101 B.C. First Nations demand removal of open-net salmon farms near Campbell River, B.C. | CBC News
A total of 101 B.C. First Nations, wilderness tourism
operators, and commercial and sport fishing groups have united in a show
of solidarity to demand the federal government take action on the
collapse of Fraser River salmon stocks by ordering the removal of
open-net fish farms near Campbell River.
operators, and commercial and sport fishing groups have united in a show
of solidarity to demand the federal government take action on the
collapse of Fraser River salmon stocks by ordering the removal of
open-net fish farms near Campbell River.
“If we don’t come
together as a unified group … we’ll be telling our children that there
used to be salmon in the Fraser River,” said Musqueam Indian Band Chief
Wayne Sparrow.
Speaking at a media conference in North
Vancouver, the group says Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan needs to
make good on the 19th recommendation of the 2012 Cohen Commission’s
report on declining Fraser River salmon stocks. The
recommendation calls for the prohibition of 18 fish farms in the
Discovery Islands by Sept. 30, 2020, unless there is proof they pose
only a “minimum risk of serious harm to the heath of migrating Fraser
River salmon.”