Salmon farming in the courts
When an attempt to collect juvenile Pink and Chum salmon fry from the estuaries in the Broughton Archipelago and subsequently transport them in tubs onboard vessels that would carry them past the allegedly sea-lice-shedding salmon farms in the area failed to get approval from the Canadian Dapartment of Fisheries and Oceans, ENGO's decided instead to use the funds collected to take governments to court for their way of regulating salmon farms in B.C. ENGO's have received millions of dollars in funding from wealthy U.S. based foundations for the purpose of getting rid of salmon farms along B.C.'s coast.
According to Larry Pynn of the Vancouver Sun, "Alexandra Morton heads to B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver Monday for a four-day challenge of the provincial government's constitutional right to regulate and approve fish farm locations. She is being joined by the Wilderness Tourism Association, Area E Gillnetters Association, Fishing Vessel Owners Association and the Pacific Coast Wild Salmon Society.
Her field station in the Broughton Archipelago, a largely undeveloped group of islands at the north end of Vancouver Island, is now home to scientists and budding biologists studying the threat that salmon farms pose to wild stocks. The 6.5-hectare research station site has just wrapped up its third year in operation, receiving up to 50 researchers and volunteers per season, on a meagre annual budget of $40,000.
Of special interest are sea lice, naturally occurring parasites which can flourish in the high densities of commercial fish farms. Because most fish farms use nets rather than solid barriers to separate their fish from passing wild fish, the parasites can pass easily between the two. The Wilderness Tourism Association squarely blames salmon farms for the collapse of pink salmon runs this year in the Broughton Archipelago and nearby Knight Inlet, saying they are having a detrimental impact on top predators such as the grizzly bears and killer whales upon which ecotourism depends.
The groups will argue in court that Ottawa - not the province - has constitutional authority over salmon farms. They contend salmon farms interfere with navigation and are harmful to fish and fish habitat, and believe that closed-containment systems are a way to allow industry to continue without damaging wild stocks".
