First Nations group wants gov’t to address fish farm concerns

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Fish farms need to be based on land rather than in the water, says a First Nations group worried about dropping wild salmon numbers.

Chief Bob Chamberlin with the First Nations Wild Salmon Alliance says a letter has been sent to the new Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Hunter Tootoo calling for a meeting to address the drop in the salmon run in local rivers.

“When I hear of instances where there’s a loss of fish along the river, I start to wonder about the pre-spawn mortality and the presence of diseases that are borne from the fish farms,” says Chamberlin.

He says he’s been speaking with other First Nations leaders around the province who believe fish farms are at least partly responsible for this season’s poor run.

“I spoke with one of the Shuswap First Nation leaders and he talked to me about only 2,000 salmon making it back to the Adams River,” says Chamberlin. “This is really troubling when you consider that’s one of the biggest and strongest runs in BC.”

According to Chamberlin, it is a conflict that the fisheries department oversees wild salmon and the promotion of aquaculture.

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