[BCFSN] Fwd: FNLC News Release: Time to Ground Open Net-Pen Fish Farms

[Abra Brynne]

Hello all,
please see below for an informative news release from the Union of BC
Indian Chiefs. As we have learned, wild salmon is a vital part of our
ecosystems, cultures and food systems.
in good food,
Abra

Abra Brynne
Director, Engagement & Policy
BC Food Systems Network
abra at bcfsn.org
Ph: 250.352.5342 // mobile: 250.777.2480
Skype: abra.brynne
www.bcfsn.org

**I am in the office monday - wednesday and will respond as quickly as I am
able.

Please support our work <http://bcfsn.org/donate/>.

"Rather than concentrating on what sort of food is healthy for the
individual person, we must think about what kind of production system is
healthy for the globe. Acting in the context of this vision of a different
kind of food system, we will gain the freedom - and the power - to force
change for some measure of justice in this one." Cathleen Kneen, 1987

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs <ubcic at ubcic.bc.ca>
Date: 1 September 2017 at 11:49
Subject: FNLC News Release: Time to Ground Open Net-Pen Fish Farms
To: Abra Brynne <abra at bcfsn.org>


[image: Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs]
<http://www.ubcic.bc.ca/?e=833866cbb61948d9aa1fdf33656f27f7&utm_source=ubcic&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=groundfishfarms&n=1>
Hi Abra,

For your information, reference and/or further distribution, please find
the following joint news release from the BC Assembly of First Nations,
First Nations Summit and the Union of BC Indian Chiefs regarding open
net-pen fish farms. Specifically, the danger of Atlantic salmon to the
indigenous runs of wild salmon.

Hoping it is sunny where you are, enjoy your long weekend Abra.

In solidarity,

Don Bain
Executive Director
Union of BC Indian Chiefs

-- 

*NEWS RELEASE*

*Time to Ground Open Net-Pen Fish Farms*

(Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver - August 31, 2017) BC must begin its
transition from dangerously reckless open net-pen fish farms to the safety
of land-based closed containment aquaculture.

Time and time again First Nations in BC have warned the federal and
provincial governments of the potentially devastating impacts open net-pen
aquaculture poses to not only wild aquatic species but to Indigenous and
non-Indigenous communities’ health, culture and economies.

Atlantic salmon fish farms use outdated technology to contain hundreds of
thousands of fish in extremely confined conditions, effectively
transferring the economic burden of managing fish waste to the environment,
and surrounding communities.

Due to the reckless positioning of fish farms in the previously pristine
waters of BC’s coastal waters, these sites have become focal points for
salmon related diseases and viruses, including Heart and Skeletal Muscle
Inflammation (HSMI), Piscine Reo-Virus (PRV), for hazardous levels of
parasitic sea-lice, impacting wild migratory juvenile salmon, and for
unnatural levels of predation, targeting vulnerable herring stocks.
Further, the siting of these farms has never respected nor considered the
out-migratory routes of wild salmon smolts which pass through these focal,
at this stage salmon are at their most vulnerable and have been the most
impacted by these farms.

This industry continues to operate under archaic provisions allowing
environmental polluters to pass their economic burden onto the environment
and surrounding communities.

It is time for the aquaculture industry and the governments of Canada and
BC to adopt the notable advancements the industry has seen in other parts
of the world. Closed containment, land-based aquaculture is a viable,
ethical and economically beneficial alternative, that in exchange for the
political will and initial investment will provide environmental
safeguards, economic prosperity and an abundant food source for our future
generations.

With historically low returns, our surviving salmon stocks are bordering on
extinction. This represents an unacceptable loss to First Nations in BC.
Salmon represents a significant aspect of many First Nations’ cultures,
economies and are a critical food source for our communities and families.

*The First Nations Leadership Council is comprised of the political
executives of the BC Assembly of First Nations, First Nations Summit, and
the Union of BC Indian Chiefs.*
-=-=-

Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs · 342 Water St, 500, Vancouver, BC
V6B-1B6, Canada

You are a supporter of the UBCIC.
Our releases are online at www.ubcic.bc.ca/news
<http://www.ubcic.bc.ca/news?e=833866cbb61948d9aa1fdf33656f27f7&utm_source=ubcic&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=groundfishfarms&n=3>.
The UBCIC newsfeed is on Facebook
<http://www.ubcic.bc.ca/r?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FUBCIC%2F&e=833866cbb61948d9aa1fdf33656f27f7&utm_source=ubcic&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=groundfishfarms&n=4>.

-=-=-

UBCIC is a NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social
Council of the United Nations.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://bcfsn.org/pipermail/food_bcfsn.org/attachments/20170906/b4bec053/attachment.html>