the Discourse, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
For years Homalco First Nation Chief Darren Blaney has been opposed to fish farming in the Discovery Islands, on the east coast of Vancouver Island, where his community is based.
DFO is not much help
“As far as I could see the Sockeye populations have been going down, since the farms got here,” says Blaney. “And we’ve been fighting the farms for a long time. And the federal government is not much help. DFO is not much help.”
On Sept. 28, officials with DFO (Department of Fisheries and Oceans) announced on a conference call with the media that based on its scientific assessments, nine pathogens from farmed Atlantic salmon in British Columbia’s Discovery Islands pose a minimal risk to wild salmon.
DFO promises to consult
Part of the DFO announcement, states that “starting immediately” they will consult with First Nations about the aquaculture sites in the Discovery Islands.
“The information exchanged will inform the government’s decision on whether or not to renew aquaculture licenses in the area, prior to the December-2020 deadline,” the release states.
“They want to do more consultations. As far as I’m concerned we’ve already done all the consultations, says Blaney. “And now. we’re consulting until the end of the salmon.”
Recommendation No.19
The news comes just ahead of a Sept. 30 deadline set by the 2009 Cohen Commission, a $26 million federal inquiry led by Justice Bruce Cohen who looked into the collapse of the Sockeye stocks in B.C.
The deadline is connected to recommendation No. 19 from the commission.
“On September 30, 2020, the minister of fisheries and oceans should prohibit net-pen salmon farming in the Discovery Islands… unless he or she is satisfied that such farms pose at most a minimal risk of serious harm to the health of migrating Fraser River Sockeye salmon,” the commission report states, adding that a summary of the decision and reasoning should be published on the DFO website.
DFO should not promote fish farms
“I’m not surprised and I’ve become cynical about DFO. They are the fish farming industry’s lap dog, and they can’t be promoting the industry. And so they can’t be policing it as well,” says Blaney.
Recommendation No. 67 of the Cohen Commission reflects this concern.
“The fish health research priorities of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans should reflect its responsibility for the conservation of wild fish,” it says. “To that end, DFO’s science managers should encourage innovation and new research into novel diseases and other conditions affecting wild fish, beyond the interests of specific “clients” such as the Canadian Food Inspection Agency or aquaculture management.”
“You can look at all the regulations, and then look at the fines levied on fish farming from DFO, you’ll see hardly any,” says Blaney.
Representatives from DFO did not respond to IndigiNew’s request for comment ahead of publication.
We used to get Sockeye every year
Blaney says he’s seen the impact of declining Sockeye first hand.
“We don’t get Sockeye, we used to get Sockeye every year. We could count on it every year, getting Sockeye. And now we don’t get it. Maybe it went to be three years, four years, we get it now and it’s become like gold.”
Top photo credit: Chief Darren Blaney, of Homalco First Nation, stands on a beach his people used for millennia. The first thing he mentions is the significance of this beach, by telling a traditional story about Mink and Whale. Photo by Odette Auger.