The federal government says open-net pen salmon farming may continue off British Columbia's coast outside the Discovery Islands area, while Ottawa undertakes consultation on the plan to transition away from the practice.
A recent Federal Court ruling to set aside a decision to phase out salmon farms in the Discovery Islands doesn't necessarily mean the issue is dead in the water, say First Nations and environmentalists.
Fish farm operators Mowi Canada West, Cermaq Canada and Grieg Seafood applied for a judicial review of the order that prevented them from restocking their farms, arguing it lacked reasons and didn't "show an appreciation of the facts."
Tyson Marsel parked his truck in a field abutting B.C.'s Okanagan River, stepped into a pair of rubber hip waders and walked out into the smooth, frigid waters in search of salmon sperm.
Salmon are at the centre of the cultural and spiritual life of the Indigenous communities up and down the West Coast. Unfortunately, they are also under great threat, writes Florence Baker, lead organizer for Sierra Club BC.
Salmon stocks on the Fraser have tumbled in the past decade, leading Fisheries and Oceans Canada to limit Indigenous food fisheries on the river, even as some recreational fishing is allowed.
A scientist with public policy experience, Liberal candidate Jennifer Grenz says she’s a bridge-builder who can help stakeholders agree on a course of action around tough issues such as climate change or saving salmon in the North Island-Powell River riding.
Squeezing out fish stomachs and poking through intestines may be distasteful, but it’s part of a collaborative effort by researchers and recreational fishermen to save endangered salmon and divine shifts to the marine food web as climate change advances.
The key mystery remains of why PRV causes disease and mortality in farmed Atlantic salmon in Norway or other regions differently than it does on the West Coast.