Opposition to licence extensions
Opinion
It is problematic when journalists write about things they don’t know anything about. Take for example the article posted by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) in New Brunswick on Canada’s east coast this morning. The story was about the same subject matter as one posted in the Campbell River Mirror this week - about environmentalists objecting to proposed changes to the antiquated federal Fisheries Act, under which aquaculture in BC now has to be regulated.
The CBCNews article contained this statement: “Sea lice are a parasitic crustacean that feed on the flesh of farmed salmon until the salmon die or the sea lice are removed”. This would certainly lead the reader to believe that a salmon infected with sea lice would in short term face a certain death due to this infection. People fishing for 30+ pound Chinook salmon in Campbell River’s Tyee Pool each summer would likely beg to differ, as all these salmon have sea lice on them, and likely would have hosted these parasites for most of their lives in seawater.
It is quite ironic that for years, commercial salmon fishers in British Columbia (and elsewhere) were exempt from the very provisions in the Fisheries Act that the anti-salmon farming activists are so upset about which "protects fish from harm and prohibit the release of deleterious substances into water frequented by fish". Commercial (and recreational) fishers would obviously be allowed to deliberately kill fish and to release deleterious substances like boat’s bilge oil and anti-fouling paint that boat hulls are painted with- just like salmon farmers have been using copper-treated nets (that must be washed on shore).
But the biggest irony is the fact that it was the well-known anti-salmon farming activist Alexandra Morton who took governments to court, resulting in a BC Supreme Court decision that led to aquaculture being classified as a “fishery”, which should be regulated under the Fisheries Act. And the only “fish” that the aquaculture industry is interested in killing is sea lice and critters on fish nets that restrict the water flow through the net pens - both a threat to the well-being of the farmed salmon.
The body of the Campbell River Mirror article describes details of what the environmentalist wrote to the City Council about, and the reaction she received:
Adams wrote in a letter to council that the new Aquaculture Activities Regulations would, under sections 35 and 36 of the Fisheries Act, allow chemical deposits into the ocean. “If mayor and council is to support allowing new fish farms, I request you also support the environment and all other industries that depend on our wild fish, by requesting the DFO not pass the proposed Aquaculture Activities Regulations,” Adams wrote.
Those regulations would enable “the deposit of products to control fish pathogens, pets and biofouling; the control of pathogens, pests and biofouling; the deposit of biochemical oxygen demanding matter; the installation, operation, maintenance, and decommissioning of an aquaculture facility; and the killing of fish for the purposes of fish pathogen, pest and biofouling control,” according to a Government of Canada Regulatory Impact Analysis statement.
That report also stipulates several conditions that such activities would be subject to, including that the deposit of any products to control fish pathogens, pests and biofouling occurs in the operation of an aquaculture facility and that “any drug must be prescribed by a veterinarian licensed in the province in which the drug is deposited” and that it be used “in compliance with any conditions specified under the Pest Control Products Act.”
Adams’ letter to council comes on the heels of city council endorsing Grieg Seafood’s application for two new fish farms. Her letter was before council at its Feb. 10 meeting. Coun. Charlie Cornfield said he would like some more clarity surrounding the proposed regulations. “I tried wading through it,” said Cornfield, who previously worked with the provincial ministry of forests. “I consider myself pretty good at reading governmentese, yet I found it very difficult and wanting a ‘Coles notes’ version of the regulations and what it means. “I was confused after reading (Adams’) letter which expresses concerns over the proposed regulations and then reading the proposal as written by the government,” Cornfield added. “Any help in guidance would be much appreciated.”
Mayor Andy Adams suggested council turn it over to city staff for interpretation. Council agreed with the mayor’s recommendation and approved a motion to refer the Fisheries and Oceans report to the city’s environmental sustainability staff for investigation and a report back to council.
