Aquaculture and Election

Blogger's Note: article refers to B.C., but ask your local politicians where they stand on this issue:

Will You Remove Feedlots from Our Ocean?
NDP Leadership Race positions on salmon farms
Nicholas Simons "An NDP government under my leadership will promote sustainable aquaculture practices by moving fin-fish aquaculture from open-net to closed containment systems." This is a good start, but it needs a timeline.

Mike Farnworth - "British Columbia has failed to protect wild salmon, and our generation is largely responsible for their decline and possible collapse. The BC Liberals have made the situation significantly worse in the last ten years. ... We need to create a 'blue belt' to end the siting of Atlantic salmon open-net fish farms on the major migratory routes of wild salmon. This is consistent with the recommendations of the Special Legislative Committee on Aquaculture." This sounds good. It is significant he recognizes wild salmon need more than small protected areas and require a 'belt' of protection. However the Special Legislative Committee gave the industry 5 years to get out of net pens - four years ago. So it is unclear if Farnworth would close the door on farm pollution next year or in five years? Five years is much too long.

John Horgan - "We will implement the recommendations of the Select Standing Committee on Aquaculture and transition the industry away from open net-pen salmon farms." Again this sounds good, but we need to know Horgan's timeline. The Norwegians have had four years to figure closed containment out, but they have not, betting instead that they can carry on business as usual. BC wild salmon need action now.

Adrian Dix and Dana Larsen - Do not mention salmon on their websites.

Federal Election
Comments from candidate websites and new articles on salmon farms:

Fin Donnelly (NDP, New Westminster-Coquitlam and Port Moody ) - is the strongest wild salmon supporter provincially or federally. Salmon are on the home page of his website and he has received 10,000 postcards of support for his Wild Salmon Protection Act (Bill C-518) which would "require fish farms operating on BC's west coast to transition from harmful open-net fish farms to safe closed containment systems..... The technology exists, it is economically feasible, and the prospective jobs and economic opportunities for British Columbians are immense." The bill allows 4 years for operators to get into closed tanks provided that they take reasonable steps to move.

Elizabeth May (Green, Saanich-Gulf Islands) - Vancouver Sun "In B.C., the party opposes open-net pens for salmon farming, which May argues have effectively allowed areas of the coast to become privatized and turned into "ecological deserts" while putting wild salmon at risk."

Don Davies (NDP, Vancouver Kingsway) Under the federal government's watch, we have see the slow extinction of wild salmon species because of misguided policies, inept management, and a refusal to respect fundamental principles of sound science. I call for an emergency summit on salmon, an increase in funding for salmon enhancement programs, and an immediate ban on open net fish farms.

Nathan Cullen (Skeena - Bulkley Valley) Together with coastal communities and first nations, we fought for and won a ban on open net fish farms in Northern BC. It borders on insanity to continue jeopardizing wild salmon - a resource that has such great cultural and economic significance. The Federal Government must live up to its court ordered responsibilities and ban open-net fish farms and transition the industry to closed pen production with strong regulations.