Protest against fish farms draws hundreds in Vancouver
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- jefftego
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Hundreds of people gathered in downtown Vancouver Saturday, asking the government of Canada to do more to protect wild salmon, specifically to ban open-net salmon farms.
Organized by a group called Wild Salmon Circle, the event in Vancouver drew an estimated 600 or more people. The rally was held because the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has been largely silent on the collapse of the Sockeye salmon fishery. Many biologists and fishermen link the collapse of the salmon to fish farms. Farmed salmon are thought to be the source of sea lice infestations, which is believed to be the reason for the loss of about 9 million Sockeye salmon. Of the over 10 million Sockeye expected to return for spawning this fall, only 1.7 million came back.
At the rally yesterday, the Wild Salmon Circle urged the the public to boycott farmed fish. Biologist Alexandra Morton, who earlier this year expressed hope that wild salmon would be protected by the DFO because the agency is "mandated to put wild salmon first." helped organize yesterday's rally. Speaking at the rally, Morton called for an inquiry into the decline of the salmon. Morton and others were also demanding that the DFO ban open net salmon farms, which are seen to be a key source of contamination for wild salmon.
There has been no federal response to the collapse of the Sockeye fishery, nor the demands to limit the types of salmon farms. Salmon farms, largely owned by non-Canadians, have been a contentious issue for years. Experts and fisherman have accused Minister of the DFO, Gail Shea, of ignoring the salmon crisis whilst courting Norwegian aquaculture businesses earlier this summer when the Sockeye run collapsed. Fish farms have long been viewed as risky to native fish.
Organized by a group called Wild Salmon Circle, the event in Vancouver drew an estimated 600 or more people. The rally was held because the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has been largely silent on the collapse of the Sockeye salmon fishery. Many biologists and fishermen link the collapse of the salmon to fish farms. Farmed salmon are thought to be the source of sea lice infestations, which is believed to be the reason for the loss of about 9 million Sockeye salmon. Of the over 10 million Sockeye expected to return for spawning this fall, only 1.7 million came back.
At the rally yesterday, the Wild Salmon Circle urged the the public to boycott farmed fish. Biologist Alexandra Morton, who earlier this year expressed hope that wild salmon would be protected by the DFO because the agency is "mandated to put wild salmon first." helped organize yesterday's rally. Speaking at the rally, Morton called for an inquiry into the decline of the salmon. Morton and others were also demanding that the DFO ban open net salmon farms, which are seen to be a key source of contamination for wild salmon.
There has been no federal response to the collapse of the Sockeye fishery, nor the demands to limit the types of salmon farms. Salmon farms, largely owned by non-Canadians, have been a contentious issue for years. Experts and fisherman have accused Minister of the DFO, Gail Shea, of ignoring the salmon crisis whilst courting Norwegian aquaculture businesses earlier this summer when the Sockeye run collapsed. Fish farms have long been viewed as risky to native fish.
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- groups:
- Green, Sustainable Agriculture, Oceans
