Wild Salmon Circle Contest Winners Announced!

Thank-you Organic Oceans

Greetings! Our Wild Salmon Circle contest winners were recently announced at the first annual Wild Salmon Circle BBQ.

The Wild Salmon Circle Contest has received dozens of incredible stories.  It was truly inspiring to see how people from all walks of life were supporting wild salmon in so many different ways.  It was impossible to choose a single winner, so we chose 6 that we believe exhibit an cross section of the various ways people are making a difference.  We hope that their stories also inspire you.  Every little bit helps.

Incidentally for those that are wondering why so many sockeye returned this year and whether Salmon Farms are still a cause of declines, here is some interesting info.

In a study reported by the Pacific Salmon Forum, in 2008, the year which the sockeye first migrated out to sea for this years returning run was a year of very low sea lice due to efforts from the Salmon Farming industry.  The study reports that in 2008, sockeye had an average of 1.8 lice per smolt compared to 7-9 lice per smolt tested in 2007 and 2009.  Also in that year, 4%–7% of the Chum and Pink salmon fry were infected with sea lice compared to 2007, where up to 70% were infested.  What this means is that although we had a large run this year, Salmon Farms are still a threat to the future of wild salmon.

With this is mind, we appreciate the efforts of the following winners and all those who submitted entries.  Your efforts will make the difference in the future of our province’s iconic Wild Salmon.

In no particular order:

Joan Lopez

For informing people during the course of her daily job about the dangers of Salmon Farming.

Joan wins a A custom consultation, hair colour, and haircut service with stylist Sally Traynor at Joji’s SalonLife. An Aveda salon located at 1126 Commercial Drive at Napier St.  Here is here story:

“I work on a whale watching boat out of Steveston. We usually encounter the Southern Resident Killer Whales, an endangered population of animals. Our passengers are often emotionally overwhelmed when they are able to observe these animals in their natural habitat. Learning they are endangered, people pay attention when they hear that wild salmon, the food the Orcas need to survive, are potentially threatened by open net cage salmon farming practises. I may have a small captive audience, (12-47 passengers), so I ask them to share the information with friends and relatives. I have been linking Orca encounters with the salmon farm controversy for the past 2 seasons (with my boss’s blessing), and hope to have reached thousands of individuals, and altered their future salmon dining choices.

We are truly blessed to have the opportunity this year to enjoy a bounty of the best wild salmon – Sockeye – available to man. No one should be eating anything farmed this season!

Thanks for the opportunity to share my story” — Joan Lopez, Vancouver Whale Watch

Avery Walker

For showing others how to fish responsibly so that fish stocks will be preserved for the future.

Avery wins a Midstream 690-2X 9′ flyfishing rod from Riverside Fly and Tackle in Port Coquitlam.   Here is his story:

“I fish only with barbless hooks, I’ve taken the all treble hooks from the all the buzzbombs I have and replaced them with single barbless hooks. I don’t jig the fish, I fish the ones who bite. Sometimes this is really hard to do, because not all of my friends fish like this, and so they sometimes take home more fish than I do. I abide by the regulations about which salmon I can keep and which ones I can’t. I never go over my limit. Or keep undersized fish. Most of the time, I catch and release. I love to fish, and I want to be able to do it forever.” – Avery Walker, Port Hardy

J Peachy

For using art to raise awareness and raise funds for wild salmon initiatives.

JP wins a day trip on the Fraser Riverkeeper’s boat.

JP has created several salmon themed art pieces including “Return” shown below:

He also exhibited Salmon Circle of Life: Body Art with Sarah Byer and is organizing a Spirit of the ‘Salmon Woman’ Wild Salmon Advocacy Fundraiser on September 17th.  JP’s ongoing commitment to wild salmon can be viewed on his gallery website.

Judith Hammill

For her tenacity and ongoing commitment to wild salmon.

Judith wins a $100 gift certificate to the Raincity Grill.  Here is her story:

“In May, I travelled from Gibsons to Victoria to join Alexandra Morton on the Get Out Migration Walk finale.

In June, I engaged with the management of a restaurant in Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver about serving farmed salmon. We were taking some visitors from Australia to a good restaurant with a spectacular city-scape view with the mountains in the background. As we perused the menu, I bragged to our guests that a restaurant of this calibre in Vancouver would never serve farmed salmon. Fortunately (or maybe it was to prove my point!), I asked about the origin of the salmon before we ordered it. I was shocked to hear it was indeed farmed salmon. Of course, none of us ordered it, and our waiter, who wasn’t very happy himself about serving farmed salmon, provided me with contact info. My subsequent email elicited an immediate response from the management explaining that the farmed salmon were from an inland farm and endorsed by Oceanwise and the David Suzuki Foundation. I checked out the inland lake and found that, despite seemingly reputable claims to the contrary, there were all sorts of horrible problems with the fish and the lake reported by fishermen and other knowledgeable people. I relayed this info to the chef in a subsequent telephone call.

Coming up on Sept. 11 in Gibson’s Landing, the Business Association is holding its annual Salmon Festival. They have invited the Grieg company (Norwegian salmon farms) to participate!! The BA claim the festival is “not political”!! I am debating whether boycotting the festival is enough…. Any advice appreciated” — Judith Hammill

Julia Beard

For ongoing efforts in raising awareness to friends and family about the dangers of salmon farms.

Julia wins a wild salmon travel mug.  Here is her story:

“My name is Julia Beard, I am from Courtenay BC.  I walked the migration from Buckley Bay to Fanny Bay, and joined the migration on May 8th in Victoria along with the thousands who showed up at the Parliament.  I took some fantastic photos that I shared with all my facebook friends, and have posted links to all the petition websites that I receive from Alex Morton, and the salmon circle website.  Of course I have also signed the petitions myself, along with my family who is following as well.  I have educated so many friends about the damages caused by fish farms in our waters, and it excites me when I can see that I’ve informed them of something they were completely unaware of regarding the fish farms and wild salmon.

I am a born and raised Island girl, and I want fish farms out of our waters!

Alex Morton is my hero  …along with the works of Don Staniford, Anissa Reid, Bob Chamberlain, and everyone else who have their hearts involved in this issue.”  – Julia Beard

Terry Sawchenko

For his volunteer efforts at his local salmon hatchery.

Terry wins 2 weekend passes to the Mission Film Festival.  Here is his story:

“This summer I moved or helped move close to 3000 Coho fry that were in drying out ponds in Hyde Creek and moved them to sections of the creek that have water all year.

This week I reported to the engineering department (responsible for stream spills) of Coquitlam that the stream, after a light rain had turned a cement grey colour (cement tailings) instead of the usual brownish colour (soil).  They were going to send an inspector to the development sites up Burke mountain to observe the sites for improper containment of construction debris.  Cement tailings in the past have killed off Coho fry in Hyde Creek.” — Terry Sawchenko