Kuterra - Land Based Farmed Salmon

See this link: http://www.namgis.bc.ca/ccp/Pages/default.aspx.

It is worth reading because it gives a very thorough overview of land-based fish farming. The Namgis First Nation on Vancouver Island have successfully grown farmed Atlantic salmon on land, and because of its positive environmental footprint Sobey's/Safeway Canada will buy their product, while they will not buy in-ocean net-pen salmon produced by Marine Harvest, Cermaq an Grieg-seafood because of its overwhelmingly negative environmental damage.

Marine Harvest, Cermaq and Grieg Seafood are old-tech dinosaurs that use our oceans as free, open sewers for their sewage and diseases. On-land, recirculating systems - my list now has 122 different ones, comprising more than 10,000 farms around the world - are the way of the future. The Norwegians, by refusing to change, are simply destroying their own businesses. That includes their farms in BC, and their very few jobs. 

DFO and Nancy Greene Want Fish Farms in BC? We Don't Want Them In Our Ocean

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?

Go to my www.fishfarmnews.blogspot.com site for a summary of 15,000 pages of fish farm environmental damage science. There are two documents that went to Nancy Greene, who is in the process of destroying her own name in BC - I am sorry to have to say it as it is: http://fishfarmnews.blogspot.ca/2014/05/nancy-greene-raine-and-federal-senators.html; and, http://fishfarmnews.blogspot.ca/2014/04/nancy-greene-raine-fish-farms-what.html.

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. 

Consumers Will Only Buy Closed-Containment Salmon - Goodbye Marine Harvest, Cermaq and Grieg Seafood

The Atlantic Salmon Foundation has done a closed-containment symposium in April 2014. This follows up on the Virginia symposium last September, 2013 on closed-containment, recirculating, on-land fish farms - look in previous Fishfarmnews articles for the Tides Canada site that will let you read the 50 presentations on closed-containment. Their on-land closed-system, like the Namgis on Vancouver Island, was about to sell their first crop, when, unfortunately, the power went out and killed the lot. However, this article shows that US consumers will pay $13 for this environmentally safe salmon and refuse the in-ocean Norwegian style salmon, because of its environmental impact $4 cheaper. 

The Namgis, however, sold every fish to Safeway in BC and Alberta. People won't buy in-ocean, open-net fish when given the choice. The writing is on the wall for the Norwegian-style industry Marine Harvest, Cermaq and Grieg Seafood. In BC, 85% of farmed fish has to be sold in the USA because Canadians won't buy it.

Read the article:  http://www.thefishsite.com/fishnews/23290/consumers-will-dictate-future-face-of-salmon-farming. 

"ASF has documented in peer-reviewed research the loss of the wild salmon run in the Magaguadavic River because of interactions with farmed escapees. The Committee on the Status of Wildlife in Canada, in their advice to government, and the Royal Society of Canada, in their report on biodiversity, have identified salmon aquaculture as a significant threat to endangered and threatened wild salmon populations." 

Another link: http://www.thefishsite.com/fishnews/23290/consumers-will-dictate-future-face-of-salmon-farming#sthash.W0T7uxQr.dpuf.