Sunday 6 October 2019

Debunking Fish Farm Shibboleths, er, BS About Liberal On-land

Fish farm companies are not happy with the Liberal party saying it would put fish farms on land. Let me debunk for you, some of their communications spin they have been tossing out for the last 50 years.

When fish farms toss out their spin, just roll your eyeballs and put this text in their hands.

See: https://www.fishfarmingexpert.com/article/fury-as-reckless-liberals-pledge-to-end-net-pen-salmon-farming-in-bc/?utm_campaign=newsletter__02_10_2019&utm_source=netflex&utm_medium=email.

Claim: Canada’s fish farmers have slammed a “reckless” election campaign commitment by the country’s Liberal Party to move all salmon farming in British Columbia to closed containment by 2025.

False:

1. Calling protecting the environment with the over the top, Trumpesque, word 'reckless' is the result of having come out of Norway, where their form of neoliberalism in a small country, lead to blowing up at politicians to scare them. Read Kjersti Sandvik's book Under the Surface to get this one straight. I put many posts on her book in 2016. Here is one: https://fishfarmnews.blogspot.com/2016/05/under-surface-kjersti-sandvik-glydendal.html. Stop yelling at Canadians!

2. Moving to land is reckless? Well, no. The reality is that fish farms have been moving to land for the last decade. My list includes 300 on-land farms, and has a couple dozen studies on how to go about on-land: https://fishfarmnews.blogspot.com/2016/05/152-different-on-land-fish-farm-systems.html. The reality is that the Canadian industry is a decade behind the rest of the world.

Claim: “This is a reckless policy, not grounded in science, and it will threaten good middle-class jobs across Canada,” said Timothy Kennedy, the CAIA’s president and chief executive.

False:

1. The Canadian industry has stagnated and far from having new jobs, it has been getting rid of employees. In BC: 5.3% decline in employment over the past 20 years; in Atlantic Canada: 32% decline in employment since the 80s. Furthermore, based on the automation in Norway, the industry in Canada stands to lose 80% of worker's jobs. See: https://fishfarmnews.blogspot.com/2019/07/fish-farm-problems-on-global-scale-inka.html. And, see: https://fishfarmnews.blogspot.com/2019/09/too-many-workers-too-few-workers-for.html. In-ocean fish farms threaten Canadian jobs.

2. Contrary to the claim, DFO has been deliberately refusing to use science and evidence, in a regrettable practice, to keep fish farms in the water. See: https://fishfarmnews.blogspot.com/2019/06/prv-dfo-doesnt-do-evidence-and-science.html. This post leads you to several more that add up almost 20 cases where DFO refused to use S&E, in order to keep fish farms in the water.

3. In October, 2019, DFO still refuses to test for PRV. See BAD NEWS BITES: DFO Refuses to Test for PRV - lack of science and evidence, DFO won't test for BC strain, allows fish farms to put diseased fish in the ocean. This after losing twice in court for failing to test: https://www.thestar.com/vancouver/2019/10/07/biologist-and-first-nation-devastated-dfo-will-allow-bc-strain-of-virus-in-fish-farms.html?fbclid=IwAR1n4GdU3SHA2M2q_unUDhUsFSCOtdUep3onCruK_37lpmHb7wKp9mqETIs.


Claim: In its response, the CAIA, BC Salmon Farmers Association, Ontario Aquaculture Association, Atlantic Canada Fish Farmers Association, Aquaculture Association of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland Aquaculture Industry Association, point out that salmon farming is the most environmentally sustainable large-scale farmed animal production in the world and a solution to climate change.

False: There sure are a lot of fish farm lobby groups in Canada, but the claim that fish farming is the most environmentally sound and a solution to climate change is sheer bullshit. Sorry, for calling a spade a spade, but the sewage going into the ocean is enormous and just like car exhaust destroying the atmosphere, fish farms are destroying the oceans with eutrophication.

I have calculated that the low end of conservative sewage damage in BC is $10.4B, and the high end, if you are ready for it, is triple this figure. We, society, pay for this, while fish farms don't pay a nickel. Oh and Norway produces more than 10 times the salmon that BC does so its sewage damage is well over $100B, just for Norway. Daniel Pauly, noted scientist, calls fish farms: floating pig farms. And pig farms have to clean up their shit, which they can do, because they are on land..

Claim: the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch recognised the provincial production as ‘a good alternative’ last year, the only region so recognised in the world,

False: Monterey Bay has been criticized by many other environmental watch dogs for raising BC from the 'avoid' category. In other words, MB has lost credibility.

Claim: “It is a critical solution to the world’s growing demand for low impact, low-carbon emissions, high-protein food supply while alleviating pressure on threatened wild fish stocks.”

False:

1. We have dealt with the sewage side of in-ocean fish farms, and now the shibboleth of taking threats off wild fish stocks. This again is bull. For example, 5.76B ocean fish are killed to bring in one crop of farmed salmon in BC. See: https://fishfarmnews.blogspot.com/2016/10/fish-farms-kill-billions-of-wild-fish.html.

2. And fish farms kill off wild salmon, all over the world. See: https://fishfarmnews.blogspot.com/2019/04/fish-farms-kill-wild-salmonids-says.html. There are many other such studies in the world, for example, in Ireland, Scotland and here in BC.

Claim: The salmon producers point out that seafood farming provides 26,000 full-time jobs across Canada where they are needed most: in indigenous, remote, and coastal communities.

False:

1. The number of jobs in fish farms is 3205. See:  https://fishfarmnews.blogspot.com/2019/07/fish-farm-problems-on-global-scale-inka.html. So, the fish farm claim is 811% too high.

2. The number of actual jobs in BC is 850, and with the fish farm claim that Indigenous comprise 20% of their workforce, that means 170 jobs. This is peanuts. We are not going to destroy wild salmon for 170 jobs. The rest of the indigenous hate fish farms, that is what the Broughton Archipelago shutting down five farms is all about. That is what shutting down fish farms in Clayoquot Sound is all about.

Claim: While pilot projects to grow salmon to full size in closed containment are happening around the world, this work needs to continue in partnership and without any artificial mandates and timelines,” continues the statement.

False: 

1. Above I have pointed out that the rest of the world is 10 years ahead of Canada. In fact, the Atlantic Sapphire on-land plant in Florida is likely going to put the in-ocean BC out of business - at double the output of BC. You need to wake up.

2. Governments make decisions to protect the environment at their pace. You have to go along with their plans. Too bad, you'll have to operate like everyone else in society. Grow up Donald, er, Mowi.

Claim: “No other nation has proposed this requirement of their salmon production. If implemented, this requirement will only move local, top-quality production to other countries that may not have the high environmental standards Canada already employs.”

False: Denmark has just ended in-ocean fish farms. Ireland is thinking of following Denmark's lead. Finland never allowed fish farms in their ocean, and on the Pacific, BC is the only jurisdiction that allows fish farms. WA, AL, CA and OR don't have fish farms. Argentina just nixed fish farms in Tierra del Fuego. Even Norway has started giving out on-land licences for free to encourage on-land, while in ocean licences have skyrocketed to $32- to $40-million each. BC's licence cost? A measely $5000. We need to charge what Norway does.

See this post for my plan for on-land, written for the BC government and the Wild Salmon Advisory Committee: https://onfishingdcreid.blogspot.com/2018/12/wild-salmon-secretariat-make-your-case.html. If includes a link to the $32- to $40-million licences in Norway.

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One final thing: as Mitsubishi owns Cermaq, it makes sense to refuse to buy its cars until it takes Cermaq out of the ocean.

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