Many Aboriginal communities support aquaculture
Opinion
An example of the above statement was on display during a recent visit to Campbell River by a high-level delegation from the Norwegian government. The visitors wanted to meet with First Nations that were involved with aquaculture development, and Chiefs and other members of nine First Nations were in attendance. There was general agreement that the salmon farming industry had been beneficial to many of the remote coastal communities that had been hard hit by the downturn in the commercial fishing industry.
As expected, a group of protesters gathered outside the room where the Norwegian delegation was meeting with coastal First Nations and members of the three Norwegian companies that have provided most of the investments in the British Columbia salmon aquaculture industry which today is worth over 800 million dollars to the provincial economy. A Campbell River-based newspaper reported that the “Norwegian delegation (was) met by local protesters”.
In its report by the Campbell River Courier-Islander, journalist Dan Mac Lennan was quoting long-time anti-salmon farming activist Alexandra Morton saying to the president of the Norwegian parliament Dag Terje Andersen that “there is no leader”, while the rest of B.C. knows this is not true. Ms. Morton has been on a crusade against the salmon farming industry in British Columbia for years- no one is better known as this movement’s “leader”.
Ms. Morton, who has received an honourary doctorate from the Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, also was quoted by the Courier-Islander saying that “some First Nations leaders were being excluded from the meeting”. The only “First Nation leader” that was present among the protesters was Bob Chamberlain, another long term critic of the salmon aquaculture industry in British Columbia, and in the Broughton Archipelago inside Vancouver Island in particular. But despite the protesters’ blatant desecration of a number of Norwegian flags (a large version of which- painted over by sea lice- was dragged through the streets of Campbell River during a previous protest march initiated and orchestrated by Ms Morton last year- much to the dismay of the author), Norwegian hospitality prevailed and Mr. Chamberlin- elected Chief Councillor of the Kwicksutaineuk Ah-kwa-mish First Nation was welcomed to attend the meeting and to address the Norwegian delegation.
According to the article in the Courier-Islander, in a response to Ms. Morton’s request that “I hope you will hear our concerns", parliamentary president Andersen was quoted saying that "Yes, we are going to discuss the concerns because also in Norway fish farming is very important to many, many municipalities...".
