Dear Gail Shea
With your Pacific Region Marine Finfish Integrated Management of
Aquaculture Plan, 2013 arriving on my desk today, I have to protest your
considering more fish farms in BC.
You have not responded to Cohen yet and this is a deep, long-term
resentment for BC. In this context, your getting senators to express positive
things, and the ‘insouciant’ Nancy Greene Raine, a BC resident no less, what you
are doing is reprehensible. More than 100,000 BC residents have signed a
petition to get the farms out of the water. Don’t you get this?
But here is also what is happening right now here: BC is dead against the
Northern Gateway Pipeline, dead against the Kinder Morgan pipeline, both of
which are seen as the rest of Canada pushing oil and its problems down BC
throats – meaning Alberta, Harper, TROC and you. The Site C dam is also a big
environmental issue here, but a made in BC issue, that is hot right now. And
fracking is Clark’s big thing, but the rest of us are dead against our water being destroyed. Oh, and Obama is lowering emissions 30%. And you? Not so much.
In addition, the USA NAFTA Panel has agreed to investigate the Canadian
government’s refusal to protect wild salmon in BC because of its conflict of
interest with fish farms. And the BC alliance of aboriginal chiefs, some 80
First Nations, has finally come out completely against in-ocean fish farms. And
then there is the Namgis Kuterra on-land salmon that Safeway will now buy.
In-ocean fish farms are technological dinosaurs and toast.
What does it take to convince you that BC will not put up with more fish
farms in our ocean?
The BC Stats report noted in the pieces shows conclusively that fish farms
are flat-lined in BC, and it’s because no one here will eat the stuff, and it
has to be exported to the USA. But there, with the removal of a 26% duty, the
Norwegian companies that own 90% of BC fish farm will be exporting from Norway against the
interests of their own BC operations, as well as setting up shop in the USA. BC
fish farms are toast and it is their own companies that are doing it to them. It
has nothing to do with the 'strictness of the laws' as you have claimed – it’s the companies
themselves. You can’t grow what can’t be sold. Oh, and that BC Stats doc is your
own DFO document that you paid for but don’t use anymore than you do Cohen’s
1200 page tome. Use them.
The BC Stats report has the only trustable stats out there. And I have
since ferreted out that there are actually only 795 actual fish farm jobs in BC
with the sewage damage of $10.4 billion. How can you possibly support what is so
dramatically net negative to the BC economy? We in BC just don’t want these in
our ocean anymore, with their diseases and etc. Put them in Ottawa, if you want them. We
don’t want them.
And you do remember that BC is where Greenpeace was born don’t you? BC is
Canada’s environmental heart and home to our iconic wild Pacific salmon. All ten
species of salmonids are threatened by in-ocean fish farms. Do the right thing
and take them out of the water.
Sorry to be so harsh, but I have never met a single BC resident who thinks
fish farms should be in the ocean. I have never met NGR, but have hope for her, too.
DC Reid
One further comment: if you read the DFO report, it takes the BC Stats multiplier figure of 1700 jobs, and more than doubles it to over 3900. Sure.
