|
July 29, 2010
Hello friend of wild salmon,
Summer is well underway, and wild salmon are beginning to return home to their natal rivers. Please check out the two important actions for this month to help protect the wild salmon! Also in this letter you'll find upcoming events, some interesting links, and WSC's very first contest!
- Graham
|
Support Bill C-518 to shift to Closed Containment
On May 5, 2010, NDP Member of Parliament Fin Donnelly introduced Bill C-518 into Parliament which is entitled: An Act to amend the Fisheries Act (closed containment aquaculture). This Bill proposes to restrict the authority of the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans to licence aquaculture facilities by requiring all facilities seeking finfish aquaculture licences to be "closed containment". The entire contents of Bill C-518 can be read here.
Bill C-518 is in line with recommendations emerging from the Final Report of the B.C. Legislature`s Special Committee on Sustainable Aquaculture which, just over three years ago, called for a "rapid, phased transition to ocean-based closed containment...within three years." See Recommendation 1.1 of this Report here here.
You can show your support for this Bill by downloading this postcard and sending it to your Member of Parliament.
Limited time to give your input on New Federal Aquaculture Regulations
Following a lawsuit brought by Alexandra Morton, the B.C. Court ruled that the federal government has jurisdiction to regulate aquaculture, not the province. In response, on July 10, 2010, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans published its proposed Pacific Aquaculture Regulations in Part 1 of the Canada Gazette.
The public now has 60 days to submit comments on the proposed regulations (from July 10, 2010 – September 10, 2010). We encourage people to submit their comments to the DFO and to support the need for these new regulations to ensure the protection of wild salmon. In particular, we encourage people to demand that the proposed regulations require aquaculture facilities to report all disease outbreaks and that these disease reports are made public. For additional information on where to send your comments, go here.
|
back to top 
CONTEST – BE Creative to Support Wild Salmon!
The Wild Salmon Circle is pleased to announce our first-ever contest: We are challenging our members to come up with original, creative and meaningful ways to support B.C.’s wild salmon. Entries can be submitted in any form including pictures, videos, songs, sculptures, etc. Prizes will be awarded to those entries which, first and foremost, meaningfully impact the fight to protect wild salmon and, secondly, do so creatively. The contest closes September 7, 2010. Entries can be submitted either by email to: wildsalmoncircle@gmail.com or by mail to: Wild Salmon Circle, 101-1184 Denman St., Box 604, Vancouver, BC. V6G 2M9
Winners will be announced at a volunteer barbeque we will be hosting in September, and great prizes will be awarded, so get your creative juices flowing!
back to top
Wild Salmon Circle Barbeque
In September, the Wild Salmon Circle will be hosting a salmon barbeque for our members. The date and location of the barbeque have yet to be determined, but it will take place sometime in September. This will be a potluck barbeque - we plan to provide the salmon and are asking people who would like to attend to bring a dish or beverage of their own.
This event will be a great chance to meet members of the wild salmon circle and to become more actively involved in the fight to save wild salmon, or to just hang out and eat delicious food – all are invited. We will also be announcing the contest winners, although entrants in the contest need not attend the barbeque to win.
back to top
Look for the Wild Salmon Express in your Community
 Come out to meet the Wild Salmon Express (WiSE). It will travel nearly 4000km through communities in the Fraser River Basin from August 1 through Aug 31, 2010. These salmon supporters will cycle through the Fraser's 13 sub-watersheds with a mission of connecting the voices, the stories, the knowledge, the concerns and the people who live near the waters of the Fraser River, enabling people to take concrete action based on networked wisdom to promote the sustainability of salmon stocks for future generations. The 2010 Wild Salmon Express aims to connect with first nations and non first-nations, their leaders young and old, MPs, MLAs, local government representatives, fisherman, conservationists....and salmon enthusiasts of all sorts.
See more information here.
back to top
Some Links We Think You'll Like
 For those who think all fish farming is bad, we invite you to watch the following video courtesy of TED talks: How I Fell In Love With a Fish. As this video makes clear the problem is not all fish farming, but rather how fish farming is currently being practised by multinational corporations focused solely on profit.
You may also want to check out 'Deconstructing Dinner'. This is a weekly food programme from Kootney Co-op Radio produced here in Nelson BC.
The site: Deconstructing Dinner is an amazing farmed salmon primer with interviews from many well know activists, including Alexandra Morton, called 'Norway British Columbia',
back to top
|
