VICTORIA — The plight of British Columbia's endangered wild salmon came first Friday in the decision against renewing licences for 15 open-net Atlantic salmon farms in the Discovery Islands area off Vancouver Island, says the federal fisheries minist
Joyce Murray said wild salmon are in serious, long-term decline, with some runs near collapse and the government is making their protection its priority.
The Discovery Islands area is a key migration route for wild salmon where narrow passages bring migrating juvenile salmon into close contact with the farms, Murray said. The farms off B.C.'s coast have been a major flashpoint, with environmental groups and some Indigenous nations saying they are linked to the transfer of disease to wild salmon, while the industry and some local politicians say thousands of jobs are threatened if operations are phased out.
"From my perspective, because wild salmon are iconic for British Columbians, First Nations and non-First Nations alike, and that there are those cumulative pressures on wild salmon, I have to not only do everything I can to protect wild salmon through reducing fisheries and rebuilding habitat, I also need to eliminate the risk of additional stressors from salmon aquaculture," said Murray.
It called Murray's decision "devastating" for the coastal communities that rely on the aquaculture sector. "This decision goes against First Nations Reconciliation, increases food costs for Canadians and undermines food security and has broad-reaching implications for employment and economic opportunity for people in rural, coastal and Indigenous communities, and our global trading markets," the alliance said in a statement.
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