Today’s announcement by Agriculture Minister Pat Bell that fish farm expansion will be halted 150 km from the mouth of the Skeena River is good news, says North Coast MLA Gary Coons.
“I’m glad to see that this government is finally acknowledging that salmon farms damage the environment and put wild stocks at risk,” said Coons. “I hope this means that the Ministry of Agriculture will soon take action to fallow farms on migration routes and move towards ocean-based closed containment.”
Coons was a part of the Special Committee on Sustainable Aquaculture, which recommended a ban on salmon farms north of Cape Caution. The committee presented its 55 recommendations last May; this is the first time the government has acted on any of them.
“Obviously I’m very happy that the government has finally chosen to take some action on the report,” said Coons. “This is not only a real victory for us, but for those that depend on our wild salmon; the only shame is it has taken this long. This validates the concerns I’ve heard from commercial and sport fishermen as well as those who rely on the tourism sector.”
However, Coons is concerned that the government’s proposed salmon farm boundary doesn’t protect the recently created Great Bear Rainforest reserve, including Princess Royal Island, one of the region’s most highly prized wilderness areas.
“A ban on new farms north of Cape Caution would have done more to protect the province’s salmon, and more to address the concerns of the region’s First Nations peoples, fishermen and tourism operators,” said Coons. “A half ban is better than no ban, but I know most of my constituents won’t be satisfied till all the committee’s recommendations have been enacted, including a move to ocean based closed containment for all the province’s salmon farms, and a ban on expansion of the industry past Cape Caution.”
Prominent Fisheries Biologist Alexandra Morton recently co-authored a report suggesting that several southern runs of salmon will go extinct within the next few years if the government doesn’t take immediate action to fallow farms on key migration routes.
“Now that the government has acknowledged the harm that these farms cause, they need to move quickly to save the threatened southern runs,” said Coons. “I’m very excited that the Skeena has been partially protected, but it is important that we immediately begin fallowing practices near vulnerable runs in the Broughton Archipelago.
“Wild salmon are a crucial part of the culture and economy of British Columbians across the province. It’s excellent that the government has chosen to take steps to protect Skeena salmon from the pollutants and parasites that have harmed salmon elsewhere, but no region should have to suffer the loss of their vital stocks.”