Two months have passed since Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s (DFO) announced that “nine peer-reviewed, scientific risk assessments” find that salmon farms pose a ‘minimal risk’ to salmon migrating through the Discovery Islands. This finding is important because the Canadian Government has until December 18th to decide whether to renew the licenses of the 18 salmon farms operating in that region.
Continue reading The Canadian Government has until December 18th to decide: 18 salmon farmsTag Archives: sea lice
Are DFO scientists too dependent on funding from industry?
Fisheries 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.
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Election 2020: What can an MLA do about fish farms?
One of the reasons that Alexandra Morton is running for the Green Party in this election is that “over the last twenty years, I’ve seen the politics and policies that are killing off the wild salmon of this coast are also destroying our communities.” However fish farms are overseen by the Fisheries and Oceans Canada, not the provincial legislature. So I asked Alexandra, what can an MLA do about fish farms?
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The DFO responds to questions about minimal risk
Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s (DFO) announcement unleashed a torrent of protests from First Nations leaders and environmentalists. How could “nine peer-reviewed, scientific risk assessments” find that salmon farms pose a ‘minimal risk’ to migrating Fraser River sockeye salmon? Two questions from Cortes Currents were amidst the deluge of correspondence they took in. It has taken more than a week, but the DFO finally responded to my questions about minimal risk.
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Heiltsuk First Nation calling on DFO to close fisheries and salmon farms
North Island Gazette, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Heiltsuk First Nation from Bella Bella is calling on Fisheries and Oceans Canada to order open-net salmon farms to close and to shut down commercial and recreational salmon fishing next year, only opening fisheries after “conservation and food, social, and ceremonial needs can be met.”
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