By Melissa Renwick, Ha-Shilth-Sa, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The federal government says it is moving forward in transitioning away from open net-pen fish farms in coastal British Columbia.
Continue reading transition from open net-pen salmon farming has begunA 2014 study estimates there are more than 5 trillion pieces of plastic floating in the ocean. There is also a great deal of polystyrene. These are two of the most prevalent types of ocean debris washing up on our beaches. The Ocean Legacy Foundation decided to do something about it and partnered with the qathet Regional District to open up BC’s first Ocean Plastic Depot in Powell River.
Continue reading BC’s first Ocean Plastic Depot
Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
With just a little bit of arm flailing and much nonchalance, Frank Gleeson regains his balance after slipping on a wet rock lodged in a steep embankment along Village Bay Creek.
Gleeson and his buddy, Pete Calverley, continue to clamber over and under trees, scramble up slopes and wade through underbrush in their search for spawning salmon.
Gleeson and Calverley, aged 71 and 78, descend into a clearing at the creek’s edge and excitedly point out about 45 chum salmon milling not far from shore.
Continue reading Quadra Island Streamkeepers protect wild salmonFisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) unleashed a storm of protests, when they announced that salmon farms pose a minimal risk to migrating wild salmon. One of the most telling criticisms came through an interview that the Globe and Mail had with Kristi Miller-Saunders, head of the department’s molecular genetics laboratory at the Pacific Biological Station in Nanaimo. Dr. Miller-Saunders is troubled about the assessments and the fact department scientists are depend on funding from industry.
Continue reading Are DFO scientists too dependent on funding from industry?Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Concern over B.C.’s declining wild salmon stocks is running high this year as sockeye returns on the Fraser River hit a historic low. But while the overall news may be dire, there are bright spots. Some pink salmon stocks along east Vancouver Island appear healthy, and run counts at the Quinsam River Hatchery near the city of Campbell River were good this fall.
Continue reading A bright spot: pink salmon stocks along east Vancouver Island
