Chief Victor Isaac, ‘Namgis First Nation, has announced plans to reactivate a 2019 judicial review application to challenge DFO’s policy of not testing for piscine orthoreovirus (PRV) before stocking open net-pen salmon farms in BC. DFO’s reliance on the PRV policy, which refrains from testing for PRV before restocking open net-pens, is used to deny […]

Today, the ‘Namgis First Nation notified DFO that they are re-activating a judicial review on DFO’s policy of not testing for piscine orthoreovirus (PRV) prior to stocking open net-pen feedlots in BC. DFO’s reliance on the PRV policy, which refrains from testing for PRV before restocking open net-pens, is used to deny any claims that […]

​​First Nations leaders joined commercial fishers, tourism operators, business leaders, scientists and ENGOs to urge Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to follow through on his 2019 promise to transition open-net pen salmon farms out of BC waters by 2025. “All our livelihoods directly rely on the healthy wild salmon,” says Kyle Louis, VP, United Fisherman and […]

First Nations, commercial fishers, tourism operators, business leaders, scientists, and ENGOs across BC are standing united in their expectation for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to remove ocean-polluting Atlantic salmon farms from coastal BC waters by 2025. “We want to see the Prime Minister’s mandate to two successive DFO Ministers properly embraced and acted upon by […]

In 2019, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sent a mandate letter to the Fisheries Minister to transition open-net pen salmon farms from coastal BC by 2025. “We’ve had two successive historic low returns and then we had the Big Bar Landslide, which stopped virtually all salmon from making it to the spawning grounds,” says Bob Chamberlin, […]

First Nations and business leaders from across BC are warning Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to keep his 2019 promise to transition open-net pen salmon farms out of BC waters by 2025. “Justin Trudeau, will you keep your promise?” asks Sean Jones, a lawyer based in Vancouver, BC. Over 120 First Nations and 75% of British […]

Over 120 First Nations, commercial fishers, tourism operators, business leaders, scientists and ENGOs stand united in urging Prime Minister Trudeau to keep his 2019 promise to transition open-net pen salmon farms out of BC waters by 2025. Chief Darren Blaney of Homalco First Nation–people of the rapids in and around Discovery Islands–compared the loss of […]

The Public Sector Integrity Commissioner, Harriet Solloway, is investigating attempts by officials from the Department of Fisheries & Oceans (DFO) to muzzle scientists from communicating their research showing open-net pen salmon farms cause harm to wild Pacific salmon populations. Solloway’s investigation of DFO focuses on two main issues: 1) attempting to prevent scientists from communicating […]

In 2019, the federal government promised to transition from open-net pen salmon farms in coastal BC waters by 2025. Despite this promise, there are still 85 salmon farms operating along BC’s west coast, with 66 of them are seeking renewals of licences that expire June 30. “It’s really troubling to see that a small group […]

The First Nation Wild Salmon Alliance (FNWSA) is urging the federal government to stick to its plan to transition from ocean-polluting salmon farms in coastal BC waters by 2025. The FNWSA position, which is consistent with that of the federal government, “is based upon court rulings, it’s based upon the auditor general’s report, it’s based […]