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What happened to the salmon this year?

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Published on Wednesday, 31 August 2016 17:00
Written by editor
“Every time there’s a low return on sockeye, First Nations of the coast and the Fraser River watershed have to go without food for the winter,” -- Chief Bob Chamberlin, Kwikwasutinuxw Haxwa'mis First Nation and Vice-President of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs. [1]

This year is shaping up to be the worst Fraser River sockeye salmon run in recorded history, with just 853,000 of an expected 2.2 million fish returning to spawn. [2]

First Nations communities that depend on Fraser sockeye are bracing for a hard winter. Commercial and sports fisheries are closed. Bears and whales will starve.

Scientists are still piecing together the factors that caused this year’s collapse. But growing evidence suggests deadly sea lice, diseases and viruses spreading from fish farms are killing wild salmon. A recent video suggests farmed salmon may even be eating juvenile wild fish. [3-5]

Biologist and wild salmon activist Alexandra Morton started a petition on Leadnow’s petition site calling on the federal government to end open-net salmon farming for good.

The federal government is scrambling to respond to the Fraser River sockeye collapse, and if enough of us sign the petition now, we can convince them to tackle the fish farm problem before more wild salmon are infected.

Sign Alexandra's petition now


It’s possible to farm salmon safely on land, in closed-containment tanks that don’t interfere with wild fish. The ‘Namgis First Nation has been farming salmon in closed containment for more than 2 years. [6]

Moving fish farms inland will provide sustainable jobs, without putting wild salmon at risk. But open-net farms are making millions for multinational fish farm companies, and they’re not going to move inland unless the government steps in.

With every day that passes, diseases and viruses from fish farms spread to more and more wild salmon. Add your voice to thousands calling on the federal government to end open-net salmon farming before more salmon die.

Sign the petition now

This spring, the Leadnow community stood up for wild salmon -- and won.

The government was fast-tracking a court case to overturn a previous court ruling preventing fish farm companies from transferring diseased fish into open-net farms. More than 16,000 people sent letters to the Fisheries Minister, and within weeks, the government stopped the fast-track of the case. [7]

Now, we need to stand up for wild salmon once again. Sign the petition now. https://you.leadnow.ca/petitions/salmon-farms-virus-pollution?source=email&bucket=email

With hope and respect,
Jolan, on behalf of the entire Leadnow.ca team

p.s. Alexandra started this petition on our community petition site, and already thousands of people have signed. If you have an idea for a campaign, you can start your own petition here: https://you.leadnow.ca/petition/new?source=ps

Sources:

[1] Statement from Chief Bob Chamberlin, provided by email.

[2] Disastrous Fraser River salmon run exclipses 2009 collapse (Metro News). http://www.metronews.ca/news/vancouver/2016/08/22/disastrous-fraser-river-salmon-run.html

[3] Sea Lice Research (Farmed and Dangerous). http://www.farmedanddangerous.org/scientific-case/sea-lice-research/

[4] Deadly salmon disease found in B.C. farmed stock, federal scientists say (CBC News). http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/farmed-salmon-bc-disease-hsmi-aquaculture-1.3593958

[5] First Hard Evidence (Voyage for Salmon). http://www.voyageforsalmon.ca/first-hard-evidence/

[6] Kuterra Homepage (Kuterra). http://www.kuterra.com/

[7] Keep sick, farmed salmon out of our oceans (Leadnow). http://www.leadnow.ca/wild-salmon/

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