Are fish farms trampling BC's seas?

If you think the crude oil pipeline across British Columbia's beautiful wilderness is the only environmental issue about which I am passionate — well, it is NOT.

Mom loved river fishing, too

I still care about many other things,

especially the many other things

threatening CANADA'S WEST COAST!

Yes, Canada's West Coast!

This isn't just British Columbia's coast:

IT IS MY COUNTRY'S WEST COAST!

Take fish, for instance. I don't remember a time in my life when my father didn't love fishing. When we lived in the interior of British Columbia, he was an avid river fisherman. Dad and his friends, Nick and Tom, would have been exploring rivers every weekend if not for domestic responsibilities.

After I finished high school, Dad moved us to the coast: to White Rock, then a pretty little town sporting a nice long pier for walking, and ever-present hopefuls (adults and youngsters) with fishing rods, trying their luck.

Well, my Dad always got up to something with his buddies, wherever he was. As soon as he finished renovating the cute little house-with-a-wonderful-view that we bought soon after our arrival, he was able to turn his mind to saltwater fishing.

Not our boat but similar, circa 1960

Enter another of his buddies, an Albertan with similar dreams of saltwater fishing and trophy-size salmon. Together, Dad and his friend Ralph bought a boat, which they spruced up before launching it into the waters off Crescent Beach. Dad had just finished painting the name on the boat when two young boys came by and asked him what the name meant.
With a straight face, my father pointed to his work and said, "Non-A-Mee. It's an ancient name meaning Boat That Catch Many Fish."

"Oh, wow!" said the boys before they wandered off.

(The name Dad and Ralph had chosen was "NONAME" without a space between the O and the second N, but we did pronounce it "Non-A-Mee" after that!)

So, with boat and motor spruced up and launched, off they went in search of the wild salmon. Before they could catch anything, however, their boat was stolen, and found afterward wrecked on a beach just south of the international boundary.
No fish for Dad and Ralph.

SO...BACK ON TOPIC...are fish farms ruining BC salmon stocks?

Fish Farms Expose Wild Salmon to Deadly Virus, Study Finds

Wild fish exposed to farms are nine times more likely to carry virus linked to deadly disease. (This is not new news.)

Wild salmon in British Columbia face a number of threats throughout their life cycle: widespread destruction of upstream habitat caused by logging, roadbuilding; reduced food supply caused by exploitation of forage fish species; warming waters due to climate change; pathogens and aquatic pollution to destructive fishing practices and overfishing.

Sockeye stocks have been in overall decline since at least the 1950s, while chinook and coho stocks in particular have been in severe decline since 1990.

Dull grey sky and water but fishermen must work.
Victoria Times-Colonist photo

The Federal government and  the provincial government have gutted legislation protecting freshwater habitat for wild salmon in favour of industrial development, and the continues to support and promote open net pen salmon farming on the B.C. coast, as does the provincial government.

Among these threats, fish farming is perhaps the easiest to tackle through legislative changes to farm siting and practices.

Wild salmon are the foundation of the Great Bear Rainforest ecosystem. Killer whales, sea lions and other marine mammals feed on salmon at sea. Each autumn, black, Spirit and grizzly bears, wolves, eagles, gulls and a host of other wildlife gather in estuaries and along rivers to feast on salmon swimming upriver, returning to spawn in their natal streams.

At the end of their life cycle: 
salmon moving inland jump
upriver to reach spawning grounds

The end of the salmon life cycle brings renewal to the rainforest, delivering ocean-derived nutrients to the forests.

Wild salmon have been central to First Nations cultures on the B.C. coast for thousands of years (yes, thousands!) and coastal communities continue to rely on salmon for sustenance and sustainable livelihoods.

Wild salmon are also the cornerstone of B.C.’s tourism industry, whether they are featured in local cuisine or as the main food source for whales, bears and other wildlife which attract so many visitors to the province.

Sunrise, San Felipe,
Baja California, Mexico

And there is more...

'British Columbia's government:

complicit in contamination.'

Coming soon to a blog post near here.

Posting for Fiona's ever-so-popular meme

Skywatch Friday

Watch my blog for future Skywatch photos, some with no rants at all, plus some pictures from my parents' many winters on Mexico's Baja Peninsula. Wonderful skies, those Mexicans. I don't know how they do it!