Here's the latest global news update in the ongoing Salmon Wars (read articles in full online here)!
“Salmon Wars – The Truth Fights Back!” (Green Around the Gills, 1 November)
“Video: Justice Cohen Gets Tough on Fish Farms - Inquiry Report Released” (The Common Sense Canadian, 31 October)
“Report calls for freeze on fish farms off Vancouver Island” (Times Colonist, 31 October)
“Wild Salmon Advocates Cheer Cohen Commission Report: NDP's Donnelly, Alexandra Morton, farmers and more weigh in on 75 recommendations to protect the fish” (The Tyee, 31 October)
“Cohen recommendations to protect Fraser River Salmon require immediate implementation by DFO” (Union of BC Indian Chiefs, 31 October)
“Cohen Commission report makes 75 recommendations on the future of Fraser River sockeye salmon” (Global TV, 31 October)
“Extended: Cohen releases sockeye salmon report" (CTV News, 31 October)
“Report on B.C. salmon decline short on details, long on maybes” (National Post, 31 October)
“Premier Christy Clark: Do not renew salmon farm leases” (Alexandra Morton/Change, 31 October)
“Halt salmon farm development in sensitive spawning area, Cohen report urges” (Globe & Mail, 31 October)
“Freeze new salmon farms on sockeye migration routes: Cohen” (Surrey Leader, 31 October)
“Cohen Commission Report Gets a Solid "B" Grade from the Wilderness Committee” (Wilderness Committee, 31 October)
“Final Report: Commission of Inquiry into the Decline of Sockeye Salmon in the Fraser River” (Cohen Commission, 31 October)
“BC's salmon farmers support continued research in fish health” (BCSFA, 31 October)
“Review of final report underway for BC’s salmon farmers” (BCSFA, 31 October)
“Cross-appeal filed Vs. Cermaq” (Green Around the Gills, 31 October)
“Lay off that lox, Canadian filmmakers tell New Yorkers” (Atlantic Salmon Federation, 31 October)
“ASF promoting land-based salmon farming” (The Coaster, 31 October)
Including from Alexandra Morton petitioning the Premier of British Columbia (31 October):
“Premier, surely you do not want to risk the wild salmon of eastern Pacific in the face of these strong warnings by this federal inquiry. The Fraser River First Nations will have to be consulted now as salmon they have rights to are migrating through the effluent of exactly the salmon farms, Justice Cohen is saying must be prohibited if more than minimal risk is found. You cannot renew the salmon farm leases throughout BC in good faith. Deny salmon farm license renewals.”
From The Times Colonist (31 October):
“I accept the evidence that devastating disease could sweep through the wild populations, killing large numbers of wild fish without scientists being aware of it,” Cohen said. Any fish farms that do not meet location criteria should be promptly removed or relocated, he said. “DFO should seek to approve only the best sites to avoid the negative impacts on wild stocks, rather than the best sites to provide farmed salmon,” he said.”
From the Union of BC Indian Chiefs (31 October):
“The UBCIC calls on the Federal Government to make the necessary investments in the protection of wild salmon on par with the money invested into the aquaculture industry,” said Chief Bob Chamberlin of Kwicksutaineuk/Ak-Kwa-Mish Tribes and Vice-President of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs. “As illustrated by Cohen, the Federal Government cannot be promoting the aquaculture industry while at the same time mandated to protect wild salmon. Put simply, DFO is in a conflict of interest and needs to immediately freeze fish farming and put the wild salmon policy into effect.”
From The Tyee (31 October):
"If at any time between now and Sept. 30, 2020," Cohen wrote, "the minister of fisheries and oceans determines that net-pen salmon farms in the Discovery Islands (fish health sub-zone 3-2) pose more than a minimal risk of serious harm to the health of migrating Fraser River sockeye salmon, he or she should promptly order that those salmon farms cease operations."
He went on to say: "On Sept. 30, 2020, the minister of fisheries and oceans should prohibit net-pen salmon farming in the Discovery Islands... unless he or she is satisfied that such farms pose at most a minimal risk of serious harm to the health of migrating Fraser River sockeye."
"It's time for the industry to get up and run out of here," Alexandra Morton said, adding that it was also time for individuals to step up and tell their MPs that "wild salmon are important." She urged the public to put pressure on B.C. MLAs not to renew fish farm licenses and to consult with First Nations.
Dr. Craig Orr, executive director of the Watershed Watch Salmon Society, told The Tyee: "The report could have been stronger -- it could have called for removal of salmon farms from migration routes."
The Cohen report included the following:
- Salmon farms have the potential to import exotic viruses and amplify endemic ones
- There should be an immediate freeze on farm salmon production on the Fraser sockeye migration route
- DFO should be relieved of their duty to promote salmon farms
- Mitigation into the impact of salmon farms on wild salmon should not be delayed and should be carried out in the absence of absolute certainty
- DFO must assess ALL research done on the impact of farm salmon on wild salmon and if found greater than minimal, the industry must be prohibited from operating on the Fraser sockeye migration route!
- Siting criteria has to be revised to include wild salmon migration routes.
Read the final Cohen Commission report online here!
Keep track on the Cohen report’s implications via “Cohen Inquiry Tracker”
Support Alexandra Morton’s testing for salmon diseases – please donate online here now!
Sign a petition calling on supermarkets to stop selling disease-ridden farmed salmon – sign online here!
Best fishes,
Don
Read previous Global News Updates online here
Global News Archive:
Global News Updates include the 'Salmon Wars' raging against filthy feedlots in Canada, Chile, Norway, Scotland, Ireland, New Zealand, United States and Australia:
31 October - “Watch Live”/“Cohen Report Tracker”/“Flying the Flag”/“Report Released Today” - online here
30 October - “Here Comes Cohen!”/“Probe Shows Need for Reform”/“Uncalled-for Attack”/“Respected Scientist” - online here
28 October - “Deadline Looms”/“Mystery Illness”/“Mass Sickness”/“Not Defamatory Enough” - online here
23 October - “Halt Fish Farm Growth”/“Disease Hits Cermaq”/“Like Cancer”/“Is Truth a Tactic?”- online here
19 October - “Sobeys Yanks Salmon”/”Sea Lice Scare!”/“Death Toll Rises”/“Direct Action Vs. New Fish Farm” - online here
18 October - “Teen
Fights Salmon Farms”/“Lawsuit Threat”/“Cermaq Appeal”/”Health Indicators
Worsen” – online here
15 October - “Sicko Salmon”/“Farms & Disease”/“PR Disaster”/“Passionate Pleas” – online here
3 October -
“Salmonella Outbreak”/Activist Wins”/“Boaties Protest”/“Lynch Mob” - online
here
28 September -
“Judgment Day”/“Salmon Sludge Fouls Hearing”/“Students Oppose Farms” - online
here
24
September - “Flotilla Protest”/“Shooting Seals Row”/“Farm Not
Welcome” - online
here
11 September -
“Dirty Secrets”/“FishyLeaks: Toxic Toilets”/“Disease Risk” - online
here
29 August - “Virus
Trackers”/“Compensation Culture”/“Say No to 9 New Salmon Farms” - online
here
8 August - “Legal
Strategy”/“Wave of Controversy”/“IHN Virus” - online
here
3 August - “Fatal Virus Detected in BC”/“Fish Farm
Quarantined” - online
here
31 July - “IHN Virus Spreads”/“Norway’s Olympic Mascot”/”Playing With
Fire” - online here
20 July - “Norwegian Fish Farm Virus Found in BC”/”ISA Confirmed”/“A
Fishy Tale” - online
here
17 July - “FishyLeaks”/“ISA in BC”/“Scotland’s Secrets” - online
here
13 July - “Aquaculture PR Wars”/“Beware Mother Nature”/“Trouble
Brewing” - online
here
11 July - "Salmon Wars Are Here"/"Smoking
Gun"/"Canada disease cleanup" - online
here
9 July -
"Killer Panda"/"Quarantined Salmon to be Destroyed"/"PR
War Waged" - online
here
6 July - "CFIA quarantines fish farm"/"Parasite found in
Norwegian-owned salmon" - online
here
4 July - "Parasite-ridden salmon sold in BC stores"/"95%
of BC salmon is BAP certified" - online
here
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