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Wild Game Fish Conservation International (WGFCI): Established to
advocate for wild game fish, their fragile ecosystems and the cultures and economies that rely on their robust populations.
LEGACY – The Journal of Wild Game Fish Conservation: Complimentary,
no-nonsense, monthly publication by conservationists for conservationists
LEGACY, the WGFCI Facebook page and the WGFCI website are utilized
to better equip fellow conservationists, elected officials, business owners and others regarding wild game fish, their contributions to society and the varied and complex issues impacting them and those who rely on their sustainability.
LEGACY features wild game fish conservation projects, fishing adventures,
accommodations, equipment and more. Your photos and articles featuring wild game fish from around planet earth are welcome for possible inclusion in an upcoming issue
of LEGACY. Your “Letters to the Editor” are encouraged.
Successful wild game fish conservation efforts around planet earth will ensure existence of these precious natural resources and their ecosystems for future
generations to enjoy and appreciate. This is our LEGACY.
LLeeggaaccyy
Wild Game Fish Conservation International
Wild Game Fish Conservation International founders:
By Wild Game Fish Conservation International volunteers
Celebrating Thirteen Consecutive Months of Wild Game Fish Advocacy
Contents Wild Game Fish Conservation International: Global Outreach ......................................................................... 5
Planet Earth ....................................................................................................................................................7 Happy Halloween - Salmon Farming is Scary! .................................................................................................... 7 Today is Judgment Day in the 'Salmon Farming Kills' lawsuit Vs. Cermaq! ................................................... 8 B.C. salmon farm appeals defamation ruling ...................................................................................................... 9 PETA Still Has It All Wrong ................................................................................................................................. 10 Warning: Eating Farm Raised Salmon Causes Cancer .................................................................................... 12 Two Three Dead After Eating Infected Farmed Salmon - Death Toll Set to Rise to 17! ................................ 14 Ocean farmed salmon – “Just what the doctor ordered” – not so ................................................................. 15 Salmon Farming Kills Around the World ........................................................................................................... 16 ISA virus infects salmon from within ................................................................................................................. 17 The Tar Sands: A Personal View ........................................................................................................................ 18 Pipeline leak detection systems miss 19 out of 20 spills................................................................................. 21 Climate change will lead to smaller fish, UBC study says ............................................................................... 23 Enjoy seasonal wild Pacific salmon dinners at these restaurants: ................................................................ 24 “Pants on Fire” Recognition: Grant Warkentin – Communications Officer, Mainstream Canada .............. 25
Canada .......................................................................................................................................................... 26 Aquaculture in Canada 2012: A Report on Aquaculture Sustainability .......................................................... 27 Fighting Canada’s salmon feedlot war on both coasts .................................................................................... 28 No one can understand why! .............................................................................................................................. 29 Cohen Commission to submit final report by October 29, 2012 ..................................................................... 31 Wild salmon inquiry nearing completion ........................................................................................................... 32 B.C. wild-salmon advocate side-steps sockeye inquiry to start her own ...................................................... 33
Alberta ............................................................................................................................................................................... 35 Not enough research to estimate environmental cost of Northern Gateway: lawyer ................................... 35 Environmental groups taking legal action regarding species at risk on Northern Gateway route ............. 36
British Columbia .............................................................................................................................................................. 37 Anti-salmon-farming activist wins B.C. court victory ....................................................................................... 37 Will your tax dollars subsidize BC’s unsustainable fish farms? ..................................................................... 40 DFO approves new open net-pen salmon farm in Clayoquot Sound despite ongoing concerns about
disease and pathogens ........................................................................................................................................ 43 British Columbia: Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations Opposes DFO Approval Of Mainstream Canada's Plover
Point Fish Farm .................................................................................................................................................... 44 Harper Government Invests in Sustainable and Innovative Aquaculture in British Columbia .................... 45 Dear Sue Farlinger: wishing you the guts to step up ....................................................................................... 47 Enbridge's plan to train supertanker captains ..... ............................................................................................ 50 You heard it here: Northern Gateway’s dead .................................................................................................... 51 Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines Project – proposed route ................................................................... 52 Enbridge Northern Gateway Project - Proposed Tanker Routes .................................................................... 53 Thousand-pound sturgeon caught near Chilliwack (with video) .................................................................... 54 Sockeye returns spell bad news for sport fishery ............................................................................................ 55 Angler survives B.C. grizzly attack, airlifted to Vancouver hospital ............................................................... 58
New Brunswick ................................................................................................................................................................ 60
Legacy – November 2012
Wild Game Fish Conservation International
Newfoundland and Labrador .......................................................................................................................................... 62 Salmon numbers down across province this year ........................................................................................... 62
Nova Scotia ...................................................................................................................................................................... 63 Dedicated BC Wild Salmon Warriors in Nova Scotia ........................................................................................ 63
Prince Edward Island ....................................................................................................................................................... 64 Salmon anglers surprised by close of season .................................................................................................. 64
Ireland ........................................................................................................................................................... 65 Anglers' objection to salmon status bid ............................................................................................................ 65
New Zealand ................................................................................................................................................. 66 Marlborough Sounds teen fights salmon farms (with video) .......................................................................... 66 'Dilution not the solution' .................................................................................................................................... 67 Protest flotilla 'a lynch mob' ................................................................................................................................ 68 Farms will 'scar' Sounds ...................................................................................................................................... 69 Salmon oil claim disputed ................................................................................................................................... 70
Scotland ........................................................................................................................................................ 71 Scottish scientists on verge of creating designer salmon to beat disease ................................................... 71 Salmon and trout catches healthy in Scotland as anglers stick to river code .............................................. 73 Fishermen in Western Isles losing up to 20% of stock as disease spreads .................................................. 75
USA ............................................................................................................................................................... 76 I’m pro salmon and I vote! ................................................................................................................................... 76 World's biggest geoengineering experiment 'violates' UN rules .................................................................... 77 House approves GOP plan to quash coal, gas rules in election-year swipe at Obama ................................ 79 Coal exports could face roadblocks if Democrats maintain Senate control.................................................. 80
Alaska................................................................................................................................................................................ 81 Op-ed: Proposed Pebble Mine in Bristol Bay threatens Seattle’s salmon industry ...................................... 81 Settlement over designation of lands in Bristol Bay region could impact mine ........................................... 83 Pebble Mine's Keystone 'science' worse than NFL replacement refs ............................................................ 84 Anglo American, It's Time to Dump Pebble Mine .............................................................................................. 86 Bristol Bay residents protest panel discussions on mine ............................................................................... 87
Oregon .............................................................................................................................................................................. 89 Brochure: Taking Care of Streams in Western Washington, Western Oregon and Coastal Alaska ........... 89 Portland City Council votes to oppose coal trains ........................................................................................... 90 Army Corps decision could expedite Morrow Pacific coal project ................................................................. 91 Fish vs. Coal ......................................................................................................................................................... 92
Utah ................................................................................................................................................................................... 93 Groundwater contamination is major issue in tar sands mine........................................................................ 93
Vermont............................................................................................................................................................................. 94 Conn. River dam licensing offers chance for change ...................................................................................... 94
Washington State ............................................................................................................................................................. 96 The State of Our Watersheds .............................................................................................................................. 96 Another fish barrier removed .............................................................................................................................. 97 Wild Pacific salmon return to Condit River following dam demolition ........................................................... 99 Sockeye salmon return to Cle Elum River ....................................................................................................... 100 Lummi Tribe joins the opposition to Whatcom coal port ............................................................................... 101 Nisqually Tribe has new tool for separating wild, raised salmon ................................................................. 103 The Coal-man Cometh ....................................................................................................................................... 105 Chances dim in Congress for 'Wild Olympics' bill this year .......................................................................... 107 Janicki reels in fish-farming contract ............................................................................................................... 109 Jefferson County OKs fish-farming permitting process ............................................................................................. 111 WGFCI opposition to new open pen salmon feedlots in Strait of Juan de Fuca ......................................... 113 Skokomish River Fishing Rules of Etiquette ................................................................................................... 114 Man accidentally shoots self while fishing on Deschutes River ................................................................... 115 New ADA Access fishing site for disabled anglers opens on Wishkah River ............................................. 116 New WDFW website details salmon conservation efforts ............................................................................. 117
Featured Artist: Leanne Hodges - Coho Festival Mural 2012 (3’ x 6’) ................................................... 119 Featured Fishing Photo for November 2012 ............................................................................................ 120 Youth Conservation - Students oppose salmon farms........................................................................... 121 Featured Fishing Guide Service – Great River Fishing Adventures ...................................................... 122 Conservation Video Library – “Why we’re involved” ............................................................................. 123 Attention Conservation-minded Business Owners ................................................................................ 124 WGFCI endorsed conservation organizations: ....................................................................................... 124
Legacy – November 2012
Wild Game Fish Conservation International
Wild Game Fish Conservation International: Global Outreach
Forward The November 2012 issue of Legacy marks the celebration of Wild Game Fish Conservation International’s beginning of our second year and of thirteen consecutive months of our web-based publication - Legacy. The objective of publishing Legacy each month is to share current and planned actions that impact the future of wild game fish and their ecosystems around planet earth with our growing audience. Please feel free to share this publication with others. Our hope is that those who read Legacy will come to understand that what is good for sustainable wild game fish is also good for humans. Similarly, what is bad for wild game fish is also really bad for humans! It’s exciting that a growing number of recreational anglers and conservationists around planet earth are passionate about conserving wild game fish and their continued availability for this and future generations to enjoy and appreciate. Just as exciting is that growing numbers of consumers and retailers are paying close attention to the impacts each of us have on global resources through our daily choices and purchases. We continue to urge our audience to speak out passionately and to demonstrate peacefully for wild game fish and their ecosystems; ecosystems that we are but one small component of. As recreational fishermen, conservation of wild game fish for future generations is our passion. Publishing “Legacy” each month is our self imposed responsibility to help ensure the future of these precious gifts that have been entrusted to our generation.
Bruce Treichler James E. Wilcox Wild Game Fish Conservation International
Legacy – November 2012
Wild Game Fish Conservation International
Planet Earth
Happy Halloween - Salmon Farming is Scary!
Farmed salmon is more trick than treat!
Legacy – November 2012
Wild Game Fish Conservation International
Today is Judgment Day in the 'Salmon Farming Kills' lawsuit Vs. Cermaq!
VANCOUVER – A British Columbia salmon farming company is appealing a judge’s decision to dismiss a defamation case against an industry critic.
Mainstream Canada took British-born activist Don Staniford to court earlier this year over a 2011 campaign that included images of cigarette-like packages and statements such as “Salmon Farming Kills Like Smoking.”
Justice Elaine Adair dismissed the case in September, saying while Staniford’s statements were defamatory and he was motivated by malice, the activist honestly believed in what he was saying and animosity wasn’t his dominant purpose.
Mainstream Canada says in a release announcing the appeal that Adair’s decision, if it stands, could compromise healthy debate on matters of public policy.
The company says that public policy debates should be based on fact, and critics should be accountable for their comments.
Staniford, who was removed from Canada this past February for overstaying a visitor’s permit, says he will return next year for a lecture tour with the leader of the Green Warriors of Europe, an environmental organization.
The following is an excerpt from PETA Still Has It All Wrong:
“Here’s the bald truth: In many cases, without recreational fishermen there would be no fish for PETA to worry about. Recreational fishermen happen to be some of the greatest—and most effective—conservationists on the planet. (Full disclosure: I am a fisherman.)
Take the Atlantic Salmon Federation (ASF) for example. The nonprofit St. Andrews, New Brunswick-based group is small (7,500 members), but packs a big environmental punch.
The Atlantic salmon, as a species, suffered an alarming decline in the 1970s and 1980s, going from 1.8 million fish in North America to 418,000 in the 1990s, thanks to commercial overharvest and habitat destruction (like dams). The species is endangered in the US (hundreds of thousands used to swim up the Penobscot and Connecticut Rivers before dams were put in their way). But recently, the number of North American salmon has ticked upwards, to 650,000. Much of that success is thanks to the ASF.
Earlier this decade the ASF spearheaded an agreement to close the commercial harvest of Atlantic salmon off the coast of Greenland. In 1971, the Greenland fishery was taking 2,689 metric tons of Atlantic salmon. Thanks to the ASF-led agreement, it’s now down 26 metric tons, which amounts to merely a subsistence fishery for Greenlanders.
In 1999, the ASF led the effort to tear down the Edwards Dam on the Kennebec River in Maine, which freed up 17 miles of river that had been submerged. The tearing down of the dam has led to better habitat for salmon, sturgeon, striped bass and shad, among other species. And a healthier river, to boot.
Those are the big headline wins. But every day, hundreds of ASF volunteers battle for the species on the ground, rebuilding and restoring river and fish-spawning habitat in the Atlantic Canada provinces and Maine.
And then there’s Trout Unlimited, the biggest coldwater conservation group in the US, with 400 chapters and 140,000 members, most of whom work at the local, grassroots level. Every year those volunteers donate 500,000 hours to clean up polluted rivers, restore fish habitat and fish populations.
Since TU’s founding in 1959, the group has worked to restore 10,000 river miles in the US. Recently they’ve taken on the issue of preventing the spread of invasive species in our waterways and have fought the proposed gold and copper mine in Alaska’s Bristol Bay, which could sully one of the country’s last wild places.
Sure, both the ASF and TU do their work on behalf of fishermen. But what’s incontrovertible is that in the bigger picture, their work has benefited fish—and the overall environment—even more.
PETA’s main contention is that fish feel pain, and that even catch-and-release fishing is cruel. The truth of that stance is a matter of debate (see Slate‘s Michael Agger’s brilliant treatise on the matter). Catch-and-release angling, which both the ASF and TU promote, is a moral issue that every fisherman and woman must grapple with. I am primarily a catch-and-release angler, and I think about it all the time.
But so far I’ve always come to the same conclusion: those who are engaged with a resource will fight the hardest to conserve it. Some pick up litter on the side of a stream. Some give hundreds of thousands of dollars to groups like the ASF or TU. Most operate somewhere in between. In this case—for the greater good of the species—the end does indeed justify the means.
And then there are hunters—so readily caricatured by some as gun-toting dimwits. They shouldn’t be left out of this conversation. Ducks Unlimited (DU) is one of the most powerful—and again, effective—conservation organizations in the country. It’s estimated that the US loses 80,000 acres of wetlands each year. DU, a 773,000-member nonprofit, works to prevent that. Since 1937 they’ve protected 60 million acres of wetlands, critical habitat for ducks and 900 other wildlife species.
PETA would be better off focusing their efforts on the environment and habitat restoration when it comes to fish. (And perhaps with less “sexualized” advertising. I’m no prude, but using cartoon penises, naked female celebrities and The Situation in ads suggests a lack of serious intent and merely has a “look at me!” effect.)
Radical suggestion for PETA: Want to save these animals from the pain of rubbing their noses raw at the foot of concrete dams, or from suffering and dying in the heat of deforested streams, or from being systematically over fished by commercial nets? Want to save them from extinction from this earth? Perhaps it’s time to join forces with recreational fishermen instead of trying to tear them down.
After all, PETA knows a thing or two when it comes to “the means justifying the ends.” After all, PETA is in the animal-killing business. According to this Newsweek article, PETA euthanized 17,000 animals between 1998 and 2008. The group continues the practice to this day. On its website, PETA says euthanasia “is often the most compassionate and dignified way for unwanted animals to leave a world that has no place for them.”
First Global Study Reveals Health Risks of Widely Eaten Farm Raised Salmon
Science Study Suggests Sharp Restrictions in Consumption
Albany, New York — A study published this week in a leading scientific journal found significantly higher levels of cancer-causing and other health-related contaminants in farm raised salmon than in their wild counterparts. The study, published in Science and by far the largest and most comprehensive done to date, concluded that concentrations of several cancer-causing substances in particular are high enough to suggest that consumers should consider severely restricting their consumption of farmed salmon.
The majority of salmon served in restaurants and found on grocery store shelves is farmed rather than wild. In most cases, as detailed in the study, consumption of more than one meal of farmed salmon per month could pose unacceptable cancer risks according to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) methods for calculating fish consumption advisories.
The Pew Charitable Trusts, one of the U.S.’s largest philanthropies, sponsored the study. Pew has sponsored major research on fisheries including a number of widely reported recent studies on the deterioration of the marine environment.
Whereas earlier studies have analyzed anywhere from 8 to 13 salmon samples from individual salmon farming regions, the current study analyzed fillets from about 700 farmed and wild salmon produced in eight major farmed salmon producing regions around the world and purchased in 16 large cities in North America and Europe.
The study’s authors, six U.S. and Canadian researchers representing fields from toxicology to biology to statistics, selected salmon samples to be representative of the salmon typically available to consumers around the world.
The researchers found significantly higher concentrations of contaminants in farmed salmon versus wild. In particular, four substances that have been well studied for their ability to cause cancer — PCBs, dioxins, dieldrin, and toxaphene — were consistently and significantly more concentrated in farmed salmon as a group.
Geographic Differences
Among the study’s conclusions, salmon farmed in Europe were generally more contaminated than farmed salmon from North or South America. Farmed salmon purchased for the study from supermarkets in Frankfurt, Edinburgh, Paris, London, and Oslo were the most contaminated and triggered consumption recommendations of one-half to one meal per month — based on U.S. EPA consumption advisories for these contaminants. A meal was considered to be an eight-ounce portion.
Farmed salmon purchased from supermarkets in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Seattle, Chicago, New York, and Vancouver triggered a recommendation of no more than two meals per month.
There was slightly more variation in fish purchased in North America than those purchased in Europe. While farmed salmon purchased for the study in New Orleans and Denver were generally least contaminated — triggering a recommendation of about 3 meals per month — farmed salmon purchased in Boston, San Francisco, and Toronto triggered the more stringent consumption recommendations of the European-purchased fish.
“Ultimately, the most important determinant of risk has to do with where the fish is farmed not where it is purchased,” said Dr. David Carpenter, an author of the study and Director of the Institute for Health and the Environment at the University at Albany. “And because it’s a global market, it’s hard to be sure what you’re getting.”
According to Carpenter, “Just because Europeans have the most contaminated farmed salmon, this doesn’t mean American consumers shouldn’t be concerned.”
With very few exceptions, farmed salmon samples tested significantly exceeded the contaminant levels of wild salmon, which could be consumed at levels as high as 8 meals per month. Even the least contaminated farmed salmon, from Chile and the state of Washington, had significantly higher levels of PCBs, dioxins, and dieldrin than wild salmon.
Contamination Likely Related to Feed The Pew-sponsored study concluded that the contamination problem is likely related to what salmon are being fed when they’re on the farm. While wild salmon eat a diverse buffet from small aquatic organisms like krill to larger fish, farmed salmon are fed a concentrated and high fat mixture of ground up fish and fish oil. And since chemical contaminants a fish is exposed to during its life are stored in its fat, the higher fat “salmon chow” passes along more of these contaminants to the farmed salmon.
Two Three Dead After Eating Infected Farmed Salmon - Death Toll Set to Rise to 17!
October 15, 2012 Updated October 18, 2012 read here
The Norwegian trade publication Intrafish reported today (15 October) that two people had died after eating salmonella-infected salmon - with the Dutch health agency warning that the death toll could rise to 17.
"If the history of salmon farming tells us anything at all it is the fact that overproduction causes problems wherever salmon
farms operate.”
Alexandra Morton:
“Government and industry ridicule has had an ironic impact on public support. What they don’t understand is the more we get attacked the higher our
credibility rises"
Legacy – November 2012
Wild Game Fish Conservation International
ISA virus infects salmon from within
September 24, 2012
New findings on the interaction between an influenza-related virus and the host provide a significant contribution to understanding disease mechanisms behind the serious fish disease Infectious salmon anemia (ISA). The severity of ISA is emphasized by the fact that it is the only disease of farmed Atlantic salmon listed by the OIE (World Organisation for Animal Health). Typically, an ISA outbreak starts in one cage and spreads over weeks and months to neighboring cages. If nothing is done to limit the spread of infection large numbers of fish can be lost.
But, how exactly does salmon get ISA? And why do rainbow trout, a close relative of Atlantic salmon, not get the disease, even though they may carry the virus? Many questions are unanswered. Researchers at the Norwegian Veterinary Institute and the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science have made important new discoveries, providing essential contribution towards understanding the interaction between Atlantic salmon and the virus, and how this interaction is leading to ISA. The findings are so interesting that they got published in the prestigious Journal of Virology, and may prove to be interesting in regards of influenza research in general. Virus lock and key "Our approach in this work has been that if we understand more of what is happening in the fish, we might be able to identify factors in the host and in the virus that are important for the development of the disease," says senior researcher Knut Falk. He is leading the research project that is part of the doctoral work of PhD-student Maria Aamelfot. "We examined ISA-diseased fish and studied which tissues and cells that become infected with the virus. Then, by using a novel method we determined to which tissues and cells the virus has a potential to attach to on healthy fish. The idea was to see what happened in the diseased fish, and then compare this with what happens at the molecular level when the fish becomes infected," says Aamelfot. "For a virus to be able to infect a cell, it first needs to recognize the cell. We found that the ISA virus recognizes very specific cells in Atlantic salmon, endothelial cells. These are the cells that line the luminal surface of blood vessels and the rest of the circulatory system, including the heart," adds Falk.
As a pilot for 25 years, LightHawk's executive director Rudy
Engholm has seen some incredible things from the air. But
nothing could prepare him for what he saw when he
embarked on a four-day, 5100-mile journey across North
America to the Alberta Tar Sands. This is his story.
Video: Tar Sands Oil Extraction: The Dirty Truth (11 minutes)
The Processing
At the Suncor plant, trucks deliver sandy bitumen to a conveyer belt. This is the start of the "upgrading" process. Even though the local industry-funded Oil Sands Discovery Center museum demonstrates that the consistency of the bitumen mined in the region is as hard as a hockey puck, no one in Fort McMurray actually uses the term tar sands. They prefer "oil sands" to make the whole undertaking seem more benign, and more in keeping with all other oil extraction activities. I suppose this is like calling a sawmill a furniture factory, but what comes off the conveyor in the photo on the right sure looks more like rock than oil to me.
At the heart of the whole enterprise is water and heat - vast amounts of both. The bitumen is mixed with hot water and ground into a frothy slurry, where the tarry substance is separated from the sand in giant vessels like this one.
According to his book Tar Sands, Andrew Nikiforuk notes that Canada only has enough natural gas to recover less than a third of the bitumen in the tar sands. Right now the Tar Sands produce around 1.7 million barrels of synthetic crude per day. If they reach their targeted 5 million barrels a day, the oil companies would consume 60% of the natural gas available in Western Canada by 2030.
As one Albertan recently observed, "Using natural gas to develop oil sands is like using caviar as fertilizer to grow turnips."
Subsequent cracking in refineries like the one shown here break down stubborn hydrocarbons. Our tour guide Sarah told us the smokestack in front of us was just issuing steam. Sarah is an earnest young woman one month out of college, who mostly spoke from a typed script she held. With no trace of irony, she said she worked for the Alberta Tourism Ministry, but wore a Suncor employee badge around her neck. (Perhaps this is in keeping with a local trend, where a Suncor Vice-President assumed a government position in 2007 as Assistant Deputy Oil Sands Secretariat while having her salary paid by Suncor.)
In spite of Sarah's statement, what I actually observed was a steam cloud dissipating a few hundred feet from the stack, with a long yellowish downstream smoke tail. We experienced extremely hazy flying conditions even at 26,000 feet in a 50-100 mile radius around Fort McMurray en route to Fort Chipewyan. The Nikiforuk book says that the area has the highest concentration of airborne pollutants in Canada.
Surface Extraction
Almost nothing I can say adequately describes the next several images. Garth took them along our flight route in what is described as the largest industrial project in the world. This is not one site photographed from different angle, this is the landscape we observed below us for mile after mile.
There is a Latin term used in the law: "res ipsa loquitur" - "the thing speaks for itself."
Some of the most prominent features of the landscape are
vast lake-sized tailings ponds like those shown in the photos
below. Remember the frothy slurry? The ponds contain the
residue after the oil is extracted.
In a recent highly publicized incident, 1600 ducks landed on
one of these ponds - which lies right on a major migratory
route. In spite of heroic rescue efforts, virtually all of the
ducks died. Everyone, including the companies,
acknowledge that the tailing ponds contain toxic substances.
The plant tour guide spoke about improved methods of
tailings disposal that will be coming Real Soon Now. But in
the meantime, millions of gallons per day are added to the
ponds, there is evidence of leaking toxics into the Athabasca
River, and new ponds are visibly under construction.
My Personal Take
After he returned from a recent LightHawk Tar Sands Expedition a few weeks ago, I asked Wyoming volunteer pilot Ray Lee for his impressions. He said: "There has got to be a better way." I agree.
The more I see and read about the Tar Sands, the more concerned I am about massive impacts to fresh water, human health, the atmosphere, energy, international security, democracy, and a host of other things. For example, Enbridge (the "sponsor" of the Kalamazoo River pipeline spill ... still not done after spending over $565 million in cleanup costs) - has a Trailbreaker Pipeline proposal on the table to pipe Tar Sands oil to a shipping terminal in Portland, Maine, a few miles south of my home. It envisions pumping abrasive bitumen crude under high temperature and pressure through an aging pipeline segment that passes within 0.2 miles of Sebago Lake - the source of drinking water for most of southern Maine (including me). While the Trailbreaker Pipeline proposal has the potential to risk my drinking water, there are many other pipelines that may affect you as well.
For Tom, Jan, Garth and me, flying over the industrialized portions of the former northern Alberta boreal forest engaged our eyes and minds, but it also reached our hearts. Yes, of course we all use oil and other resources. However, it all boils down to scale and alternatives. My house in Maine receives 100 percent of its total electric power and over 80 percent of its hot water from rooftop solar energy. But I didn’t have to unravel the earth to achieve it.
At the scale we observed, it is hard for me to think of Tar Sands oil extraction as anything less than a declaration of war against our planet.
Pipeline leak detection systems miss 19 out of 20 spills
September 19, 2012
Kalamazoo River cleanup
An investigation of pipeline accident reports from the last ten years has revealed that the much touted leak detection systems employed by pipeline companies only catch one out of twenty spills. The InsideClimate New article by Lisa Song illustrates an alarming disconnect between industry rhetoric
and reality when it comes to detecting leaks on pipelines. Not only do pipeline leak detection systems miss nineteen out of twenty spills, they miss four out of five spills larger than 42,000 gallons. Understanding the limits of current leak detection technology has never been more important. As companies like Enbridge and TransCanada propose pipelines moving large volumes of tar sands across sparsely populated areas, through rivers and aquifers, it’s critical that the public consider what’s at stake with open eyes. Particularly after learning from Enbridge’s Kalamazoo tar sands
pipeline spill how much more damaging tar sands can be.
What does that mean for tar sands pipelines like Keystone XL and Northern Gateway?
TransCanada has told regulators that its leak detection system has a threshold of between 1.5% and
2%. Given that Keystone XL has a maximum capacity of 830,000 barrels of tar sands per day, TransCanada is saying that Keystone XL’s leak detection system can only reliably identify leaks if they’re spilling more than 500,000 to 700,000 gallons of tar sands a day. When put in that context, the reason folks don’t want Keystone XL built through their rivers and groundwater become clear.
Of course, TransCanada has told federal regulators that “computer based, non real-time, accumulated
gain/loss volume trending would assist in identifying seepage releases below the 1.5 to 2 percent” threshold. In plain English, that means that given enough time, if TransCanada put a certain amount of tar sands in one end of Keystone XL, and gets less oil out of another, eventually they’ll determine they have a leak. But when?
Few would take heart upon learning the answer to that question. One of the “57 special conditions” that Keystone XL proponents claim will make the pipeline safer lays out the requirements its “non real time” leak detection system. Condition 31 says that Keystone XL’s leak detection system must be prepared using guidance provided in the Canadian Standards Association (CSA). And what does the CSA say?
To comply with this “special condition,” TransCanada’s non-real time leak detection system must be able to detect spills of 4.9 million gallons within a week (or 2% of its capacity). Leaks larger than 350,000 gallons a day, or 1% of its capacity, must be identified within a month – allowing a leak to generate a spill of over 10 million gallons over the course of a month before discovery. And there is no guidance for leaks less than one percent – on Keystone XL, a leak less than 350,000 gallons a day. When looking into it that way, the condition doesn’t seem that special.
These issues are also at play with Enbridge’s Northern Gateway project, a pipeline to move tar sands
across the mountains and rivers of British Columbia. As we noted in our report, that 525,000 bpd tar sands pipeline could also leak millions of gallons of tar sands in highly remote regions without its leak detection system identifying a problem.
Enbridge’s Kalamazoo tar sands spill presents another case undercutting industry’s claims about
pipeline safety and leak detection. As the InsideClimate piece notes, “Just 10 days before the accident,
Enbridge Inc., which operates the Michigan pipeline, told federal regulators it could remotely detect
and shut down a rupture in eight minutes. But when the line burst open, it took Enbridge 17 hours to confirm the spill.”
What is more surprising is that one month after failures in its leak detection system allowed it’s line 6B
pipeline to spill over a million gallons of tar sands into the Kalamazoo River, Enbridge proposed to
employ a new leak detection system only capable of detecting leaks greater than 15% of Line 6B’s capacity. Such a leak detection system could only identify spills greater than 1.2 million gallons a day.
While Enbridge is now well known for its “Keystone Kop” performance during devastating Kalamazoo tar sands spill in Michigan, a smaller spill on another Enbridge pipeline demonstrates an entirely
different category of risk. In June of 2011, a landowner discovered a 63,000 gallon spill from a leak the
size of a pin-hole. No one is clear how long the leak had been ongoing, but one thing is clear – if a landowner had not happened upon the spill, in all probability the pipeline would still be leaking.
Operators can feel pressured to "tell people things they shouldn't tell them because it's not true"
Richard Kuprewicz, President of Accufacts, Sept. 19, 2012
This is quite different from the picture painted by pipeline company representatives. In one public
panel, TransCanada representatives simply denied that spills smaller than 2% could not be reliably
detected by Keystone XL’s real time leak detection system. Simply stated, it’s hard to have an honest public discussion about the risks of projects like Keystone XL when the company sponsoring the project isn’t honest to the public about those risks.
Climate change will lead to smaller fish, UBC study says
September 30, 2012
A new study from fisheries researchers at the University of B.C. says that climate change will lead to smaller fish in the world’s oceans.
Using computer modelling to study 600 species of fish across the world’s oceans, the scientists found fish sizes could shrink by 14 to 24 per cent from 2000 to 2050, due to warmer temperatures and less oxygen.
The study, published Sunday in the journal Nature Climate Change, concluded tropical fish will suffer the most impact. Smaller-than-normal fish can lead to a host of negative consequences on communities dependent on fish stocks for food security and trade, especially developing countries.
Marine ecosystems in general will be disrupted as smaller fish species move north and predator-prey relationships shift. For example, Cheung said, Pacific salmon are now moving closer to Alaska and sardines are moving from southern Europe to the North Sea. “This is the first study that looks at the changes in the maximum body size of fish on a global scale,” said William Cheung, assistant professor at the university’s Fisheries Centre and co-author of the study.
“There have been lots of studies, especially in the last few years, looking at the responses of marine organisms to climate change, but they mainly focus on changing of distribution or biological events, like the spawning of salmon. The effect on body size on this global scale hasn’t been done before.”
The next step is to study the exact effect on fish ecosystems, he said.
The UBC researchers based their computer models on a U.K. study that showed haddock stocks in the North Sea may already be experiencing a decline in maximum body size, correlating to rising sea temperatures. They also looked at a study, dating back to 1958, of the growth rates and body size of North Atlantic cod in the U.S., Canada and Europe that showed warmer habitats led to smaller fish.
“That study assumes there was a trend of increasing temperatures in the water in the 1950s,” Cheung said. “At that time climate change and ocean warming was not such a big concern compared to, say, fishing. I think that’s the reason why the idea was not carried forward until recently we picked it up again.”
Fish and other organisms that get oxygen from warmer water are affected in two ways. Not only is it more difficult already to access oxygen in water, but fish require more oxygen as they grow. And as water warms, cold-blooded fish will see an increase in their body temperature, speeding up the metabolic rate. So even though the demand for oxygen increases as fish grow, their ability to get it slows, triggering a halt to growth.
“The unexpectedly big effect that climate change could have on body size suggests that we may be missing a big piece of the puzzle of understanding climate change effects in the ocean,” Cheung said.
An anti-salmon-farming activist has won another victory against the global aquaculture industry, but also has been harshly criticized by a B.C. Supreme Court justice
Justice Elaine Adair has dismissed a defamation case launched by the salmon-farming company Mainstream Canada against Don Staniford over a 2011 campaign that included images of cigarette-like packages and statements such as "Salmon Farming Kills Like Smoking."
In her ruling published Friday, Adair said while the statements were defamatory and Staniford was motivated by malice, the activist honestly believed in what he was saying and animosity wasn't his dominant purpose.
The ruling left officials at Mainstream Canada, a subsidiary of the Norwegian company Cermaq, disappointed.
But the British-born Staniford, who was removed from Canada this past February for overstaying a visitor's permit, was in a celebratory mood.
"I am over the proverbial moon and feel extremely vindicated," he said during a phone interview from Spain. "All along I knew that Cermaq [was] whistling in the dark."
"This is a victory not just for Don Staniford against Mainstream Canada. This is a victory for environmental campaigners, social-justice campaigners across the world."
Company calls ruling 'outrageous' Laurie Jensen, a spokeswoman for Mainstream Canada, said the company will be reviewing the ruling, noting it's too early to say if it will appeal, and she defended the court action, saying it was the right thing to do. "What we're seeing is a character of a person," she said. "And because, you know, he's not found legally responsible doesn't mean that, you know, he's getting away with things."
She said Adair's ruling supports many of the company's allegations, but she's disappointed the judge dismissed the court action over fair comment, a ruling she called "outrageous."
Editorial Comment:
It is encouraging and inspiring when those
doing the right things to protect and restore
wild salmon and their ecosystems come out
on top of the bullies who take advantage of
public resources for personal gain.
Thank you, Don.
Editorial Comment:
Wild Game Fish Conservation International
finds Mr. Staniford and his colleagues to be
absolutely credible. He does in-depth,
professional investigation into many adverse
impacts of open pen salmon feedlots all
around the world.
Of course, he believes the messages he
delivers – they are the truth – he has nothing
to gain by fabricating these horrendous stories
Similarly, Ms. Jensen and other fish farm
spokespeople have presented their industry-
developed messages so often that they have
come to believe them as well.
One difference is that with a failing,
unsustainable industry, these spokespeople
are desperately scrambling to send messages
that will appease their stockholders. That’s
their only job.
Another difference is that these industry
spokespeople have a great deal to lose
financially when their messages are
challenged and eventually proven to be false.
Don Staniford:
"This judgment is a victory for free
speech....The Norwegian Government's
malicious attempt to abuse the Canadian
courts to muzzle fair and honest criticism of
Norwegian-owned salmon farming has
back-fired spectacularly. Cermaq should
now go back to Norway taking their
disease-ridden salmon feedlots with them."
Legacy – November 2012
Wild Game Fish Conservation International
The court action was not the first faced by Staniford.
His first legal threat came from a Scottish salmon-farming company in 2001 but that never went to trial. He also won a new trial that has yet to happen after
appealing a defamation victory by B.C.'s Creative Salmon Company in 2007.
The latest defamation case was launched by Mainstream Canada based on a Jan. 31, 2011 Global Alliance Against Industrial Aquaculture campaign.
Court documents state a news release sent to media included four mock-cigarette packages, all modelled after the Marlboro brand, containing statements like, "Salmon Farming Kills," "Salmon Farming is Poison," "Salmon Farming is Toxic," and "Salmon Farming Seriously Damages Health."
Images also appeared on the global alliance's website.
Plans return to Canada
Many packages also included statements, such as "Norwegian Owned," and "92% Norwegian Owned."
Mainstream Canada, which has 27 fish-farm sites along the east and west coasts of Vancouver Island and is the second-largest salmon-farming company in B.C., argued there were more than 50 instances of defamatory words.
In fact, when questioned during the trial, Staniford wasn't aware of any research showing anyone had developed cancer after eating farmed salmon, Adair said in her ruling.
But based on peer-reviewed science from the global salmon-farming industry, Staniford said the product "can contain cancer-causing chemicals and can carry an elevated cancer risk," noted Adair.
But the judge found Staniford believed what he said, although she called him a "zealot," challenged his credibility and noted his "closed-mindedness and deep prejudices make him an unreliable reporter of facts."
Still, Adair ruled Staniford's defence of fair comment should succeed.
Staniford said the court case cost him about $100,000 even with his lawyer, David Sutherland, working at a reduced rate.
Staniford said he'll return to Canada as soon as he's allowed on March 1, 2013, and is planning a lecture tour around B.C. with Kurt Oddekalv, the leader of the Green Warriors of Europe, an environmental organization.
DFO approves new open net-pen salmon farm in Clayoquot Sound despite ongoing concerns about disease and pathogens FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | October 12, 2012
Vancouver, B.C. — The Coastal Alliance for
Aquaculture Reform (CAAR) is appalled to learn that
on October 10, DFO quietly issued a new aquaculture
licence to Mainstream Canada for another open net-
pen salmon farm in Clayoquot Sound. The new site is
located in Fortune Channel near Plover Point on
Meares Island.
“DFO calls this new licence a ‘replacement’ for
another site that has been inactive for 47 out of the
last 51 months,” said David Lane, Executive Director
of the T. Buck Suzuki Environmental Foundation.
“Replacing a poorly producing site with a site able to greatly expand production of Atlantic salmon in
open net-pens along the Bedwell Sound and Fortune Channel corridor is a recipe for disaster for wild
salmon.”
Wild salmon in Clayoquot Sound continue to be some of the most depressed stocks along the west
coast of Vancouver Island even though their freshwater habitat is relatively pristine. Earlier this year
Mainstream Canada emptied two of their farm sites in Clayoquot Sound due to confirmation of the
IHN virus in their Atlantic salmon. They claim the source was passing wild salmon. As well, testimony
was given at the Cohen Inquiry last winter showing evidence of positive test results for the ISA virus
at two other Pacific salmon farms in the Sound. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is
currently in the first year of a two year pathogen surveillance program of wild and farmed salmon in
B.C. coastal waters. Results are not yet available.
“We are hugely disappointed that DFO took this decision at this time,” said Kelly Roebuck from Living
Oceans Society. “The Cohen Report is due out in less than a month and the recommendations from
that report may have an impact on salmon farming everywhere in B.C., not just along the migration
routes of Fraser River sockeye.“
CAAR supports an end to net-pen production and a transition to closed containment technology for
the industry.
“The UNESCO Biosphere Reserve designation in Clayoquot Sound makes it the perfect proving
ground for raising salmon in closed containment technology,” said John Werring, Senior Science and
Policy Advisor for the David Suzuki Foundation. “The intent of the designation is to explore new ways
to create employment that have less harmful environmental impacts and closed containment has
huge potential to do just that by eliminating any interaction between the farmed salmon and their
surrounding marine environment.”
Editorial Comment:
Wild Game Fish Conservation
International and our colleagues around
the world support:
Immediate and permanent
moratorium against new open pen
salmon feedlots
Immediate and permanent removal
of open pen salmon feedlots from
the world’s marine ecosystems
Legacy – November 2012
Wild Game Fish Conservation International
British Columbia: Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations Opposes DFO Approval Of
Mainstream Canada's Plover Point Fish Farm
October 16, 2012
The Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations is
appalled to learn that on OCTOBER 9th,
Department of Fisheries and Oceans
issued a new aquaculture license to
Mainstream Canada for an open net-
pen salmon farm located in Fortune
Channel near Plover Point. The new site
will have negative impacts to our Wah-
Na-Jus/Hilth-Hoo-iss (Meares Island)
Tribal Park. In 1984, our Tla-o-qui-aht
Hawiih (Hereditary chiefs) declared total
preservation of Wah-Nah-Jus/Hilth-Hoo-
iss Island based on title and survival of
Indigenous way of life by protecting the
ancient old growth with an intact
ecosystem that is connected to the
coastal waters.
Our Tribal Parks Declaration clearly states that our
Sable Fish Canada (Salt Spring Island) has received $213,188. This project will design, construct, and test an innovative,
modular, environmentally-controlled transportation system specifically designed for sablefish and suitable for other
aquaculture species with minor modifications.
BC Salmon Farmers Association (Campbell River) has received $49,995. This project will deliver information technology
that will be relevant to Fisheries and Oceans Canada's industry reporting requirements. Canadian salmon farmers are
collaborating to improve environmental data management and information sharing to increase accuracy and reduce
costs.
Taste of B.C. (Nanaimo) has received $450,000. This project will establish a land-based model aquaculture farm for
steelhead as a pilot project. It will demonstrate a novel, dual drain, round tank recirculating aquaculture system. In
addition, it will pilot the application of recirculating aquaculture systems for the production of steelhead in the Pacific
Region.
SHELLFISH
Bees Islets Growers (Cortes Island) has received $49,865. This demonstration project will encapsulate existing spray
foam floats in affordable sea-worthy plastic, extending the equipment lifespan and addressing aquaculture-related
pollution in marine environments that can result from the breakdown of Styrofoam.
Island Scallops Limited (Qualicum Beach) has received $70,000. This project will develop and demonstrate a new type of
nursery heating system, specifically suited for colder climates, to increase production and availability of domestic shellfish
seed supplies.
Island Sea Farms (Salt Spring Island) has received $175,000. This project will design, install and assess an innovative
duck predator deterrent system to reduce predation of farm-raised mussels and to minimize harm to ducks.
Nova Harvest Limited (Bamfield) has received $69,800. This project will benchmark and demonstrate innovative land and
ocean-based nursery technologies for high efficiency geoduck seed production using local algae for feed.
Nootka Sound Shellfish (West Coast of Vancouver Island) has received $32,842. This project will develop, test and
evaluate protective barriers to counter sea otter predation of Manila clams, which is a serious threat on the North Coast
and North Vancouver Island of British Columbia.
Aphrodite's Garden (Pendrell Sound) has received $55,000. This project will develop and test handling equipment to
produce single oyster seed in commercial quantities using recycled plastic pails and local wild spat (oyster larvae) fall
from Pendrell Sound.
Mac's Oysters (Fanny Bay) has received $37,000. This project will develop, demonstrate and test an innovative rack and
tray insert to improve performance of a "floating upweller system" for bivalve production (oysters). This novel floating
nursery will enable users to increase production on existing aquaculture sites without increasing the site's size.
B.C. Shellfish Growers Association (Comox) has received $55,125. This market access project will enable the Pacific
shellfish industry to revise and improve their environmental code of practice. It will specifically review best practices from
other jurisdictions and address related requirements from the new Pacific Aquaculture Regulations managed by Fisheries
and Oceans Canada.
Legacy – November 2012
Wild Game Fish Conservation International
Dear Sue Farlinger: wishing you the guts to step up
September 20, 2012
Sue Farlinger Regional Director General, Pacific Region Suite 200-401 Burrard St. Vancouver, BC V6C 3S4
Dear Ms. Farlinger:
As a participant of the Cohn Commission, I read hundreds of internal DFO emails. I saw that DFO expends enormous time and resources to create documents, such as your recent response to a salmon farm near the mouth of the Fraser River infected with IHN. The template of these letters is always: There is no problem, it is not DFO’s fault, don’t worry we are on it.
Your August 15, 2012 letter, which I note you did not sign personally, is a classic example. You are ignoring your own science and a technical report commission by Justice Cohen.
This is how the once abundant cod stocks were stolen from future generations. DFO should have been gutted and reassembled for destroying one of humanity’s greatest food resources. But nothing was done and so the people who depend on wild salmon are being hurt in the same manner today.
You must be aware of the points I am going to raise, so this letter is not so much for you, but to all the people who are forwarding me the letters you sent to them about IHN:
Farlinger: “... [IHN] virus can be rendered non-infectious within minutes by sunlight...”
AQUACULTURE UPDATE 11/23/1992 (DFO) “...99% of the viral [IHN] particles are inactivated within 3 weeks” Download IHN Aquaculture Update 1991.pdf (390.6K) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Farlinger: “...susceptibility of sockeye salmon to IHNV disease decreases with age...”
Technical Report #1 to the Cohen Commission on the threat of disease to Fraser sockeye "I designate the following pathogens as potential "HIGH RISK...IHNV” ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Farlinger: “... sockeye fry that survive freshwater exposure...may represent a source of virus to... farmed salmonids...”
Dr. Kyle Garver (DFO) testimony at the Cohen Commission: “... If you have a farm that has approximately a million fish...experiencing 30 percent infection... you do get 650 billion viral particles shed per hour.” Testimony 08/25/11 page 14, line 25 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Farlinger: “... the CFIA ... is currently working to confirm the presence and strain of IHN from this farm.” (August 15)
Grieg Seafood ASA: IHN confirmed at the Culloden Point site in BC, Canada: “Reference is made to the stock exchange notification on 3 August 2012. Renewed tests confirm the presence of the IHN virus at Grieg Seafood... Canadian authorities that have conducted the renewed testing, has not yet issued any depopulation order... The final financial impact of the likely depopulation order will depend on the potential compensation from Grieg Seafood’s insurance and/or Canadian authorities...”
Ms. Farlinger, in the wild predators remove sick, slow fish and you don’t easily get this kind of massive viral release. But salmon feedlots violate the natural laws, hold salmon stationary, prevent the predators from removing the sick and thus allow unnatural viral release.
Scientists report the virus is of high risk to the Fraser sockeye, can live up to three weeks in saltwater and a single infected farm produces hundreds of billions of IHN viral particles an hour. The farm in question is near the mouth of the Fraser River, meaning adult salmon passed through a IHN viral cloud just before entering the nursery areas of Adams Lake, Scotch Creek, Takla Landing, Chilko, Shuswap, Horsefly, Gates Creek, Birkenhead, Nicola, Weaver.... There is nothing natural about a school of 300,000 Atlantic salmon shedding IHN virus into the Fraser sockeye migration exposing the young salmon fry rearing in the river.
Until DFO recognizes that salmon farms amplify pathogens to dangerous levels, I will maintain my opinion that DFO has no intention of protecting wild salmon from salmon farms. I suspect you have been pressured to make it easier for the salmon farmers to collect insurance and apply for compensation.
I have asked Grieg repeatedly and now I ask you, what strain of IHN was detected in Grieg Seafood’s Culloden Point salmon farm so we, the public, can assess for ourselves which way this virus is moving.
I suspect you do not feel free to speak your mind on this, but there is always a way to step up and protect a public resource as generous and essential as wild salmon. In closing I offer a link to a blog that details questioning of your Director General of Science, Dr. Laura Richards concerning DFO research on viruses affecting the Fraser sockeye and ask; what hope can we possibly have, in the face of this kind of testimony, that wild salmon are safe with DFO?
Wishing you the guts to step up and set this on the right course,
Alexandra Morton
How many salmon died without spawning in the Fraser River this year?
Is this how BC fish farmers empty their RV holding tanks when on vacation?
Legacy – November 2012
Wild Game Fish Conservation International
Enbridge's plan to train supertanker captains .....
To ensure our coast will be safe from a spill ......
They say the method is "based" in science and it has the Faux PM's approval.
Legacy – November 2012
Wild Game Fish Conservation International
You heard it here: Northern Gateway’s dead
October 5, 2012
The Northern Gateway pipeline that Enbridge proposes to build from Alberta’s bitumen oil to the
Pacific coast of British Columbia is, for all intents and purposes, dead.
Yes, regulatory hearings before the National Energy Board will continue until the NEB approves the project. And yes, Enbridge will keep pushing for it. And yes, the Harper government, which is so publicly committed to the project, will continue to extol its virtues as part of the need to get Canadian resources to Asia.
Rumours of his demise are greatly exaggerated
But the project is dead. It has too many obstacles now, and there’ll be more in the future.
To survive, the Gateway pipeline would have to push past the growing opposition of British Columbians in general, the opposition of the current Liberal provincial government and the NDP government likely to replace it next year, the unanimous opposition of environmentalists, considerable opposition from at least some of the aboriginal groups along the route and, if all this were not enough, the likelihood of prolonged court battles.
What’s not standing in the way are U.S. environmentalists, whom the Harper government accused of being the principal reasons for the project’s problems. This wild statement was, then as now, completely at variance with reality, since British Columbians are hardly to be led around by their collective nose by a handful of folks from south of the border. To suggest otherwise is to insult their intelligence.
B.C. Premier Christy Clark just spent two days in Alberta, including a meeting with Alberta Premier Alison Redford that both described as frosty. Ms. Clark said she was in Alberta to inform Albertans of B.C.’s concerns and demands; but given a looming political debacle at home, she was really speaking to her home audience.
It was the height of rudeness to ask for a meeting, as Ms. Clark did, then offer nothing and not even pretend to be civil, as if the most urgent thing on her mind was telling the B.C. media how unproductive had been the meeting she sought.
But good manners flee, even between premiers of contiguous provinces, when one of them – Ms. Clark – is fighting for her political life and has come to understand how unpopular Gateway has become in British Columbia. Indeed, it would seem that the more British Columbians know about the project, the less they like it, starting with the reasonable question: Why should B.C. take most of the environmental risks for so little actual gain?
Ms. Clark, reading the political winds, has become testy about Gateway; her likely successor, NDP Leader Adrian Dix, is adamantly opposed. As are, of course, the federal New Democrats. The Harper Conservatives can steamroller the federal NDP in Parliament, but they can’t so easily steamroller the B.C. government and public opinion.
Aboriginals are divided, of course, but those who’re opposed can make life very difficult for Enbridge even if the NEB approves the pipeline. In fact, some aboriginal groups would take a green light to Gateway as a green light to appeal to the courts, arguing that their constitutional right to be consulted
on lands they claim to be theirs was not respected, a precept articulated by the Supreme Court of Canada. At the very least, this litigation would stretch on for years.
Enbridge has not helped itself in the court of public opinion with embarrassing pipeline spills. These might be one-off affairs, explainable on technical grounds, but they looked bad and, politically, smelled worse.
The diminished prospects for Gateway make it somewhat more attractive building further pipeline capacity down the Fraser River to the Lower Mainland, where the Kinder Morgan-owned Trans Mountain pipeline already runs. The prospect of more ships in Vancouver’s harbour is among the obstacles for this project.
Trains? They don’t carry the capacity of pipelines. But they arouse less opposition, so that option has a better chance politically than a pipeline for bitumen to the Pacific. Shipping more oil to Eastern Canada seems to be the easiest option politically of all.
But bitumen oil to Asia through northern B.C. just ain’t going to happen.
Nixon said a woman was driving along the road at that moment and saw him curled up in the ditch.
She stopped to help the man and when she realized the severity of the situation called emergency
services.
"If she hadn't stopped for him, this could have been a life-or-death situation," said Nixon.
The man, whose name has not been released by authorities, was transported to a hospital in
Smithers but was later airlifted to Vancouver General Hospital.
Mounties believe the man was on vacation from a small town in Alaska and are trying to contact his
family. Corp. Aaron Geary, a spokesman for the Houston RCMP, declined to release his hometown
because it could identify the victim.
He said the man's camper van has been towed from the fishing site. The area, he said, is a popular
destination for fly fishing and attracts people from all over the world, including celebrities and
politicians.
Nixon said the man's condition is not known but he has severe facial and head injuries, multiple
broken bones and deep puncture wounds. He said the man is missing his lower jaw and will require
months of reconstructive surgery.
Conservation officers spoke to the man briefly, but said his injuries were so severe he could only
respond to yes and no questions.
From that interview, officers were able to determine that the animal was a grizzly bear and that the
attack was likely defensive rather than predatory.
Conservation officers combed the site on Wednesday and found the area covered in blood. They
found bear fur on the trees and bear cub tracks.
The officers did a flyover of the area, but found no sign of the bear or cubs.
Nixon says sections of the road between Owen Flats and the Aspen Pool campsite have been closed
until further notice. They are warning anglers and hikers to stay out of the area for now while they
investigate this weekend.
Grizzly bear sightings are not unusual for the rural area of Houston, however Nixon said he had not
heard of an angler being mauled before at the Morice River, a common spot for fishing steelhead.
Geary warned that there are lots of bears in the area and people should always fish in pairs. He also
suggested playing a transistor radio or making plenty of noise so the bears will stay away.
Last fall, a woman was mauled by a black bear about 20 kilometres east of Houston. She survived
but was badly mangled and her ear was torn off.
Geary said that incident was the first bear mauling in 11 years in Houston.
Meanwhile, conservation Inspector Chris Doyle says there have been fewer bear complaints —
which can be everything from sightings to property damage or maulings — in Metro Vancouver
compared with last year.
So far, he noted that there has only been one major conflict with a person. In June, a man was
attacked while soaking in a hot tub in Whistler.
The 55-year-old man was treated for minor cuts on his head.
Legacy – November 2012
Wild Game Fish Conservation International
New Brunswick
Alexandra Morton:
“Yesterday we watched the well-boat Ronja Carrier, tied to a salmon feedlot off Grand Manan Island. We were told farm salmon were being pumped into
the boat for chemical de-lousing. The lobster fishermen were not happy to see this because in the bay they lost their lobster season when a highly toxic drug
was released from a salmon feedlot. They were getting a lot of lobster, the next day the lobster were curled up tight, the next day and for the rest of the
season there were no lobsters. This is before the courts right now behind closed doors, but the fishermen were never compensated for their loss. We
were told these boats just release the drug water when they are done.”
Legacy – November 2012
Wild Game Fish Conservation International
Anissa Reed:
“Half price factory salmon at Sobeys in St John. The man at the counter said
they were issued an advisory this morning not to sell any whole salmon because of the sea lice infestation and hold any back they may have in
stock. He hasn't heard of anything like it in 8 years at least.”
Legacy – November 2012
Wild Game Fish Conservation International
Newfoundland and Labrador
Salmon numbers down across province this year
September 25, 2012
It hasn't been a good year for Atlantic salmon, with a drastic drop in the number of fish that returned to rivers this year.
Numbers are down at 13 of DFO's 15 counting stations across Newfoundland and Labrador.
Only Conne River and Middle Brook yielded higher numbers.
Some rivers are down by as much as 60 per cent.
The biggest drop was on the Sand Hill River in Labrador.
It's a sharp reversal from last year, which saw salmon return in higher-than-expected numbers.
"That's generally indicative of a population that's not stable and is having some problems," Don Ivany of the Atlantic Salmon Federation said.
Ivany said some of this can be explained by the poor spawning year of 2009, but not all.
He said it doesn't help that Ottawa is shutting down most of its regional conservation and protection offices.
Some Island sport fishermen are upset the Department of Fisheries and Oceans is not extending the Atlantic Salmon catch and release season in more rivers on P.E.I.
For as long as avid fly fisher Dwayne Miller can remember, DFO has extended the season beyond Sept. 15 on several Island rivers. But the Dunk and West rivers are now closed. Only Morell River remains open.
"I was quite upset," said Miller.
"Everybody was very eager to have the extension and get a chance to catch a few of those fish."
DFO said fishing is being restricted for conservation reasons. That has Todd Dupuis, executive director of regional programs for the Atlantic Salmon Federation, scratching his head. He said catch and release with fly-fishing may kill a few fish per season, but there are also benefits.
"You lose one or two fish but you're actually saving more fish by maintaining the interest in the species itself and actually having eyes on the river watching for any poachers," said Dupuis.
Bait fishers support closure
Fly fishers are finding themselves in opposition to bait fishers on the season closure.
The P.E.I. Bait Fishers Group had asked that the season not be extended this year. It argued this year's dry, hot summer had hurt the overall health of streams, and extending the season was not sustainable.
"They can start fishing the first time, April the 15th, as us and most of them do. And go until September 15th, the same as we do," said group president Bill Warren.
Provincial biologist Rosanne MacFarlane has no objection to the closure, but she is concerned the last-minute announcement will lead to confusion.
"We would have preferred that this maybe would have been held over till the start of the 2013 season, and give us some time to think about it and get the message out there," said MacFarlane.
"Many people might be confused and might actually be going out without realizing that those two rivers are no longer extended."
Dupuis said if DFO wants to help Atlantic salmon it should delay the opening of the season by two weeks in the spring. He said that's when the fish are the most vulnerable
It’s a mark of quality that would see salmon from Ireland joining the ranks of such world renowned foods as Feta cheese, Champagne and the Cornish pasty.
But Northern Ireland’s anglers are up in arms about plans to seek PGI (protected geographical indication) status for the term ‘Irish salmon’, so that only salmon farmed in Irish waters can be labelled as such.
The Ulster Angling Federation has lodged an objection to the PGI application, which is the first to be made on an all-Ireland basis.
The anglers claim the term has been hijacked by the Irish salmon farming industry and will create confusion following last week’s warning that wild Irish salmon is in danger of going extinct.
UAF chairman Jim Haughey said: “The idea is clearly to create the illusion that consumers are receiving a wild Irish product.”
“Nothing could be further from the truth. The proposal needs to be amended to, say, ‘Farmed Salmon from Ireland’.”
Editorial Comment:
The proposed action to seek protected geographical indication status for the term “Irish Salmon”
is consistent with the open pen salmon feedlot industry’s consistently deceptive marketing
strategies which promote “ocean fresh salmon” that have flesh artificially colored with chemicals
to more resemble the color of wild salmon.
These marketing strategies, free waste disposal, relaxed environmental regulation enforcement,
“You should have been a lawyer," Judge Gordon Whiting told Sustain Our Sounds chairman Danny Boulton in Blenheim yesterday.
"That's an insult," a voice from the public was heard to say.
Mr Boulton was reading evidence at the Environmental Protection Authority hearing considering whether New Zealand King Salmon should be granted a plan change and resource consents to farm salmon at nine new sites in the Marlborough Sounds.
Mr Boulton said the fish farms King Salmon planned to build were not ecologically sustainable because they would release harmful nitrogen waste.
Damaging effects could include triggering harmful algae blooms, he said.
"The Marlborough Sounds requires protecting, not polluting," he said.
It seemed bizarre that a pet owner could be fined up to $10,000 if his dog pooed in a park but King Salmon was looking to release waste equivalent to that of 58,000 dairy cows into the Sounds, Mr Boulton said.
Farm footprints would extend 900 metres beyond cages yet accounted for only 20 per cent of waste.
The remaining 80 per cent would be released into the sea water.
"Dilution is not the solution to pollution."
Mr Boulton said the farms would threaten outstanding undersea environments supporting vast sponge gardens, hydroid forests and seldom-seen species including burrowing sea cucumbers. King shags, which were the rarest seabirds in the world, and dolphin species could be endangered and displaced.
Globally, businesses were looking to contain waste and King Salmon should investigate farming on land or in a vessel at sea as alternatives, Mr Boulton said.
Flow-on effects of all sites threatened the health of the Marlborough Sounds, flew in the face of public opinion and would have unacceptable social, economic and ecological impacts, he said.
Mr Boulton, who runs a dive business at French Pass near D'Urville Island with his wife Lyn, is a prominent face of the fight against King Salmon expansion plans.
His underwater filming of sites under and near proposed farms has brought the undersea environment of the Sounds to life for everyone following the hearing, which today ends its fourth week in Blenheim.
The Government's top of the South MPs have condemned a flotilla protest against NZ King Salmon as "a lynch mob".
Kaikoura MP Colin King said Saturday's flotilla against King Salmon's application to set up new salmon farms in the Marlborough Sounds was "a bad look".
"The people who are against the situation feel good, but it won't influence anything. They're trying to get publicity."
He said he'd been talking with Nelson MP Nick Smith earlier that day and they both felt it was "similar to an old-fashioned court case and having a lynch mob outside".
Mr King said his position was that he expected "a positive outcome, a quality outcome".
"At the end of the day, the sky is not going to fall in. We have to balance within a context of what's sustainable economically and environmentally.
"We live in a modified environment. People believe it's sacrosanct, but we've been modifying it for some time."
As local MP, he "certainly" understood that people in this community had a view. "It's very much part of the process. As soon as you step off the plane in Wellington, everyone else has got a different view."
He said that if Marlborough was going to keep saying no to economic development, people needed to have consideration to the long-term economic prospects of the region and come up with some alternatives.
Dr Smith put out a statement saying the planned flotilla was "misguided and ill-timed".
He said people were being misled into believing the protest will influence the decision by Environment Court Judge Gordon Whiting and the independent board of inquiry.
"I would be equally critical if King Salmon and other marine farming supporters organised and funded a protest at this time, arguing for the jobs and economic growth from the proposal. We should be letting the Board of Inquiry make a well-informed decision without undue pressure from either side of the argument."
He said the decision over NZ King Salmon's marine farming application was incredibly important to both Nelson and Marlborough from an economic and environmental perspective.
"We need more jobs and exports to secure a prosperous future but we also need to carefully manage environmental jewels like the Marlborough Sounds to protect our great lifestyle. (ed. This industry’s track record is consistent – you cannot have your cake and eat it too!)
"The region's interests are best served by a decision based on sound science rather than slick slogans, and on the quality of the evidence rather than the noise of the protest."
A flotilla of boats protests the proposed new King Salmon salmon
farms in the Marlborough Sounds by gathering around Ruakaka
salmon farm and visiting several of the proposed new sites.
King Salmon's fish farms create more pollution than the environment can handle and proposed sites in Tory Channel will pose a navigational risk to boats, Guardians of the Sounds chairman Peter Beech says.
Mr Beech opposed King Salmon's application to build nine new fish farms at an Environmental Protection Agency hearing at Waikawa Marae on Thursday and Friday.
Representing Marlborough Sounds conservation advocacy group Guardians of the Sounds, Mr Beech said the farms would permanently scar the environment with "five to 9000 litres of anti-foul [paint] containing zinc and copper per farm per annum".
"Every time I see mussel or fish farms and think of the pollution and adverse effects I feel a sense of profound sadness for a paradise lost."
The industry needed to use closed-containment farming to control the feeding, waterflow and pollution of the farms.
The Tory Channel sites were a prime example of uncontrolled pollution, the original depositional footprint was 150 metres, and the company was now applying for 900 metres, but faeces and toxins had been found up to kilometres away because of the high water flow, he said.
Mr Beech said all existing farms exceeded enrichment stage (ES) level 5. Level one being pristine, level seven being completely dead.
Proposed sites at Kaitapeha, Ruaomoko and Ngamahau were a risk to safe navigation in the channel for private boat owners and ferries. The farms could also leave debris in the water and could come adrift from their moorings creating a floating minefield.
"They cannot guarantee these huge structures will not come adrift and it is irresponsible to place them in a narrow [high volume shipping] channel."
The application went against the Treaty of Waitangi, the United Nations declaration on the rights of indigenous people and the Takutai Moana Act because the Government was attempting to claim ownership of part of the seabed to let King Salmon use it exclusively.
He believed the proposed 35-year leases were too long and could easily be renewed provided King Salmon complied with regulations.
Guardians of the Sounds' long-term goal was for a Marlborough Sounds Integrated Management Structure made up of various stakeholders to govern the area and for the boundaries of Coastal Marine Zone 1 to be a prohibited zone.
World's biggest geoengineering experiment 'violates' UN rules
Monday 15 October 2012
Controversial US businessman's iron fertilisation off west coast of Canada contravenes two UN conventions
A controversial American businessman dumped around 100 tonnes of iron sulphate into the Pacific Ocean as part of a geoengineering scheme off the west coast of Canada in July, a Guardian investigation can reveal.
Lawyers, environmentalists and civil society groups are calling it a "blatant violation" of two international moratoria and the news is likely to spark outrage at a United Nations environmental summit taking place in India this week.
Satellite images appear to confirm the claim by Californian Russ George that the iron has spawned an artificial plankton bloom as large as 10,000 square kilometres. The intention is for the plankton to absorb carbon dioxide and then sink to the ocean bed – a geoengineering technique known as ocean fertilisation that he hopes will net lucrative carbon credits.
George is the former chief executive of Planktos Inc, whose previous failed efforts to conduct large-scale commercial dumps near the Galapagos and Canary Islands led to his vessels being barred from ports by the Spanish and Ecuadorean governments. The US Environmental Protection Agency warned him that flying a US flag for his Galapagos project would violate US laws, and his activities are credited in part to the passing of international moratoria at the United Nations limiting ocean fertilisation experiments
Scientists are debating whether iron fertilisation can lock carbon into the deep ocean over the long term, and have raised concerns that it can irreparably harm ocean ecosystems, produce toxic tides and lifeless waters, and worsen ocean acidification and global warming.
"It is difficult if not impossible to detect and describe important effects that we know might occur months or years later," said John Cullen , an oceanographer at Dalhousie University. "Some possible
Dr. Maite Maldonado, Biological Oceanographer, UBC:
"If you have a massive bloom or growth of this microscopic algae, you might not have enough oxygen in the water column at certain depths."
“the process could have effects that are the reverse of those intended, as the lack of oxygen could potentially create toxic,
effects, such as deep-water oxygen depletion and alteration of distant food webs, should rule out ocean manipulation. History is full of examples of ecological manipulations that backfired."
George says his team of unidentified scientists has been monitoring the results of the biggest ever geoengineering experiment with equipment loaned from US agencies like Nasa and the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration. He told the Guardian that it is the "most substantial ocean restoration project in history," and has collected a "greater density and depth of scientific data than ever before".
"We've gathered data targeting all the possible fears that have been raised [about ocean fertilisation]," George said. "And the news is good news, all around, for the planet."
The dump took place from a fishing boat in an eddy 200 nautical miles west of the islands of Haida Gwaii, one of the world's most celebrated, diverse ecosystems, where George convinced the local council of an indigenous village to establish the Haida Salmon Restoration Corporation to channel more than $1m of its own funds into the project.
The president of the Haida nation, Guujaaw, said the village was told the dump would environmentally benefit the ocean, which is crucial to their livelihood and culture.
"The village people voted to support what they were told was a 'salmon enhancement project' and would not have agreed if they had been told of any potential negative effects or that it was in breach of an international convention," Guujaaw said.
International legal experts say George's project has contravened the UN's convention on biological diversity (CBD) and London convention on the dumping of wastes at sea, which both prohibit for-profit ocean fertilisation activities.
"It appears to be a blatant violation of two international resolutions," said Kristina M Gjerde, a senior high seas adviser for the International Union for Conservation of Nature. "Even the placement of iron particles into the ocean, whether for carbon sequestration or fish replenishment, should not take place, unless it is assessed and found to be legitimate scientific research without commercial motivation. This does not appear to even have had the guise of legitimate scientific research."
George told the Guardian that the two moratoria are a "mythology" and do not apply to his project.
The parties to the UN CBD are currently meeting in Hyderabad, India, where the governments of Bolivia, the Philippines and African nations as well as indigenous peoples organizations are calling for the current moratorium to be upgraded to a comprehensive test ban of geoengineering that includes enforcement mechanisms.
"If rogue geoengineer Russ George really has misled this indigenous community, and dumped iron into their waters, we hope to see swift legal response to his behavior and strong action taken to the heights of the Canadian and US governments," said Silvia Ribeiro of the international technology watchdog ETC Group, which first discovered the existence of the scheme. "It is now more urgent than ever that governments unequivocally ban such open-air geoengineering experiments. They are a dangerous distraction providing governments and industry with an excuse to avoid reducing fossil fuel emissions."
CBC News: Iron fertilization project stirs West Coast controversy Guardian: Canadian government 'knew of plans to dump iron into the Pacific'
House approves GOP plan to quash coal, gas rules in election-year swipe at
Obama
September 21, 2012
WASHINGTON — House Republicans voted Friday to cramp President Barack Obama’s environmental policies in favor of increased coal production, in a parting jab before returning home to campaign. The bill would bar the Environmental Protection Agency from restricting greenhouse gases, quash stricter fuel efficiency standards for cars and give states control over disposal of harmful coal byproducts.
The “Stop the War on Coal Act,” passed on a mainly party-line vote, is a companion to GOP campaign ads accusing Obama and Democrats of costing the U.S. hundreds of thousands of jobs while driving up energy prices. Democrats dismissed the legislation as political theatrics, pointing out that almost all the provisions had already passed in the House.
Nineteen Democrats — mostly from coal-producing and conservative-leaning states — broke ranks to join Republicans in the 233-175 vote. The legislation is dead on arrival in the Democratic-led Senate, and Obama has already threatened a veto should it ever reach his desk.
Republicans and conservative groups are working to saddle down-ballot Democrats with Obama’s environmental policies, which are unpopular in energy-producing battleground states such as Virginia and Ohio. They argue that no source of jobs or affordable energy can be spared amid a still-weak economy, with unemployment at 8.1 percent, and reliance on oil from the tumultuous Middle East.
New fuel economy standards that cut tailpipe emissions — set for model years 2017-2025 — would be gutted by the act. So would the EPA’s ability to regulate gases blamed for global warming. A 2007 Supreme Court ruling cleared the EPA to regulate greenhouse gases under its authority to control air pollutants, but the legislation amends the Clean Air Act to preclude any taxes or regulations on greenhouse gases.
Another provision would forbid the Interior Department from issuing any new rules that threaten mining jobs or U.S. coal production through the end of 2013. The package also would create a new agency to study how EPA rules harm jobs and energy prices.
The measure also would give states broad control over disposal of coal ash, a waste product from power plants, and protection of water quality near mining operations. Also nixed would be EPA standards for mercury and air toxins and a “good neighbor” rule that protects states that are downwind from polluting power plants.
Rep. Bill Johnson, who authored the act, challenged Obama to follow through on his State of the Union vow to support an all-of-the-above approach to American energy.
“This is not about climate change,” said Johnson, R-Ohio. “If it’s a public health, public safety, national security issue, certainly common sense regulations are appropriate. Regulations that are based on fact and science — not based on political rhetoric or an environmentalist agenda.”
The measure’s passage dovetailed with a broadside against Obama in battleground Ohio, a coal-mining state. Republican Mitt Romney’s campaign released a television ad Wednesday entitled “War on Coal,” in which a coal worker declares that “Obama’s ruining the coal industry.”
Coal exports could face roadblocks if Democrats maintain Senate control
October 7, 2012
Companies that want to export coal to Asia could find roadblocks in their path if Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) becomes chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Exporters have identified five ports in Oregon and Washington from which to send coal to Asia. Nations in that region, which have rapidly expanding economies and loose environmental standards, are a coveted destination for coal producers as use of the fossil fuel drops in the United States.
But Wyden, who is expected to replace retiring Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) as committee chairman if Democrats retain the Senate, is skeptical about sending coal abroad. He has called for more rigorous environmental reviews of the process, which many say could hold up coal exports from the Pacific Northwest.
Wyden wants the Army Corps of Engineers to consider the cumulative environmental impact of mining and transporting coal, rather than the current plan of evaluating each proposal individually.
“Senator Wyden believes federal regulators need to take a close look at the economic and environmental impacts of these coal export proposals,” Keith Chu, Wyden’s spokesman, told The Hill. “Oregonians in Morrow and St. Helens and Coos Bay, as well as those in communities along the transportation routes, have a right to know how these developments will affect them, sooner rather than later.”
Much of that coal would come from the Powder River Basin in Wyoming and Montana. Wyden said he is concerned about the impact that concentrated activity could have, and also about coal dust settling in communities along the transportation route.
The Environmental Protection Agency also has raised concerns about coal dust, diesel pollution and the effect exports would have on Asian greenhouse gas emissions.
Republican Wyoming Sens. John Barrasso and Mike Enzi say the more rigorous environmental analysis Wyden seeks would “set a dangerous precedent.”
“[E]xpanding the scope of or delaying the environmental review process for new port facilities would create uncertainty for ongoing and future exports of coal from the Powder River Basin as well as Ohio, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Kentucky, and West Virginia,” the senators told Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Army Secretary John McHugh in an August letter.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said Wednesday that coal exports rose 24 percent in the first six months of the year. Exports to Asia experienced a small increase, but insiders said that is largely due to the lack of Pacific Northwest export terminals.
The coal export issue has so far failed to resonate in Idaho, through which all Powder River Basin coal would need to pass to get to Pacific Northwest ports, an aide for Sen. James Risch (R-Idaho) told The Hill.
That could change, the aide said, especially with a Wyden chairmanship, and if Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) is still on the committee. The two would likely seek to bring the issue to light because their constituents are asking for it, the aide said.
The Risch aide said the power of the gavel would give Wyden license to call however many hearings he wants on the issue.
Op-ed: Proposed Pebble Mine in Bristol Bay threatens Seattle’s salmon industry September 25, 2012 Unless the Environmental Protection Agency takes action to protect Alaska’s Bristol Bay from a mega-mine proposed by foreign mining interests, our salmon jobs and businesses in Seattle could be lost, according to guest columnists Mark Liffmann and Michael Brian Orr.
AFTER a magnificent summer in Seattle, one cannot help but marvel at the incredible place we live. Sadly, our salmon catch, an integral part of our economy and culture, is under significant threat.
Unless the Environmental Protection Agency takes action to protect Alaska’s Bristol Bay from a mega-mine proposed by foreign mining interests, our salmon jobs and businesses in Seattle could be lost.
Salmon are as much a part of our Northwest culture as our towering forests or our world-class companies like Microsoft, Boeing and Amazon. We wait anxiously for the first fresh salmon of spring. We know each and every salmon river from the Columbia to Bristol Bay. The wild salmon from Bristol Bay, our nation’s iconic salmon hub, support thousands of local jobs and businesses in and around Seattle.
The Pebble Mine proposed in southwestern Alaska is slated to become one of the largest gold, copper and molybdenum mines in the world. It would produce more than 10 billion tons of mining waste laced with toxins that threatens to decimate the half-billion dollar Bristol Bay salmon industry. The mine would eliminate or block nearly 87 miles of salmon streams, destroy up to 4,286 acres of wetlands, and threaten to contaminate the ground and surface waters throughout the Bristol Bay watershed.
The Pebble Mine threatens so much destruction in the Bristol Bay ecosystems that more than 60 jewelers representing more than $6 billion in annual sales, including Tiffany & Co., will boycott gold produced from the Pebble Mine if it ever opens.
Bristol Bay is home to the world’s largest wild salmon fishery, supporting tens of millions of returning wild salmon each year and 14,000 fishing and tourism jobs. Commercial and sport fishing play an integral role in the Pacific Northwest economy. Roughly 1,000 people from Washington hold commercial fishing permits in Bristol Bay and, in turn, support thousands more fishery and cannery jobs — jobs and renewable natural resources that would be lost if the mine progresses. That’s why the mine is opposed by a broad coalition of diverse interests, including fishing and related businesses in Alaska and in the lower 48 states, particularly in Washington.
Sen. Maria Cantwell showed great leadership when she became the first U.S. senator to call on the EPA to use its veto power if the threat to Bristol Bay’s economy is confirmed. It was confirmed by the agency’s Watershed Assessment in May. As expressed by Cantwell, “We need to do everything we can to protect the commercial, subsistence, and recreational fishermen who rely on this sustainable fishery.”
The EPA’s Watershed Assessment provides more than enough information to conclude with absolute certainty that large-scale mining in the Bristol Bay watershed would pose enormous harm to the watershed. These findings are even more notable given the fact that the EPA’s analysis, by its own admission, underestimates the overall risks.
We must do everything we can to protect this resource. Industrializing the headwaters of the Bristol Bay fishery may enrich foreign mining interests in the short term, but could impose lasting economic harm on Alaska and Washington.
Relying on the findings of its Watershed Assessment, the EPA should use its legal authority to put an end to this ill-conceived mining scheme and protect Pacific Northwest jobs, businesses and natural resources.
Legacy – November 2012
Wild Game Fish Conservation International
Settlement over designation of lands in Bristol Bay region could impact mine
September 19, 2012
JUNEAU, Alaska — The state's natural resources department will have to justify its rationale for how
it designated land use in the Bristol Bay region nearly a decade ago, a process that could have
ramifications for the proposed Pebble Mine.
An agreement in a 2009 case brought by tribes, Trout Unlimited and fishermen calls on the
department to make revisions to its 2005 land use plan. Plaintiffs' attorney Geoffrey Parker said
Wednesday that the plan — drafted as interest in the massive gold and copper prospect near the
headwaters of one of the world's premier salmon fisheries was heating up — eliminated more than
90 percent of prior inland habitat classifications in the region, with a tilt toward mining.
The plan was an update to a 1984 land use plan, which Parker said mainly classified lands in the
region for multiple uses, meaning all uses had to be given consideration. The 2005 plan, he said,
moved more toward single classifications.
It primarily used marine criteria, things like walrus and sea lion haul-outs or herring spawning areas,
to determine if inland upland areas qualified as fish and wildlife habitat, he said, but did not include
consideration for caribou and moose wintering and calving areas. It also expressly excluded sport
hunting and fishing from the definition of recreation for recreational lands.
Parker said the decisions "border on scandalous."
"I use the words 'border on scandalous' because this is clearly to benefit Pebble," he said.
The Pebble Limited Partnership, the group behind the Pebble Mine project, didn't form until 2007, but
Parker said there was already interest in the mineral deposit at the time the plan was written.
Marty Parsons, deputy director of the department's Division of Mining, Land and Water, said he was
not in his current position when the plan was written. But he said that, from the work he's seen,
people involved were careful to work with the resources in the region and to accurately identify them,
without a bias one way or the other in regards to development.
The agreement, recently signed off on by a judge, calls on the state to make a number of revisions
and reclassifications, including adding caribou and moose considerations to the list of criteria used to
identify sensitive habitats and revising the definition of recreation to include sport hunting and fishing.
The department also is to reclassify as wildlife habitat the spawning and rearing areas of navigable
anadromous waters.
Once the plan is reopened, "everything is up for grabs again," Parker said, including debate over the
classification of lands involving the Pebble prospect.
The agreement "should, and may well, affect Pebble, but I think we'll be arguing how much it will
Anglo American CEO Cynthia Carroll has been in the news recently -- and the news for the company isn't good. Amid reports of shareholder unrest, Carroll has pledged to cut $1.5 billion from the group's 2012 capital expenditures.
"We will look at the entire value chain, from resources to mining to processes sales and marketing and people, and no option is off the table..." said Carroll.
Here's an option: cut Pebble Mine.
Carroll also said that Anglo would prioritize capital to "projects with the lowest execution risks."
"
Pebble Mine, located at the remote headwaters of the world's greatest salmon fishery, is fraught with risk. Much has already been said about the unique environmental and economic risks associated with this particular site -- and they are significant. But there are other important risks as well, including:
Reputational Risk. Anglo American is faced with an overwhelming number of Alaska Natives, Bristol Bay residents, commercial fishermen and others who are opposed to Pebble Mine, including:
The Bristol Bay Native Corporation, 81 percent of whose shareholders oppose Pebble Mine; The residents of the Bristol Bay region, over 80 percent of whom oppose Pebble Mine; Commercial fishermen, over 85 percent of whom oppose Pebble Mine; and Americans in the lower 48, over 77 percent of whom oppose Pebble Mine.
Nunamta Aulukestai (composed of ten Native villages and nine Native village corporations in the
Bristol Bay region) is also opposed to Pebble Mine.
The Portland City Council has voted to oppose coal trains moving through that Oregon city until the Army Corps of Engineers can evaluate the impact of exporting coal through the Northwest to Asia.
Wednesday's vote was 3-0 with two commissioners absent.
The Oregonian reports ( http://is.gd/LYeMxo) that Mayor Sam Adams said he opposes "exporting the coal problem to other parts of the world."
A number of Northwest cities and ports have raised concerns about potential coal export problems.
The corps is reviewing permit applications from three coal export terminal projects - including one in Boardman, Ore., one in Longview, Wash., and one near Bellingham, Wash. Oregon terminals are also under consideration in Coos Bay and at an industrial park along the Columbia River between St. Helens and Astoria.
(Photo by Nate Pesce, Patuxent Publishing / August 20, 2012 )
Train cars lie derailed in Ellicott City after the CSX train cars carrying coal derailed early Tuesday, Aug. 21. It was estimated that area roads would be closed for up to 30 hours bringing the historic city to a standstill.
Army Corps decision could expedite Morrow Pacific coal project
September 19, 2012
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Portland division said it will only conduct an environmental assessment of Ambre Energy's Morrow Pacific coal export terminal proposed near Boardman and not the more exhaustive environmental impact statement.
The decision could be the difference between months and years of delay for the Australian coal company, which hopes to have its $250 million handling Asia-bound coal shipments by mid-2014, if not sooner.
An environmental assessment process is typically measured in months, while the EIS process threatened to add years to the project, which is seeking a permit from the Corps to build a new dock and terminal along the Columbia River at the Port of Morrow near Boardman.
The Corps, though, reserved the right to broaden the scope of its environmental review to an EIS at a later point.
“But for right now, we’re focusing on the direct, indirect and cumulative effects of the (project’s) construction activity,” said Scott Clemans, a spokesman for the Corps’ Portland district.
The Morrow Pacific Project calls for taking coal by rail to a new terminal at the Port of Morrow, where it will be transferred to covered barges and shipped downriver to a facility at the Port of St. Helens for loading onto ocean-going ships.
It is one of five coal export terminals proposed in Oregon and Washington. Already, the Corps' Seattle office has opted to pursue the full EIS process for two terminal proposals in Washington: The Gateway Pacific Terminal near Bellingham and Ambre’s Millennium Bulk Terminals proposed near Longview.
Clemans, though, said the Washington projects have a geographic reach measured in acres and traverse far greater amounts of wetlands and navigable waterways. The Morrow Pacific project, by comparison, is seeking a permit for “no more than 15,000-square-feet of dock.”
READ ENTIRE SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS OREGON ARTICLE HERE
Black River Tributary: State replaces culvert with bridge to aid path for salmon, trout
October 05, 2012
Coho, cutthroat trout, steelhead and other fish will have an easier time migrating in a small stream that flows out of Capitol Forest to the Black River, thanks to a state program that aids small-forestland owners with removal of barriers that block fish.
The $130,000 project this week to replace a fish-blocking road culvert with a small bridge across Goliath Creek frees up more than four miles of upstream fish habitat. It’s a prime example of the kind of work the state Department of Natural Resources and its partners are poised to do.
Since 2003, some 232 fish barriers – usually road culverts – have been eliminated on nonindustrial timberland, returning some 500 miles of stream habitat to migrating salmon and trout through the state Department of Natural Resource’s Family Forest Fish Passage Program.
The $17 million program investment to date is about to jump significantly: The state Legislature included $10 million for the program when it passed a $1 billion jobs bills this year.
DNR officials want forest property owners to know this is a good time to apply for a chunk of money, anywhere from $50,000 to $150,000 to tackle troublesome forest road crossings. Eligible applicants face few, if any, out-of-pocket costs.
It’s habitat-improvement work landowners would likely have to do if they applied for a timber harvest permit. Removal of fish barriers associated with forest roads is a key component of the Forest and Fish Act approved by the Legislature in 1999.
The program recognizes how onerous the costs of complying with the landmark act can be to small-land owners.
Workers watch Thursday as the waters of Goliath
Creek near Rochester begin to flow in a channel
built under a new bridge, replacing the previous
culvert under a gravel road. The old channel is in
“The jobs bill was a huge shot in the arm for the program,” said DNR program manager Rick Kuykendall. He said the state agency, working with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Recreation and Conservation Office and a host of project sponsors – including tribes, salmon enhancement groups and conservation districts – hope to complete nearly 100 projects statewide in the next two years.
To be eligible, landowners can harvest on average no more than 2 million board-feet of timber per year, which is the equivalent of a 40-acre clear-cut, he said.
DNR has a backlog of 400 applications, but knows from fish barrier studies that they are just scratching the surface.
In the Chehalis River watershed alone, which is the second-largest in the state, there are an estimated 1,500 miles of blocked fish habitat, said Jamie Glasgow, director of science and research for the Olympia-based Wild Fish Conservancy, the group overseeing the Goliath Creek project for DNR.
From its headwaters in Capitol Forest, Goliath Creek flows into Mima Creek, which flows into the Black River within the Chehalis River watershed.
“There’s a huge need to restore fish habitat in this watershed,” Glasgow said. “We’re working on just a fraction of the habitat that the fish historically had access to.”
The Goliath Creek project, on a 10-acre parcel owned by Steve Baker of Roy, included a short stream rechanneling effort to place the new bridge. In less than two days, Glasgow and his co-workers had recovered 36 juvenile coho salmon from a small pond created by the stream diversion. They also found 15 freshwater mussels, which is an indicator of good water quality.
“This is a very productive stretch of stream,” Glasgow said.
State Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist Laura Till described Goliath Creek as a high priority project that will open up top notch spawning habitat for coho, cutthroat and steelhead.
The new bridge also will reduce flooding at the road crossing. In the past, it was not uncommon to find fish on the road during heavy storms, Till said.
Logging roads that rely on stream culverts tend to suffer more storm damage, require more maintenance and lead to degraded water quality, Till said.
HELP IS ON THE WAY
Owners of small forestland with forest roads that block fish habitat in streams can apply for state financial aid to remove the barriers. For more information call 360-902-1404 or go to www.dnr.wa.gov/sflo.
Wild Pacific salmon return to Condit River following dam demolition
When fall rains return to the Northwest, so do salmon! Now coho and Chinook salmon migrating into the White Salmon River can not only swim past the former Condit Dam site, but have an extra five miles of newly accessible habitat on Indian Creek.
Legacy – November 2012
Wild Game Fish Conservation International
Sockeye salmon return to Cle Elum River
October 7, 2012
CLE ELUM, Wash. — Carcasses dot the banks of the Cle Elum River bank, signifying an end as well
as a beginning.
Here, some 18 miles northwest of Cle Elum, are the bodies of adult fish who completed the arduous,
several-hundred-mile journey from the Pacific Ocean to reproduce and perish.
Just feet away, females linger over their nests as males lurk nearby, their sleek red bodies easily
visible in the clear river water. The males at this stage in their lives are called yellowbacks because
the scales along their spines have been rubbed off during fights with other males as they vie for the
right to fertilize a female's eggs.
More than a century after their runs up the Cle Elum River were wiped out by dams, the sockeye are
spawning again.
This is the fourth year of an effort to reintroduce this prized salmon species back into the Yakima
River Basin. The Yakama Nation is overseeing the program, which collected Wenatchee and
Okanogan sockeye salmon at Priest Rapids Dam about three months ago and trucked them to Lake
Cle Elum for release.
A total of 10,000 wild sockeye were released in the lake this year, a number that has grown steadily
each year because of the abundance of the Columbia River sockeye run. The Yakama Nation will
take fish at Priest Rapids after the overall run reaches 80,000 fish.
The total Columbia River run this year approached 600,000 fish.
Ultimately, the hope is for a self-sustaining run of Yakima River sockeye that will allow for a sport
fishery.
Restoring sockeye to Lake Cle Elum is made possible by a crude fish passage system at the spillway
to the 437,000-acre-foot lake. A flume allows smolts to escape to the downstream Cle Elum River.
Returning adults - the offspring of the first group planted in the lake - are expected to return next
year. After making their way up the Yakima River toward Lake Cle Elum, they will be collected at
Roza Dam, north of Yakima, where it is easiest to capture them before they encounter the lake's
massive dam. They will then be trucked to the lake.
The wooden flume is supposed to be replaced in the next few years by a multistory fish release
facility that will allow fish to escape the lake during both high and low water levels.
Lake Cle Elum sockeye died out more than a century ago when the high-mountain lakes like this one
were dammed for irrigation. The dams blocked access to the tributaries above the lakes where the
fish laid their eggs.
Tribal staff have been surveying the number of nests laid this year. Some 2,000 adult fish have been
sighted on the spawning grounds, meaning many thousands more are still to spawn.
Brian Saluskin, fish passage biologist for the Yakama Nation, said spawning this year began shortly
after Labor Day and is expected to continue as late as early November.
Nisqually Tribe has new tool for separating wild, raised salmon
September 22, 2012
A plastic pipe fence the length of a football field stretches across the Nisqually River near Joint Base Lewis-McChord property, signalling a new era in fisheries management for the Nisqually Tribe.
Nisqually Tribal fisheries salmon-enhancement manager Bill St. Jean guides a tagged salmon back out into the Nisqually River as biologist Rosalinda Turk, along with fisheries staff members Larry Guidry and Robert Wells, operate the rotating auger system Thursday at the site of the fish weir system in the Nisqually River. The technology is designed to sort hatchery-raised chinook salmon from naturally spawning chinook migrating upriver to spawn.
The portable dam, which includes traps and augers to lift the fish into holding tanks, is designed to capture every fall chinook salmon that has made it through a gauntlet of fisheries that stretches from Alaska to the river.
Once their migratory journey is halted, tribal crews sort the fish into two distinct groups: fish that were reared in one of the tribe’s two downstream hatcheries and fish that were born to naturally spawning parents upstream.
Life’s journey for the hatchery fish, which are distinguished by their clipped adipose fins, ends at the fish weir. They become food for tribal elders and area food banks.
The goal is to send the naturally spawned fish upstream to spawn, free of interference from hatchery fish, which are considered less productive than their wild counterparts and less capable of warding off predators and disease.
“There’s nothing else like this on a Puget Sound river,” noted David Troutt, natural resources director for the tribe. “It’s a pretty big tool to help us meet harvest goals and recovery goals for Puget Sound fall chinook.”
The weir, a small dam, has the support of the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, which co-manages Puget Sound salmon stocks with the treaty tribes.
“We applaud the tribe for their progressive view of salmon management,” noted Pat Pattillo, policy coordinator for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. “We’re excited about the weir and want to see it be successful.”
When Puget Sound chinook were listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act in 1999, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, Puget Sound tribes, conservation groups, anglers and others faced the daunting task of bringing the iconic species back from the brink.
In the Nisqually watershed, the tribe took the lead and essentially had to start from scratch. That’s because native Nisqually River chinook were wiped out in the 1960s by indiscriminate mingling with hatchery fish, hydroelectric dam operations upriver and over-harvest in marine waters and the river.
The weir is part of an updated Nisqually chinook recovery plan that includes a healthy dose of habitat improvements in the watershed.
Since 2000, the tribe and its many watershed partners have protected 74 percent of the river shoreline from development, created more than 900 acres of estuary near the mouth of the river, and restored nearly 7 miles of shoreline along two of the river’s main tributaries – Ohop Creek and the Mashel River.
“Given the history of chinook salmon in the Nisqually, restoring habitat is absolutely necessary before you start worrying about the mix of hatchery and natural origin fish on the spawning grounds,” Troutt said. “To develop a local stock, we need to be sure that only natural origin fish are spawning in the river. That is where the weir comes in.”
The tribe also is experimenting with new ways to harvest chinook salmon in the river, including tangle nets and beach seining nets that allow tribal fishers to pass upstream the naturally spawning fish and keep just the hatchery fish.
More than half of the naturally spawning Nisqually chinook are captured in fisheries all along the West Coast. The goal is to keep reducing that number over time so some 2,000 naturally spawning fish can be passed upstream to spawn while still sustaining a annual harvest in the river of 10,000 to 15,000 chinook, according to the chinook-recovery plan.
The tribe purchased the weir with a $1.6 million grant from a federal hatchery-reform program. It was tested in the river late last summer, but crews had trouble keeping it stationary in the fast-flowing river.
When it was reassembled this year, it was secured by five cement anchors stationed in the woods and a heavy-duty cargo ship chain. A gate at one end of the fence can be lowered to allow boats to pass, and fish can be corralled and sorted on either side of the weir.
The fish are mechanically hoisted into a holding tank on the riverbank, where they are measured and checked for origin and sex. The natural spawners are equipped with a numbered jaw tag for use in spawning ground surveys and a DNA sample is taken for long-term monitoring of fish productivity.
“I think the weir is a good idea,” said Robert Wells, a tribal member and one of six employees who operate the weir.
“It’s going to answer a lot of questions about the fall chinook.”
This year’s weir operation has been complicated by the numbers of returning fish, which appear to be much lower than the 26,000 that were forecast. As of Thursday morning, only nine naturally spawning chinook had been passed upstream and 28 hatchery fish had been intercepted. Typically, this would be the midpoint for the chinook run in the river.
“Everybody’s a little bit on edge,” Pattillo said.
The federal permit for operation of the weir calls for at least 870 fish, regardless of origin, to spawn upstream this year, said Bob Turner, regional administrator of NOAA Fisheries’ salmon-management division.
“I think most of us expect some hatchery fish will be passed upstream this year,” Turner said, adding that the long dry-weather spell could be delaying the salmon run. “The question is, how many?”
Regardless, the weir will be a valuable tool over time, Turner said.
Sometime in October, the tribe’s crew will pull the fence out of the water in 5-foot sections and haul all the equipment away for safekeeping.
“It’s kind of like a huge carnival ride,” said tribal salmon-enhancement manager Bill St. Jean. “We truck it in and assemble it, then tear it down and truck it out.”
Legacy – November 2012
Wild Game Fish Conservation International
The Coal-man Cometh
Those people pissed off about the prospect of a huge increase in Coal Trains coming through Spokane will have a chance to complain to the feds. As part of an environmental review process for proposed West Coast shipping facilities, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is holding a public hearing in Spokane Valley. If any of half a dozen proposed shipping facilities are built, as many as 60 more coal trains could rumble through Spokane each day. That means more coal dust in town (possibly dangerous), more backed traffic (annoying), costs for bridge and road upgrades (expensive) and a lot bad karma in the global warming department. The meeting will be from 4 pm to 7 pm on Tuesday, Dec. 4, at the Spokane County Fairgrounds. “This is the start of Spokane’s voice being heard on the coal issue,” says City Council President Ben Stuckart.
Legacy – November 2012
Wild Game Fish Conservation International
Dear Friend,
My name is Paul Anderson and I am a volunteer
photographer for the Power Past Coal Campaign.
When I heard about proposals to put a coal export
terminal at Cherry Point in Whatcom County I
was shocked. Who would even consider putting such
a dirty project in such a beautiful place?
I also knew if people saw what a coal export facility
looked like it would inspire them into action. So I
started taking pictures for the campaign.
When I first went up to the West Shore Coal
Terminal in Canada I was immediately struck by
how dirty it was. There was coal dust in the water
and all over the ships -- it looked like the worst
ecological disaster I had ever seen.
Don't let Washington suffer the same destructive
fate. Decision makers are taking comments now!
Send your comment and protect Washington from
dangerous coal exports!
I soon realized the environmental damage at the port was only part of the story. The
destruction spreads far and wide, in communities all along the rail line, in the devastating
effects of mining in the Powder River Basin, and in the global effects of climate change.
Send a comment to local, state, and federal agencies and ensure your community is
protected from dangerous coal exports.
I had to get involved so that my kids could live in a community that was better than a dirty
coal export town. So I am coming out from behind my camera to speak out against this
dirty and dangerous proposal.
But my pictures and my voice alone is not enough to protect our beautiful region.
Together let's protect our families, communities, economy, and environment from this
dangerous and dirty coal export proposal at Cherry Point. Too much is at stake not to.
Send your comment now and protect Washington from coal exports.
A key issue is the potential spread of parasites and
pollutants, according to County Administrator Philip
Morley.
The fear is that parasites and pollutants from farms
could affect wild fish.
Smith said some of the criteria likely to be included in
a draft list for a conditional-use permit are:
A fish farm could not be closer than 1,500 feet
from shore.
A fish farm would be prohibited in areas where
the mean current velocity is less than 0.1 knot
because current is needed to disperse feed or
other pollutants.
Feed would have to be in pellet, not liquid,
form.
Only chemicals approved by the federal Food
and Drug Administration would be allowed.
Fish farms would have to be a minimum
distance from the mouth of any body of fresh
water, such as rivers or creeks, where wild fish
spawn.
The proposed fish farm would have to be
shown not to impede existing vessel traffic and
would have to be a minimum distance from any
recreational shellfish beaches as well as from
docks and marinas.
Ecology had asked that the county give notice of its
intended path toward completing the shoreline master
program by Oct. 1, Morley said.
Sabra Woodworth (British Columbia):
“For Jefferson County in or near Port
Townsend, Washington State, this is
how shit happens: "Jefferson County
submitted its proposed updated
shoreline management program — the
SMP — to Ecology in November 2010.
Ecology approved most of it in February
2011 except for a proposed ban of all fin-
fish aquaculture, which raises fish such
as Atlantic salmon in pens. Ecology
ruled that the county did not have the
authority to forbid net pens. The
proposed letter that commissioners will
consider today says that although they
disagree with Ecology’s interpretation,
they have 'made the difficult choice' of
choosing one of the options Ecology
presented to them in July. The option
provides for a conditional use permit."
JEFFERSON COUNTY PROPOSED A
BAN ON ALL FIN-FISH AQUACULTURE...
who the hell is "ECOLOGY"?”
Jim Wilcox (Washington State):
“This will be an interesting situation in
Washington State given that several
state agencies (Ecology, Fish and
Wildlife, Department of Natural
Resources, etc.) will need to be involved.
Federal and international transportation
agencies (NOAA, Commerce, etc.) will
also need to be involved. The local tribes
and their governing body (Northwest
Indian Fisheries Commission) will most
certainly be involved and so will many
industry associations and non-
governmental organizations. Given the
nearness of these proposed pens
(Atlantic salmon and steelhead trout) to
BC, one can only imagine that
colleagues and impacted businesses
across our shared border will be
involved with this proposed project...”
Legacy – November 2012
Wild Game Fish Conservation International
WGFCI opposition to new open pen salmon feedlots in Strait of Juan de Fuca
October 10, 2012
As submitted to Peninsula Daily News – Guest Opinion
As founders of Wild Game Fish Conservation International, it is our sincere opinion that no new open
pen salmon/trout feedlots must ever be permitted in the marine waters of Washington State, including
the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
The practices employed by this industry worldwide have a many-decades-long history of devastating
wild fish and their fragile ecosystems. This devastation leads to collapsed cultures and economies
whenever and wherever these feedlots are permitted in marine ecosystems such as those within the
Strait of Juan de Fuca.
Some of the specific concerns associated with open pen salmon feedlots include, but are not limited
to: 1. deadly salmon diseases, 2. parasites such as sea lice, 3. ingestion of chemicals used to control
diseases, parasites and color of meat and 4. pollution of the sea floor from chemical treatments,
excess fish food and fish feces. These issues and more impact pen raised salmon and trout as well
as wild salmon swimming in and near the open pens.
For thousands of years, wild salmon held a key position in the food chain, as they provide ocean
derived nutrition for humans, for a whole host of wildlife (orca whales, bears, wolves, sea lions,
eagles) and even for the trees and plants in our watersheds where salmon deliver their nutrients to
forests and to future generations of salmon..
To gamble the future of Washington’s wild salmon and their ecosystems, all that rely on robust
populations of wild salmon, and the economies based on wild salmon on the very problematic open
pen salmon feedlot industry is truly irresponsible and short sighted.
To jeopardize the ongoing Elwha River restoration efforts and those to restore Puget Sound by siting
open pen salmon feedlots in the Strait of Juan de Fuca would be foolish. To jeopardize the lives of
marine water enthusiasts by siting open pen salmon feedlots in the Strait of Juan de Fuca with its tide
changes, winds and fog could be interpreted as criminal in the event of a boating accident associated
with these pens. Similarly, these pens will negatively impact commercial and military marine traffic as
they are often damaged and even dislodged during severe storms and tide changes.
We encourage those who rely on a safe and healthy Strait of Juan de Fuca to enthusiastically
oppose open pen salmon feedlots sited in the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
Bruce Treichler
James E. Wilcox
Legacy – November 2012
Wild Game Fish Conservation International
Skokomish River Fishing Rules of Etiquette
Legacy – November 2012
Wild Game Fish Conservation International
Man accidentally shoots self while fishing on Deschutes River
Published October 01, 2012
37 COMMENTS
A Thurston County man told deputies he accidentally shot himself in the head with his .22-caliber rifle Sunday afternoon while he was "fishing" for salmon on the Deschutes River, according to a sheriff's report.
The man said he fired a shot into the river about 4:50 p.m. near the 9600 block of Old Highway 99, the report states. But the bullet ricocheted off of a rock and struck him in the temple.
"He said he scratched the injury with his finger and the bullet fell out of his head in the river," the report states.
Also according to the report:
The man returned to his home off of Old Highway 99, and he would not tell his girlfriend what had happened. He then left the scene in his pickup. He told her not to call 911, but she did anyway. Deputies pulled the man's pickup over on Old Highway 99, and he told them what had happened.
The man's girlfriend told deputies her boyfriend "regularly goes to the river and shoots salmon." He was not badly hurt, but was treated and released from an area hospital. The man was not cited with any criminal law violations.
Editorial Comment:
The following article is further evidence in support of keeping waters open to fishing – even if it’s
for catch and release fisheries only – conservationists’ eyes on the water help to minimize illegal
activity – this need is ever increasing as fish and wildlife enforcement budgets continue to be cut.
“Our goal was to make this information as easy to access as possible,” said Sara LaBorde, a special
assistant to the director at WDFW. “With SCoRE, people can switch from an overview of statewide
habitat-restoration efforts to spawning data for a specific salmon run with a few mouse clicks.”
Various issues addressed on the website include:
• Which salmon and steelhead populations are increasing, decreasing, or showing no change?
• What are specific salmon hatcheries doing to support salmon recovery?
• Who is involved in the effort to restore wild salmon and steelhead runs?
• What can individuals do to get involved in salmon recovery?
LaBorde said WDFW designed the website for a variety of users, including policy makers, scientists,
department employees and the general public.
“Our state made a major commitment to salmon recovery, and people have right to know how that’s
going,” she said. “By providing a common base of information, we also hope this website will
encourage more people to get involved in this effort.”
Like salmon recovery itself, the new website is a work in progress, said LaBorde, noting that WDFW
will continue to add information to the SCoRE reporting system throughout the recovery effort.
Legacy – November 2012
Wild Game Fish Conservation International
Featured Artist: Leanne Hodges - Coho Festival Mural 2012 (3’ x 6’)
See more of Leanne’s uniquely beautiful work at http://leannehodges.com/
Leanne Hodges:
“Behold the amazing transformation of the sleek, silver coho from marine to fresh water spawning habitats.
Every stream bearing Coho populations will have a distinct colouration due to the inherent chemical signature, and habitat variables.
They redden up almost over their entire bodies with the female slightly less vibrant and mature into a very dark green head and deep crimson to purple.
Prominently displaying the white gums and elongated kype (nose).
These two have paired up, secured their redd site and have begun their transformation to a spectacular spawning Coho.”
Photo submitted by Nick’s grandfather, Denny Clemons
Legacy – November 2012
Wild Game Fish Conservation International
Youth Conservation - Students oppose salmon farms
Student action: Marlborough Girls’ College environment prefect Ruby McIntosh�, front, with EnviroCouncil members at the Environmental Protection Authority hearing in Blenheim.
Marlborough Girls' College's EnviroCouncil members are against New Zealand King Salmon's application to expand in the Marlborough Sounds.
The salmon farms would have a detrimental effect on the local tourism industry and economy, Ruby said. She labelled the sustainability of the expansion as questionable, "educated guesswork".
Marlborough Girls' College science teacher and EnviroCouncil liaison Ally Jerram, said she was proud of the students' efforts and commitment
Dr. Alexandra Morton with young
conservationists in Nova Scotia,
Canada.
Anissa Reed:
“One of the questions Alex was asked, "If your community was destroyed because of salmon farms do you think that could happen to our community?" It could certainly affect the lobster fishery.”
Kate Brauer:
“Another generation of wild salmon warriors!”
The NW Youth Conservation and Fly Fishing Academy
It’s not to early to start thinking about a candidate for The Academy for 2013. Any boy or girl 12-16 is eligible to attend the Academy. They have to write an essay explaining why they would like to attend and they will need a letter of recommendation from their school science teacher or school counselor.
This experience is an invaluable life event for the youth that they will carry through their future lives. No youth will be turned away because of money. The event is sponsored by WCTU and WSCFFF and hosted by SSFF, PSFF and Olympia TU. So please give it a serious thought, would your boys and girls, grandkids, friends or neighbors be a candidate for The NW Youth Conservation and Fly Fishing Academy for 2013. The Academy will be held the last week of June 2013. Mike Clancy, Co-Director (We are now on Face Book)
Many businesses around planet earth rely in part on sustained populations of wild game fish. This is true for fishing guide/charter services, resort and hotel owners, fishing tackle and boat retail stores, clothing stores, eco/photo tours, grocery stores, gas stations and many more. In fact, wild game fish are the backbone of a multi-billion dollar per year industry on a global scale.
This is why we at Wild Game Fish Conservation International offer complimentary
space in each issue of “LEGACY” for business owners who rely on sustained wild
game fish populations to sustain your business. An article with one or more photos about your business and how it relies on wild game fish may be submitted for
publication to LEGACY PUBLISHER. Please include your business website and
contact information to be published with your business article. Selected submissions will be published each month.
Sustained wild game fish populations provide family wage jobs and balanced eco-systems while ensuring cultural values. They also provide a unique, natural resources- based lifestyle for those fortunate to have these magnificent creatures in our lives.
Conservationists working together with the business community can effectively protect and restore planet earth’s wild game fish for this and future generations to
enjoy and appreciate. This will be our LEGACY.
WGFCI endorsed conservation organizations:
American Rivers
Global Alliance Against Industrial Aquaculture
LightHawk
Salmon Are Sacred
Salmon and Trout Restoration Association of Conception Bay Central, Inc (be sure to “Like” on Facebook)