Category Archives: Rivers & Oceans

Rivers & Oceans

Oyster Farmers taking a beating

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Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Oyster farmers know grit can make for a good pearl. But shellfish farmer Victor McLaggan’s tenacity is being tested as the pandemic continues to hobble the restaurant industry, the main source of his income. McLaggan’s niche market is selling direct to high-end restaurants across Canada, ones with tide-to-table ethics that want to know exactly where their product is coming from. But like most producers of smaller live oysters destined for the half shell, McLaggan says he’s taking a beating as COVID-19 protocols continue to force eateries to limit operations or shut their doors altogether.

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Indigenous Nations, Rivers & Oceans

Bringing back sockeye salmon

By Athena Bonneau, The Discourse, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The first day that sockeye salmon were reintroduced into the Penticton Channel was a “really good day,” explains Herb Alec, the Penticton Indian Band hatchery building operator.

“People were crying and it was a really emotional day.” 

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Rivers & Oceans

Fish farm providing Salmon smolts to Kuterra

North Island Gazette, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Kuterra, North America’s first land-based fish farm, has formalized an agreement to procure salmon smolts from ocean-based farmers Cermaq Canada for the next four years.

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Justice, Rivers & Oceans

Media coverage of Violence against Mi’kmaw lobster fishers

By Chehala Leonard, The Discourse, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Violence against Mi’kmaw lobster fishers sparked national and even international media attention over the past weeks. Images of angry mobs attacking Mi’kmaw Chiefs and fishermen, burning trucks and buildings sparked outrage. 

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Finances, Rivers & Oceans

Are DFO scientists too dependent on funding from industry?

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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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