Report: Made in BC Wild Salmon Strategy - Wild Salmon Advisory Council

The report we have been waiting for about bringing back wild BC salmon, brought to us by us, meaning a made in BC Wild Salmon Strategy is now out: https://engage.gov.bc.ca/app/uploads/sites/426/2019/03/Wild-Salmon-Advisory-Council-Report.pdf.

It has about 25 pages of text, is cut-to-the-chase stuff and you should read it. If the plan works out as described, we should be able to bring back wild BC salmon that DFO has, shamelessly, managed into extinction for 50 years.

I put some thoughts together based on parts of the report and sent it in to them. I agree with much of it, and think, that of the two criticisms I have read so far that the issue of hatcheries and genetics that the ENGOs are worried about, will be satisfactorily taken care of. The issue of not asking enough questions from the BC interior is fair, and the plan contains action to reach out to all areas of the province.

Here is what I sent in to the WSAC:

Hi Doug/Martin/Allison

I am reading the new report and am in agreement with most of it. I have a few comments/questions for WSAC:

P6: “It must also be noted that investment in scientific study and data quality and quantity with respect to wild salmon management has been significantly reduced over the past several years.”

1. Doesn’t this mean that the Integrated Fishing Management Plans for north and south BC have no factual basis?
2. I caught that you got the PSF to do a stock assessment – can you give me a link to it? Note that my overall figure from assessing DFO reports is, in an average year, 73 Million in-ocean, pre-fisheries; 38M escapement.

P8: Reference 10 - Estimate of salt sport revenue: $1B. We all use this, but I looked at fresh/salt angling and came up with $2.52B, and if Strait of Georgia coho are brought back, an additional $200M – Pacific Salmon Foundation mid-point figure. My figure is public, published by the PSF.

P12: Habitat Protection – Re laws and enforcement, don’t expect much from DFO as it has chronically underfunded this. Read Randy Nelson’s, Poachers, Polluters and Politics. He was a director of Conservation & Protection.

P12: Habitat Restoration – Yes to this. But I don’t agree to employment ops until leveraged restoration has been done. Yes, to in-stream options like spawning channels; Big Q and Taylor are terrific examples of this work, and can serve as models. The San Juan – above the Harris confluence – that blew five years ago, is an example of a river looking for a good, large spawning channel project. Any river with old channels or a flat, bottom section has this potential – high water table, willow to alder coverage.

P13: Salmon Enhancement – No to Alaska’s ‘ocean ranching’ and no to other States’ ‘springer’ approach, both of which degrade wild genetics. But, epigenetics should be used here to make ‘wild’ hatchery fry. And sterilized, fin clipped fry make for non-reproducing stock, and terminal mop-up fisheries. Yes to sterilized, clipped netpen chinook for Southern Resident Killer Whales.

P 14: Data, Research and Science – After I crunch the new BC Stats/AG report on the fishing sectors, I will turn my attention to climate change research and make suggestions to deal with the issues. I will have many novel approaches.

P15: Governance – Yes to the first sentence.

P16: Fishing – Yes to terminating the herring roe fishery.

P16: Fish Farms – BC is behind the rest of the world in putting fish farms on land. The new US plants, Atlantic Sapphire, Whole Oceans, Nordic Aquafarms and Aquabanq, aiming at 218,000mt may well put the in-ocean BC industry out of business. Globally, Pure Salmon is aiming at 260,000mt. BC is less than 100,000mt. Here is a post of on-land good news, almost 100 articles in the last 3 months: http://fishfarmnews.blogspot.com/2018/11/links-to-on-land-closed-containment.html. When you need info, ask me for it.

Note that fish farm sewage is a big cost to BC: $10.4B, my estimate makes the revenue of $777M only 7.5% of the cost.

P16: Climate Change – As above, I am working on solutions to the problem.

P18: Reference 14 - Support for the AG finfish committee on fish farms. I strongly oppose this.

P19: Strategy 1.1: Immediately: Provide support to 'provincial organizations' that are working to protect habitats.

I assume you will use the Pacific Salmon Foundation. As they leverage money 4 to 7 times, that means if BC puts in $15M each year for ten years, the cumulative effect is $600- to $1,050-million.

Without expecting DFO to do much, the simplest thing is to ask for the same amount of funding to the PSF, a drop in their $2.4B budget bucket, and they can claim to be helping out. That would make a cumulative total of $1,200- to $2,100-million in ten years.

P20: Strategy 1.3: Monitoring and enforcement. Make sure that BC does it and you don’t give any responsibility to DFO as they have done poorly and are not to be trusted. See P12 above.

P21: Strategy 1.4: Yes to both immediate tasks, and: do some restoration projects ASAP, prepare news releases and get them in the press, so the public sees the result of the WSAC process immediately.

P21: Immediate to Mid-term – invasive species. John Volpe’s science suggests that annually 153,000 Atlantics escape and are in 97% of swum Van Isle rivers. Please add getting Atlantics and progeny out of Island rivers – a good project for our indigenous brothers. I have several links to his work: https://fishfarmnews.blogspot.com/2017/12/atlantic-salmon-in-bc-rivers-bad-news.html.

P21: Mid-term: As DFO has been managing wild salmon into extinction for 50 years, I would not count on the Feds doing much. I would first get the cash for habitat restoration, and then talk about joint actions.

P22: Strategy 1.5: I would put out a news release on the selective nature of WSAC salmon enhancement plans which would ameliorate ENGO concerns.

P25: Yes to BC branding.

P25: Strategy 2.6.: Yes to better stats from BC Stats, but a separate report would be better for the ‘fishing sectors’. As noted, my estimate of salt/fresh sport revenue far exceeds what we currently use. Remember that DFO uses its stats to add more fish farms in BC. It’s revenue is only 7.4% of the sewage cost, but DFO doesn’t calculate sewage cost.

P25: Goal 3: Immediately: Yes to an on going structure within government for the Made in BC Wild Salmon Plan. The unit gets things done, and lobbies on behalf of salmon.

P26: Mid-term – Yes to an annual progress review of concrete action.

What comes next for WSAC?

DC Reid

 Allison, FYI, these are the federal Estimates: https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/tbs-sct/documents/planned-government-spending/main-estimates/2018-19/me-bpd-eng.pdf.

DFO RAS Study Has Big Flaws - Jonathan Wilkinson?

Hi Jonathan Wilkinson (<min@dfo-mpo.gc.ca>)

So you want to do a study of RAS systems, do you: https://www.undercurrentnews.com/2019/03/07/canada-salmon-aquaculture-study-kicks-off-to-take-close-look-at-ras/?utm_source=Undercurrent+News+Alerts&utm_campaign=78312ab316-Americas_briefing_Mar_07_2019&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_feb55e2e23-78312ab316-92426209.

There are several problems:

1. Lack of 'evidence and science' based DFO decision making. I cite a dozen examples on this site in the past year. A current one is that after the Feb 5, 2019 decision by Strickland that DFO must test for PRV, you coalesced your 'rapid science response' people to say PRV is not a problem.

See the well respected Brian Riddell nix your RSR: http://fishfarmnews.blogspot.com/2018/11/fake-science-by-dfo-riddell-response.html. Note that Riddell, currently CEO of the Pacific Salmon Foundation, was formerly a scientist with DFO.

2. The recommendations you cite from the Popham finfish committee, are tainted. The committee had fish farm representatives on it. The committee that has come after it is the Wild Salmon Secretariat, for bringing back wild salmon. It has no fish farm representatives twisting the recommendations.

Here are the tainted recommendations that you cite:

• “A brief overview and economic analysis of existing and emerging technologies, including their state of commercialization; (Fish farms are dead set against on-land and will argue all day long that it doesn't make money, ignoring the huge value in protecting the ocean/salmon from using it as a free open sewer);

• “An analysis of the environmental impacts of these technologies; (Fish farms say there is no land for on-land, and use far more electricity than in ocean, overlooking the $10.4B in sewage damage they have caused in BC, PRV and so on, lice explosion in Clayoquot Sound in 2018, algal bloom for Grieg, etc).

• “An analysis of how sensor technologies and data could further address potential environmental impacts; (Sensors largely monitor the fish and do not assess environmental impacts).

• “An analysis of the social implications, including job creation and impacts on coastal/rural communities; (Fish farm stats are false. They claim 7,000 multiplier jobs, when the BC govt's own figure is 1800, making the fish farm stat 390% too high. I will shortly crunch the new BC Stats report, released in 2019).

• “A financial assessment of commercially available technologies, including an analysis of the main factors influencing their financial performance; (I have dozens of studies on how on-land makes money. See the 270 on land post below. It is led out by dozens of studies).

• “An analysis of trade-offs between environmental, economic and social impacts of the technologies reviewed; and, (The reality is that using the ocean as a free, open sewer far exceeds the revenue from the in-ocean sector, $777M is only 7.5% of the sewage damage: $10.4B. We can completely avoid the sewage cost and have increased revenue on land).

• “Recommendations to address potential obstacles to adoption of each of the technologies reviewed.” (Fish farms will argue all day long that on-land can't be done, even while the USA takes away almost 85% of its market by the big four on-land systems coming on line: Atlantic Sapphire, Whole Oceans, Nordic Aquafarms and Aquabanc, a total of 218,000mt).

Here is my list of 270 on-land fish farm systems, comprising almost 20,000 actual farms around the world: https://fishfarmnews.blogspot.com/2016/05/152-different-on-land-fish-farm-systems.html.

Here is my list of global news items on on-land, more than 70 items in the past three months:  http://fishfarmnews.blogspot.com/2018/11/links-to-on-land-closed-containment.html. Note Pure Salmon in the list, aiming at 260,000mt on land around the world. The BC industry is slightly less than 100,000mt, or only 38.5% of this one companies plans. The in-ocean industry in BC is toast.

Jonathan how about you see the light and choose on-land fish farms? You might consider the hundreds of thousands of votes you'll get in the 2019 election, and announce on-land right now. BC residents, like all citizens who must live with in-ocean fish farms around the world, hate in-ocean fish farms.

D

******

Here is another example of DFO not doing science/managing fish farms:
368. DFO Not Managing Fish Farms - https://www.thetelegram.com/opinion/letter-to-the-editor/letter-aquaculture-piling-more-pressure-on-salmon-stocks-296199/?utm_source=Watershed+Watch+Email+List&utm_campaign=e72633df9d-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_04_03_11_24&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_405944b1b5-e72633df9d-166907249&mc_cid=e72633df9d&mc_eid=5777c92bcd. Quote: "
A spring 2018 report on Canadian aquaculture, in both B.C. and Atlantic Canada, by the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development stated, “We concluded that Fisheries and Oceans Canada did not adequately manage the risks associated with salmon aquaculture consistent with its mandate to protect wild fish. Although the Department had some measures to control the spread of infectious diseases and parasites to wild fish in British Columbia, it had not made sufficient progress in completing the risk assessments for key diseases that were required to understand the effects of salmon aquaculture on wild fish. It also had not defined how it would manage aquaculture in a precautionary manner in the face of scientific uncertainty. Moreover, the Department did not adequately enforce compliance with aquaculture regulations to protect wild fish.”" This is the link to the 2018 report: http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/internet/English/parl_cesd_201804_01_e_42992.html.

Integrated Fisheries Management Plans and Managing Salmon into Extinction

Hi Everyone

You can find the IFMP PDF - Integrated Fisheries Management Plan - for southern BC as well as northern BC here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/szdnyx8ui3a891l/AAD111_a8wsfyk0BUicKD_Pga?dl=0. 

At 586 pages, the southern plan demonstrates a high level of technical wizardry and high cost. Ditto for the northern plan. 

And there are many interesting sections of this report. I would go after what you are interested in the table of contents, click on it and the document will take you to read it. It’s all here, for example, Cowichan chinook, Fraser chinook, Fraser pink (this is an odd year), WCVI chinook, SEP program (Salmon Enhancement Program) along with a link to the plan for 2019 releases ( I sent out a link to the actual output in 2018 some time ago) and so on.

Much fascinating reading in this document – for several days; however, for all the mastery of the document, the fifteen pages of DFO phone numbers and links, the reality is that BC wild salmon, after 50 years, have been managed into extinction by DFO, along with the SRKWs that have been managed down to 74 + 1 whales.

I have given you my answer to solving the SRKW problem, which is multiple netpens of 2,000,000 each, fin clipped, sterilized chinook around southern BC, every year for the next ten, along with habitat restoration cash, epigenetic enhancement, seal cull and so on. However, the thrust of both of these documents is the same as it always is: ratcheting down fishing, but not looking at the overall picture and coming up with a workable plan to save wild salmon.

Here is the link to my take. It has been viewed  more than10,000 times: http://fishfarmnews.blogspot.com/2018/05/dfo-salmon-and-killer-whales.html. Note the number of big springs in this morning's take off the Nahmint River.

And here is a link to an update: http://fishfarmnews.blogspot.com/2018/11/southern-resident-killer-whales-sport.html. 

Do pour over the IFMP document. It has much of the information you will need on stocks when you are looking for facts when thinking about salmon issues all year long.  

One last thing, I would say that you should support the Wild Salmon Secretariat (WSS) in their work to bring back salmon. BC has the local knowledge, the BC govt cost is manageable, and BC has responsibility for freshwater habitat restoration, which I would do through the Pacific Salmon Foundation.

Here are a bunch of problems and I think that focusing the WSS on achievable outcomes could solve a lot of the problems that have gone unanswered by DFO over the years: http://fishfarmnews.blogspot.com/2018/10/lets-take-global-look-at-srkw-problem.html. In this one I broach the subject that DFO says it bases decisions on ‘evidence and science’, pointing out several cases where it did just the opposite; one glaring one is when DFO and the CFIA went looking for a lab that would produce ‘no disease’ in BC fish farms.

Have some good reading.

Oh, and one more thing, Jonathan. I started a post on all the on-land fish farm news around the globe. It has been an avalanche of news in the past year, and I now have almost 70 articles, papers and so on in the past three months. See:  http://fishfarmnews.blogspot.com/2018/11/links-to-on-land-closed-containment.html.

D

Most Popular Posts - Feb 2019

First off, go take the Pledge to not eat farmed salmon:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/375630722826057/permalink/991001721288951/. Thank you.

1. Transparency in Fish Farms? Well NO. Fraud? More Likely: http://fishfarmnews.blogspot.com/2019/02/transparency-in-fish-farming-well-no.html.

2. BAD NEWS BITES - Global Problems in the Fish Farm/Seafood Industry: http://fishfarmnews.blogspot.com/2018/12/bad-news-bites-global-problems-in-fish.html.

3. Evidence and Science Based Decisions? At DFO? Well, NO: http://fishfarmnews.blogspot.com/2019/02/evidence-and-science-based-decisions-at.html.

4. CFIA, Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Choose to Not to Find Fish Farm Diseases: http://fishfarmnews.blogspot.com/2016/09/canadian-food-inspection-agency.html.

5. Fish Farms Spread Diseases Around the World - Kibenge, Di Cicco, Miller: http://fishfarmnews.blogspot.com/2019/02/fish-farms-spread-viruses-around-world.html.

6. 270 On-land Fish Farm Systems, Comprising 20,000 Actual Farms Around the World: http://fishfarmnews.blogspot.com/2016/05/152-different-on-land-fish-farm-systems.html.

7. GOOD NEWS POSTS: Links to On-land, Closed Containment, Studies, Papers: http://fishfarmnews.blogspot.com/2018/11/links-to-on-land-closed-containment.html.

8. BC Says NO to Fish Farms - Can You Hear Us in Ottawa?: http://fishfarmnews.blogspot.com/2019/02/bc-says-no-to-in-ocean-fish-farms-can.html.

10. What Happens When Fish Farms Kill All The Fish?: http://fishfarmnews.blogspot.com/2019/02/what-happens-when-fish-farms-kill-all.html.

11. Fake Science by DFO - the Riddell Response:  http://fishfarmnews.blogspot.com/2018/11/fake-science-by-dfo-riddell-response.html.

12. Kim Jong-Un, On-land Fish Farmer: https://fishfarmnews.blogspot.com/2014/12/kim-jong-un-on-land-fish-farmer-north.html?showComment=1551485048430#c5341470883802207487.

What Happens When Fish Farms Kill All The Fish??? Updated Mar 2, 2019

We are now at a point that I thought was only a matter of time to get to: once fish farms have killed off all the fish in the ocean, what do we do then? The ramifications are very broad - and we are now there. This is bad.

You will remember that The Sea Around Us group at UBC did the most fundamental, 60 year, global study on ocean forage fish killed to feed farmed fish: http://www.seaaroundus.org/doc/publications/books-and-reports/2016/End_Use_Reconstruction_Report.pdf.

What they found was that: '19 of 20 global forage fish stocks are either collapsing, poorly managed or both.'

The Sea Around Us singled out Norway for having destroyed the Jack Mackerel off Chile. Now, the industry is destroying the anchovetta off Peru.

And remember that those 19 fed the entire ocean food web, as well as Asia where they don't do reduction fisheries (or didn't, as they are now mopping up the anchovetta off Peru) for non-human consumption. Mostly humans eat them, the only real use for killing fish needed by the ocean food networks.

But fish farms have depleted those 19 stocks in less than 50 years to provide farmed salmon for first world mouths. That is reprehensible, and the 20th stock, Antarctica krill, isn't even a fish, and they are being ripped from the sea right now.

So, we are now at the penultimate moment in the non-sustainability of the fish farm industry's fish feed industry. At this point, past the tipping point, the California conference on seafood had some working sessions of industry people.

The fish farm/seafood industry's take on the problems they caused reads like Armageddon of the Sea. From Intrafish: https://www.intrafish.com/events/1705513/f3-what-happens-to-aquaculture-if-we-run-out-of-forage-fish?utm_source=IntraFish+Aquaculture+Newsletter&utm_campaign=d4f2e9028f-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_02_20_12_00&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_ec4b681694-d4f2e9028f-244877629.

Here is what industry management has to say about killing off all the fish:

War: Countries facing food security issues as a result of the disappearance of forage fish sources would seek to protect the resources they have. Other countries presumably could battle for access to other nation’s resources. [Yes, global warfare is one possible outcome. Do remember we are talking about farmed fish feed that fish farms have killed off all those global stocks - that should have been for people, if they were caught at all.]

Increase in use of agricultural raw materials: Efforts could focus on ways to use trimming and other resources from agriculture animals. [Trimming is communications speak for fish guts, offal, brains, fish skins, scales, chicken feathers, yes, chicken feathers, and so on, maybe cow guts, brains, chicken guts, lambs wool... ]

Ecosystem imbalance or collapse: Without feeder fish in the marine ecosystem, a massive collapse of the environment could result, affecting all fish. [Yes, the fish farms are saying they have caused a 'massive collapse'. This collapse will have been caused by the Norwegian-style fish farm industry, having killed off all those stocks in less than 50 years.]

Genetics: The loss of forage fish could lead to a massive investment in genetics to solve the problem.[Sure, get back to me when you have invested trillions to 'solve genetics' rather than raising vegetarians.]

Farming forage fish: Can we figure out a way to farm forage fish, many of the groups asked. [So after you killed them all off to feed farmed fish, you want to farm all the forage fish you killed off? I don't think so.]

Prices: Increase in seafood prices for both farmed and wild fish. [Duhh, and what about all those billions of third world humans who don't have food anymore and can't afford farmed fish?]

Regulations: New regulations affecting capture fisheries and aquaculture could evolve. [After fish farms killed off all the fish. Disgraceful.]

Should we eat fish at all: There could be a change in the perspective of all fish as a food source. [Really, I'd say that on-land fish farming of vegetarians and Alaska ocean-ranching of wild salmon may be the outcome, even though Alaska has chosen to push out billions of pink and sockeye fry and accept the pollution to wild salmon genetics. Or do we not want any kind of salmon anymore?]

This is where we are today: less 50 years after the Norwegians had their 'Blue Revolution' the whole experiment ends up on the rubbish tip as the English say.

It didn't have to come to this. Herbivores, like tilapia, have always been the answer to this rapacious industry. And there are chickens, cows, sheep... .

***

And the news today? That fish farms are being investigated for price fixing and cartel formation. These Norwegian companies operate in Canada, in BC. Why are they here? Go to my current BAD NEWS BITES post for the items around number 200: https://fishfarmnews.blogspot.com/2018/12/bad-news-bites-global-problems-in-fish.html. 

They left Norway looking for lower legal standards. And ended up in Chile, Scotland, England, Shetlands, Ireland, west coast Canana, east coast Canada, WA, USA where they are being closed. Disgraceful. Disgraceful.

BC Says NO to In-ocean Fish Farms - Can You Hear Us In Ottawa?? - Updated March 24, 2019

Hi Jonathan Wilkinson (min@dfo-mpo.gc.ca)

You liberals need to wake up.

BC residents value wild salmon as highly as Quebec does French. How come, as a BC resident, you don’t know this?

I have a new post on the avalanche of global news on on-land fish farm development around the world – almost 100 entries so far: https://fishfarmnews.blogspot.com/2018/11/links-to-on-land-closed-containment.html. In-ocean is old tech, and the US market is going to be taken over by its upcoming on-land farms: Atlantic Sapphire, Nordic Aquafarms, Whole Oceans and Aquabanc - 218,000mt more than double the BC industry. Then there is the PE group aiming for 260,000mt around the world, starting in China, Italy, France and the USA. And my list has all these and far more, now 271 on land fish farms systems around the world: https://fishfarmnews.blogspot.com/2016/05/152-different-on-land-fish-farm-systems.html.

Yet, you are so clued out, based in Ottawa, that you have forgotten how much BC hates in-ocean fish farms:

https://www.undercurrentnews.com/2019/02/14/canadas-wilkinson-eager-for-study-to-help-direct-british-columbias-aquaculture-path/?utm_source=Undercurrent+News+Alerts&utm_campaign=500e18cd0a-Americas_briefing_Feb_14_2019&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_feb55e2e23-500e18cd0a-92426209. There is no such thing as closed containment in the ocean, and off shore just causes massive eutrophication of the entire world’s oceans, farms tripling in size. My calculation is that the BC industry has cost us taxpayers $10.4 Billion already in sewage cost. Wake up.

Put a fish farm in the Rideau Canal in Ottawa and see how long it is until you hate it. Wake up.

Remember that you bought the KM pipeline with our billions of dollars, something you will get badly dinged for in the upcoming election. No wonder Justin is holding off on this one until afterwards.

You also fired Jody Wilson-Reybould, which is just as bad. Now Justin is wearing the issue having stated she had an obligation to tell him. Talk about trying to turn the situation on its head.

You need a good news story: Wilkinson Backs On-land Fish Farms in BC, why you can even write it based on the 60 posts in the first link above. You may even save your bacon, er, fillet.

And you blew the announcement with Horgan of $143M for wild salmon, saying, vaguely, that you support science, for continuing fish farms, but no specific amount of $$ for wild salmon habitat restoration. Why not?

DC Reid

***

Take a look at Alex Morton summing up the court decision against DFO in the PRV situation, even though Jon says PRV ain't a problem:  https://www.facebook.com/alexandra.morton.1671/videos/2398538087041405/.