Salmon farm protesters criticized for vandalism
In a recent article in the Vancouver Sun, a representative from the well known Vancouver-based David Suzuki Foundation regurgitates the often repeated but outdated myth that “.. farming salmon requires anywhere from two to four kilograms of wild fish to produce one kilogram of farmed fish”. People familiar with the business of salmon farming will know that while this may have been the case twenty years ago, today’s salmon diets has reduced the content of fish meal and fish oil to a level where the ratio of wild fish to farmed salmon is approaching one to one. This reduction has allowed the production of more salmon without increasing the use of fish meal and oil. The Suzuki Foundation representative also mistakenly states that “In fact, the volume of harvested fish required to support the salmon farming industry in Europe is larger than the productivity of the entire North Sea...”. According to Wikipedia, the annual North Sea harvest of fish is about 2.3 million tonnes, while the production of farmed salmon in Europe (Norway & UK) is some 884,000 tonnes (Seafoodsource). You do the math.
And the recently completed salmon farm protest march that took a small group of activists down Vancouver Island for a rally in Victoria left many people unhappy, as Janine Bell of the Nanaimo-based The Daily News wrote;
When I saw the graffiti on the city's waterfront walkway left behind by last week's anti-salmon farming protesters I was angry. Defacing public property, regardless of the message, is unacceptable behaviour. I was struck by the irony of where the protesters scrawled their self-promoting graffiti -- beside a successful salmon habitat restoration project. The difference between the people who vandalized the public walkway and the people who helped restore the river below it is significant. Some people yell, while others act. Some point fingers, some find solutions.
DFO and the City of Nanaimo should be commended for their work to restore the pink salmon runs in our community. They rationally assessed the problem (destruction of fish habitat) and implemented a strategy to resolve it. Not only has it brought back an important natural cycle to our community but it's been so successful it has also created a great opportunity for urban sport fishing.
It's an example of the kind of work that needs to happen to really save our wild salmon -- far more effective than a misinformed group of protesters who scribble on public walkways. City workers should also be commended for their work to clean up the tagging left behind by these protesters. I suggest the bill for their time be sent to the protest organizers who did, after all, leave their calling card.
