Salmon farming in Canada- a hot topic
Opinion
It is probably a fair statement to say that most journalists in Canada- as professional as they may be- do not understand the aquaculture industry very well. And neither do the bulk of elected politicians. Examples of this abound these days during the heated debates about salmon farming and its alleged impact on wild salmon in British Columbia, spurred by the government-established inquiry into a low return of salmon a couple of years ago.
On the federal side of things, the Canadian Green Party finally got a seat in the Parliament after the last election, and its leader and candidate wasted no time getting involved, as VOCM Newfoundland recently announced;
The Green Party of Canada says DFO (Department of Fisheries and Oceans) is more concerned with promoting fish farming than it is on protecting Canadian waters. The Green Party asserts that fish farming is harmful to the environment and says it is appalled to learn the extent of DFO's efforts to promote the industry. Green Party leader Elizabeth May accuses DFO of bias, and says the department should instead be regulating the industry. May also calls what she says is DFO's attack on environmental groups who are raising awareness about fish farms, "outrageous".
In Nova Scotia on Canada’s east coast, Chris Lambie- Business Editor with the Chronicle Herald writes about a judge that has agreed to hear an appeal to the approval given for three new fish farms by a local resident that is concerned about waste from the proposed operations. Some excerpts;
A Shelburne couple has convinced a judge that they should be able to appeal a decision that allowed a fish farm to be larger and closer to their property than first announced. Marian and Herschel Specter, who live on the Shelburne Harbour waterfront, appealed a decision by Sterling Belliveau, the provincial minister of fisheries and aquaculture, to allow changes to three aquaculture licences held by Kelly Cove Salmon Ltd.
Belliveau had tried to have the couple’s appeal of his decision this past spring dismissed because it wasn’t filed within the 30-day time limit. "Here, the appellants have an arguable case that the minister’s decision exceeded his jurisdiction," Justice Arthur LeBlanc of Nova Scotia Supreme Court said in a written decision released Thursday. "The respondents have not argued undue delay. Therefore, even though the appellants’ appeal was not filed in time, it should not be dismissed as untimely. The minister’s motion to dismiss the appeal on the basis of timeliness is refused." None of the fish farm sites shared boundaries with their previously approved locations, the judge said.
Kelly Cove Salmon argued that the Specters lacked standing in the case. But the judge didn’t buy it. He pointed out that one of the purposes of the provincial Fisheries and Coastal Resources Act is to foster community involvement in the management of coastal resources. "The value of the appellants’ property may be impacted by this decision. The appellants’ use of the intertidal zone immediately adjacent to their property may also be impacted by this decision. This potential impact will affect the appellants in ways that are significantly different from the general public."
And on the West Coast, where the famed and flamboyant anti-salmon farming campaigner Alexandra Morton is about to give testimony to the sockeye salmon inquiry, Victoria’s Times Colonist veteran journalist Judith Lavoie writes about the apparent bias shown by many B.C. journalist and the apparent confusion among the general public, according to a government communication plan around the contentious issue of aquaculture development. She writes, among else;
A Department of Fisheries and Oceans communications plan, filed as an exhibit at the Cohen Commission, portrays the B.C. public as confused, West Coast newspaper reporters as biased and environmental groups as self-serving. The National Aquaculture Communications and Outreach Approach, prepared for DFO by a New Brunswick consultant, sets out a three- to five- year plan for convincing both DFO staff and the public of the merits of fish farming. DFO spokesmen are not commenting on evidence given at the Cohen Commission, which is looking into the decline of Fraser River sockeye. But at the hearings, DFO witnesses said the communications strategy was not fully implemented as government is more focused on aquaculture sustainability than bolstering the industry.
The 2006 strategy, and follow-up document from 2008, concentrate on driving home key messages, such as "healthy seafood derived from the pristine Pacific Ocean" and developing "good news stories" around aquaculture. They also reveal a split in opinion within DFO staff. The report's authors appears bemused by opposition to aquaculture in B.C., compared with lack of opposition on the east coast, and lay the blame partially on "a very well-organized professional environmental NGO group."
Vocal salmon farm opponent Alexandra Morton and the David Suzuki Foundation are singled out for creating strong public opposition to the industry "to further their agenda and fundraising efforts."
The public is largely uninformed and is described as "a confused and unaware public and consumer group that spends little time thinking behind the headlines of the pros and cons of aquaculture in Canada." Some media focus negative attention on aquaculture, the report says.
