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Alex Morton Launches Petition

The Nov. 14 "visit" by the Wild Salmon People to Christy Clark's office delivered a petition asking that she not renew any fish farm licences. It had almost 12, 000 signatures. Even had people from Kingcome Inlet and Quadra Island.
 
British Columbia's recreational fishery is worth as much to the provincial economy as commercial fishing, aquaculture and fish processing combined, according to a new report from BC Stats.
http://www.canada.com/statistics+show+s ... story.html

http://www.bcstats.gov.bc.ca/AboutUs/Ne ... ector.aspx

Employment in all aquaculture types is 1,700 positions or 12.2% of the fishing sector total of 13,900, while sport fishing is a whopping 8,400 positions for 60.4% of the entire sector. We deserve our tax dollars spent on what we want and that is wild salmon. (No doubt commercial guys would agree). In terms of wages and salaries, sport fishing pays out big, too, at $218.9 – over 57% of the entire sector. It is only $55.7 for all of aquaculture – 14.5%.
http://www.catchsalmonbc.com/?p=522
 
Dear Mr. Tootoo:
...
In particular, I will expect you to work with your colleagues and through established legislative, regulatory, and Cabinet processes to deliver on your top priorities:
...
Act on recommendations of the Cohen Commission on restoring sockeye salmon stocks in the Fraser River
...
Yours sincerely,
Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau, P.C., M.P.
Prime Minister of Canada

http://pm.gc.ca/eng/minister-fisheries- ... ate-letter
 
...
Work with the Minister of Transport to review the previous government’s changes to the Fisheries and Navigable Waters Protection Acts, restore lost protections, and incorporate modern safeguards. - See more at: http://pm.gc.ca/eng/minister-fisheries- ... tTOeY.dpuf
...
I would hope that a reviewed definition of navigable waters could be restored.
 
This was in today's Financial Times:

Norway turns to radical salmon farming methods

https://www.ft.com/content/a801ef02-07b ... 3b21361b43

Futuristic egg-shaped enclosures among techniques used to counter multiple threats


2 HOURS AGO by: Emiko Terazono
Norway’s salmon producers are turning to radical farming techniques in the face of multiple threats to their industry.

From futuristic egg-shaped enclosures that bob in the water to supertanker-like structures submerged in the ocean, the Norwegian government is trying to counter increasing challenges in the form of sea lice, fish escapes and the shortage of suitable coastline for aquaculture.

One of the big problems for salmon farmers in Norway, the world’s largest salmon producers, has been the rise of sea lice. A naturally occurring parasite that attaches itself to fish, the problem is not new, but it has become more serious as the lice have become more resistant to chemicals used to treat them.

Norwegian salmon producers have increasingly turned from chemical treatments to mechanical means, such as washing salmon with fresh water or water heated to about 30C and treating the salmon with a soft brush, which has led to a rise in mortality rates. They have also been harvesting the fish before they are fully grown, which has meant that the country’s production volumes fell about 5 per cent in 2016.

Prices of salmon surged to record levels of near NKr80 a kilogramme last year after Norway’s production problems swiftly followed a supply shortage in the number two producer Chile, whose salmon farms were hit by a toxic algae bloom earlier in the year.

The marine egg concept, a closed unit to protect the fish backed by the leading salmon producer Marine Harvest, and SalMar’s supertanker, which will keep fish in the ocean at depths where sea lice cannot survive, have won licences from Norway’s fisheries ministry for further development.

“There are about 50 companies which have asked for development licences,” Per Sandberg, the country’s fisheries minister, told the North Sea Atlantic Forum fish conference in Bergen, Norway, last week.

The promise of the projects being offered commercial farming licences after passing various criteria, has spurred the applications among leading salmon producers, which have struggled to increase supplies in the face of the Norwegian government’s output licence cap.

Oslo has linked new production licences with the salmon producers’ ability to deal with the sea lice issue, meaning that few licences have been issued over the past few years. “There has been no supply growth for the last five years,” says Henning Lund, analyst at Pareto Securities in Oslo, who adds that future increases will also be limited.


The rate of maximum number of sea lice allowed on salmon is an average of 0.5 lice a fish, and from later this year regulations will restrict additional production licences to only farming regions that control the sea lice infestation. Even those will cap the production growth to an annual 3 per cent output increase.

Despite the decline in volumes sold, the higher prices have boosted profits at the salmon producers. Marine Harvest reported record operational earnings before interest and tax for the fourth quarter at €259m, while net profits more than doubled from the year before to €211m. As with its other peers, the company’s share price has mirrored the salmon price, rising about 30 per cent in 2016.

“It’s fantastic to make money, but long term we need to continue to grow volume wise,” Alf-Helge Aarskog, Marine Harvest’s chief executive said at the NASF conference. While spot prices have come down from last year’s record, they are still at a relatively high level around NKr60 per kg.

While global supply growth is expected to slow dramatically from the double-digit numbers seen a few years ago, the question is how higher prices will affect demand.

An executive at French fish group Aquimer told the NASF audience that in France, consumer demand for salmon had fallen sharply due to the higher prices.

Kolbjorn Giskeodegard, analyst at Nordea, says that due to the time lag in retail prices reflecting the wholesale market, salmon prices in many European supermarkets would be rising sharply in 2017. He says it is too early to put a number on the demand impact, but adds, “if you move the price by 20 to 50 per cent, there must be a negative reaction”.

Kontali, a leading fish consultancy, expects zero consumption growth for the salmon market in 2017.

Given that the ability to increase supplies is closely tied to the sea lice issue, Norway’s salmon producers are desperate to find a solution. But many are resigned to the possibility that it will take time.

When asked by Pareto Securities about the time it would take for sea lice to cease to be an issue limiting supply growth in Norway, the majority of chief executives at salmon companies last year had answered within three years. However, this year, they believe this to be six years or more.

Until then, the Norwegian government is expected to retain a tight grip on regulation. The country’s salmon producers acknowledge that strict regulation has been beneficial for the industry so far. “There’s no way around it. When you’re dealing with biology, you need strict regulation,” says Mr Aarskog.

However, he warns against regulation for the sake of regulation. “It’s important that smart regulations are applied, not to respond to bureaucratic needs, but to improve practices,” he says.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2017.
 
The Washington State Legislature just voted to phase out farming of Atlantic salmon in the state. The bill had support from both Democratic and Republic legislatures, passing the House 67-31 and the Senate 31-16. Governor Inslee is highly likely to sign the legislation.

Existing fish farm lease will be allowed to expire, the last scheduled for 2025. Unfortunately, fish farms raising native species will still be allowed.

Alaska already bans saltwater finfish farming.

California already bans saltwater finfish farming.

Oregon has no finfish farms in saltwater due to unsuitable geography, although Oregon does use net pens around the mouth of the Columbia River for conditioning hatchery-raised fish prior to release.

Alex
 
Oregon has no finfish farms in saltwater due to unsuitable geography, although Oregon does use net pens around the mouth of the Columbia River for conditioning hatchery-raised fish prior to release.
There are two or three installations of this type very low in the estuary, all in arms of the main stem of the Columbia, set up to establish "terminal" fisheries, both sport and commercial, on non-threatened populations of salmon, primarily Chinook, I believe. They in no way resemble the massive fishfarm operations I have seen in BC. Fish are released as smolts, in sync with the migration of smolts from same-species salmon.
 
2018 Spring Reports of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development

We concluded that Fisheries and Oceans Canada did not adequately manage the risks associated with salmon aquaculture consistent with its mandate to protect wild fish. Although the Department had some measures to control the spread of infectious diseases and parasites to wild fish in British Columbia, it had not made sufficient progress in completing the risk assessments for key diseases that were required to understand the effects of salmon aquaculture on wild fish. It also had not defined how it would manage aquaculture in a precautionary manner in the face of scientific uncertainty. Moreover, the Department did not adequately enforce compliance with aquaculture regulations to protect wild fish.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency had measures to prevent the introduction and spread of infectious diseases with respect to aquaculture. However, the Department and the Agency had not clarified roles and responsibilities for managing emerging diseases. This lack of clarification created a risk that potential emerging diseases affecting wild salmon would not be adequately addressed.

http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/internet/English/att__e_42999.html
http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/internet/English/parl_cesd_201804_01_e_42992.html
http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/internet/English/parl_cesd_201804_e_42985.html
 
These are interesting words from the feds: fingers crossed that there will be a change. I have been continually amazed at the blatant carelessness there has been given to the existing wild salmon ecosystem.
 
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