens the higher the rates of infection on salmon fry.
2. We made sure to establish that there were in fact farm raised salmon in the pens before we sampled. We wanted to ensure there was a correlation between the presence of farm raised salmon and concentrations of sea-lice infections on salmon fry.
3. Correlation is not Causation. But a high correlation does support the hypothesis in the absence of other alternatives. And alternatives proposed by those with counter claims (high ocean temp, unforeseen predation, habitat destruction, etc.) are also correlative so their claims have as much weight as sea-lice.
4. Wow, a 4-parter
• Mortality in the wild was never measured. How would you propose to do that in a practical fashion? Radio-tag 4cm fish weighing a few grams and wait for them to kick it/or survive? Impractical, as are most other methods.
• I have seen data on the Kakweiken, Glendale, Ahnuhati, and Wakeman systems from the ’50’s to 2012, and there is indeed slow growth up to the ’90’s. Except in the Kakweiken and Glendale systems that both received fish channel improvements that both lead to explosive growth immediately after (Kakweiken in the late ’60’s, and Glendale in the late ’80’s) but like the Ahnuhati and Wakeman systems the Kakweiken system is in serious decline since fish farms were introduced. The Glendale system is also showing signs of decline, but all systems need to be monitored further to establish a long term trend.
• I haven’t read Dr Jones paper (if anyone could provide a link, I’d appreciate it) but if memory serves me correct, one of the studies the lead researcher I was involved with in the ’90’s did before we went out collecting salmon samples was to establish a link between sea-lice concentrations and salmon fry mortality.
• I would like to see both their methods. I would also like to see the fish farm records of Emamectin Benzoate applications to see if there is a correlation there because it would follow that if DFO sampled after an application there would be low concentrations of sea-lice (and crabs, and shrimp, and prawns, and shellfish larvae, etc.)
5. Computer modelling is not my thing so I’ll leave that to someone with more experience than me.
6.5-parter!
• There was great public awareness of the correlative link between farm raised salmon infecting wild salmon I the late ’90’s. Industry response was to carpet bomb their fish with Emamectin Benzoate in an attempt to neutralize the threat. This meant that for a couple years after there was a spike in wild salmon numbers, that trend didn’t last. There also was the possibility that this may lead to EB resistance in sea-lice. Also see my comments above regarding crustacean and other shellfish reactions to EB, be interesting to see if there’s a correlation to serious drops in numbers around farms.
• ESTIMATED. Same weakness that this article already attacks anti-farm advocates with.
• See my comments above re: fish channel improvements
• Another spike (much smaller than previous spikes), another collapse right after. How long can this continue?
• Proximity, which data should be weighted more? Systems closest to the farms with narrow channels and not many other alternate routes of migration? Or other systems farther away and with wide open Straights as alternate routes?
7. Correlations between proximity to farms and infections to wild salmon. Are these rockfish and herring hiding under the pens?
8. In the narrow channels of the Broughton Archipelago tides have a far greater local effect than ocean currents. And tides go both ways, twice a day. So if, on one tide, the lice are being carried out to sea; on the other they are being carried in to the narrow inlets surrounding the estuaries to which these juvenile salmon emerge.
9. Mortality is normal, so it is ok to heap a whole lot more on them just in case they want to something like survive as a species.
10. Localized extinction can and does happen, and in those cases other systems can and do re-colonize these extinct systems. But if industry has its way, and if there ever is a lifting on the moratorium on further expansion; which systems will be available to re-colonize if they’re all dead? Are we going to rely on the Americans to save our salmon? Does that thought give you peace?
Wish there was an “edit” option for this. There are a couple errors I’ve noticed when I can read my whole post, but it’s 2am and I have to get up in the morning to take care of my family.
Maybe I’ll edit point by point tmrrw night.
p.s. Nothing major, just wish i said a couple things better.
1. “…..infer that the closer we sampled to fish pens the higher the rates of infection to salmon fry.”
Should read
” infer that proximity to fish pens increased the rates of sea-lice infection in salmon smolts.”
2. “….correlation between the presence of farm raised salmon and concentrations of sea-lice infections on salmon fry.”
Should read
“..correlation between the proximity to farm raised salmon and concentrations of sea-lice infections on salmon smolts.”
4c. “…establish a link between sea-lice concentrations and salmon fry mortality.”
Should read
“…establish a link between sea-lice concentrations and salmon smolt mortality.”
6a. “…between farm raised salmon infecting wild salmon I the late ’90’s.”
Should read
“…between farm raised salmon infecting wild salmon in the late ’90’s.”
9. “…just in case they want to something like survive as a species.”
Should read
“…just in case they want to do something, like survive as a species.”
10. “…But if industry has its way, and if there ever is a lifting on the moratorium on further expansion;”
Should read
“…But if there ever is a lifting on the moratorium on further expansion and industry has its way with unregulated expansion throughout British Columbia;..”
Jon,
Are you reading the posts?
Scott is posting facts and links to reports and studies and you just posted a long flowery ad hominem with zero substance.
I’m not going to call you a stooge but one of you seems like one and it’s not Scott.
Do you have any facts or arguments to add to the debate?
Great pictures at Alert Bay. Thank you Alexandra. It was a pleasure to meet you in Vancouver at False Creek and to hear you speak along with the other people there.
Wild Salmon are forever. lets get the open net salmon farms out of our oceans.
And while we’re at it let’s also get the 1.8 million people and their concrete jungle of irony towers out of our Fraser River delta and estuaries.
It was a privilege to able to be at Alert Bay and to see the ceremony in person. I have just spent 45 days cruising from CamPell River to Nahwitti Bar, through all of the major inlets of the “Mainland” and through the islands. They are full of floating fish farms, open net pens, and it is easy to see how devistating this can be. I am just learning of the salmon lice issue, and it is science driven, and devistating to the smolt.
I’m not against fish farms, but it has to be done in an ecologically sound manner ON LAND, withe the refuse and waste, cleaned and contained.
The Canadian government is not being responsible, and by their lack of, or worse, wrong actions, the wild salmon are going to loose the battle unless there is a serious reversal in polocy or the First Nations take over their rightful place to protect the wild salmon.
Hi Harvey,
I’m glad you are concerned about the environment but I’m a bit surprised that you would say so categorically that the entire industry needs to move on land when, by your own admission you are just learning about the issues.
I’m also interested to know how you earned your living and if there were any adverse impacts on the environment.