Support B.C. salmon farming, paper urges
Industry insiders and supporters have for years said that eventually, saner minds will prevail, and Joe Public will become a strong supporter of salmon farming in British Columbia. The industry produces an excellent and healthy product under an appropriate regulatory regime, supporting some 6,000 jobs in hatcheries, on farms and processing plants as well as in the many sectors that provide services to the fish farmers.
When the Provincial government lifted a long-standing moratorium on new farms in September, 2002 following the most rigorous environmental assessment ever undertaken of an entire industry in B.C., the two main newspapers in Vancouver wrote supportive editorials in favour of salmon farming and its importance to coastal communities. This week, The Daily News in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island had a similar editorial. Here are some exerpts;
"We need to support our local salmon farming industry. This province ranks number four in the world in producing farmed salmon, behind Norway, Scotland and Chile, but the biggest challenge for our farmed salmon producers is selling into local markets. A report released last week also reveals that farmed salmon is now B.C.'s largest agricultural export, worth about $800 million a year and employing an estimated 6,000 people.
The opponents of fish farming have needlessly turned this issue into a political one. While some may claim they do not want to destroy the fish farming industry, such claims ring hollow. It would be easier to work with the industry and regulators to make sure that concerns about the impact of farmed salmon on wild salmon are addressed. Instead there has been an ongoing and intense campaign to vilify the industry and boycott farmed salmon. There is no denying that salmon farms can do things differently and better. So can the environmental movement; by accepting the reality that fish farming is now an important part of B.C.'s economy.
Despite the fact that environmentalists have tried to damage and discredit the fish farming industry with everything from misinformation to court battles, the industry thrives. And no matter what they do it will continue to thrive. This is a clear case of the need to drop the opposition or risk their concerns no longer being taken seriously. Nothing succeeds like success, and their participation -- instead of opposition -- can enhance that success. By the environmental movement dropping its opposition to farmed salmon and working with the industry we have a better chance at a successful industry with cleaner and better practices.
With 43% of all fish-related food products in the world now being farmed, there is no turning back. Fish farms are one reality that we need to accept as a necessity to feed the current global population. If B.C. misses out on this industry, with our coastline and technology, it would be like failing to cut and sell timber from this province. And salmon farming does not have to repeat the mess that our wood industry has become. Salmon farmers don't want operations that are not environmentally sound, even though opponents can make it sound like don't care. Salmon farmers are as concerned as anybody with solving these environmental challenges. Critics need to be part of that solution because this industry will survive long after they are gone".
