Minister Jordan Intends to get Rid of In-Ocean Fish Farms - Alex Morton's Take

Hello All,

I think it is important that everyone on this list know that this Minister, Bernadette Jordan, is taking unprecedented steps to get salmon farms out of the ocean. On December 17 2020 she prohibited restocking of 19 salmon farms in the Discovery Islands. Since then Mowi and Cermaq have repeatedly sued her and repeatedly re-applied to move millions of Atlantic salmon into the Discovery Islands where the Fraser and many Washington State salmon are heavily exposed to farm pathogens. Last week Minister Bernadette denied Mowi’s applications and Cermaq’s, again!

Because the farm fish are growing and cannot remain where they are, the companies are increasingly desperate. These decisions by the minister are sending shockwaves through the salmon farming industry.

As well three Nations of the Broughton Archipelago banded together to remove 17 salmon farms from the Broughton Archipelago. These are being removed a few every year, but this year they are removing three, two ahead of schedule. The reason for the slow removal was to prevent the companies from going to court. These nations have and continue to put enormous effort into this.

As it stands now all the federal salmon farm licences on the BC coast will expire next summer and this should trigger consultation with all First Nations who are hosting this industry. I work with many nations and they are advising the Minister of their intent when consultations begin. It is not for me to discuss what they are saying, but depending on the position they take, this industry could be shut down coast wide next year.

I have never seen a minister of fisheries stand up to the salmon farming industry in my 35 years of fighting this impact on wild salmon, but now we have one… until the election is called and we move to a care-taker government, which was absolutely disastrous the last time this happened.

As I chronicle in my new book Not on My Watch (national best seller), DFO staff is compromised on this issue. They are lying by omission, covering up the damage and mis-informing the minister. Jordan has somehow realized what is going on and key aquaculture staff are jumping ship. The lead aquaculture vet for DFO just left for new Zealand and the DFO Director of Aquaculture suddenly left after 20 years in the department. The new Director is a lawyer, who doesn’t answer questions.

So, if you are going to write to the Minister, maybe signal your support for her unprecedented actions. The young wild salmon migrating past Campbell River this year from the Fraser and elsewhere looked beautiful for the first time since I began research there in 2005. I did not actually know how plump the little salmon are, that their bellies are rounded, not flat-sided.

I am hoping the closure of these farms did not come too late, David is right there are more to the north and west Vancouver Island, but I know there is no hope if we get a weaker minister.

Thanks all,

Alexandra Morton

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And here is what I would add to this:

I should add that the Discovery farms do not employ 1500 people as Mowi claims. And it claims 7000 province wide. For all companies.

The BC Govt's own figure is only 1800 province wide and it has been dropping slowly for years. I calculated the Discovery employees based on salmon produced and the loss is only 212 jobs. That's how far out fish farms are - more than 700% too high.

And the revenue does not end up in BC. It goes back to Norway for the company and shareholders, whereas the sport, commercial and processors work here and revenue is used here.

And a few links for you to follow the stats up:

My analysis of the BC Stats Report on the, as they like to say, 'the fishing sectors' is at this link: http://fishfarmnews.blogspot.com/2019/03/mar-21-2019-bc-stats-report-2016.html.

It gives you many more stats than I have listed above, but the point is that fish farms have been losing jobs since 2000, at 5.3% per annum despite what they claim. I calculated the 212 Discovery jobs in a different post: https://fishfarmnews.blogspot.com/2021/01/another-sleepless-night-thousands-of-bc.html.

If you are really keen, the Ruth Salmon and Milewski article below the BC Stats tables of figures is the best single article I have ever read on the issues of employment in Canada and the social indicators. I suggest you read it.

One more thing:

July 26, 2021, in the Tasmanian press, the industry makes the same point that I have about decreasing job numbers in the link with the Milewski paper, and when the technology is brought to Canada from Norway where they produce almost ten times the salmon we do, with about twice the employment, leading to an 80% decline in Canada:

"I ask whether this doubling in value will result in a doubling of jobs. “No,” Amos says. “If you’re improving your technology it improves your profitability, it doesn’t automatically lead to increasing employment.” "

See: https://www.smh.com.au/national/the-battery-hen-of-the-sea-the-fight-to-clean-up-tassie-salmon-farms-20210624-p58433.html?fbclid=IwAR2k2dou1z5qVGEPIDFiy_R8kG23-ptAYnRVYDpc9v3HbRxMLsFrIEppXGY.

One more thing:

In 2020, Mowi produced 440,000 tonnes of salmon, with farms in Norway, Chile, Canada, Scotland, Ireland and the Faroe Islands.