First Nation brings fish farm protest to Vancouver

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Members of the Musgamagw Dzawada’enuxw First Nation joined hands with Fraser Nations outside the Vancouver Art Gallery Monday as the group wrapped up its latest series of protests against salmon farms in their area.

The group, which has opposed salmon farming for more than 30 years, says the BC industry is using their territorial waters to raise Atlantic salmon, without their consent, and are concerned about potential harms the farms are inflicting upon wild fish populations.

“In asserting our jurisdiction, we demand that the fish farms be removed from our territories immediately,” the group wrote in a letter to Premier Christy Clark and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. “In doing this we are exercising our indigenous authority to protect our lands and waters, thus ensuring the wellbeing of our future generations.”

Biologist Alexandra Morton says despite last year’s ruling by the Federal Court preventing diseased fish from being transferred into marine fish farms, her research shows up to 39 per cent of young salmon leaving rivers in the area in Spring 2015 were killed by illnesses, such as sea lice, she says were contracted from the farms.

She wants farmers to move their business to on-land tanks.

“When you farm on land, you can control the water temperature, diseases, there’s no sea lice, there’s no environmentalist bothering you or First Nations issues,” she says. “You can just farm fish.”

She points to land-based salmon farming companies such as Kuterra, which is run in partnership with the ‘Namgis First Nation near Alert Bay, as examples of sustainable salmon farming. Despite the higher price per kilogram for the fish, Morton encourages consumers to put their dollars in on-land farming.

When ocean farms are removed, Morton says the First Nation communities will see more jobs in tourism and commercial fishing and a return of wild populations of herring and salmon.

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