Aquaculture transition plan is an opportunity for BC’s salmon farmers
“My vision is for a future where local communities, First Nations, wild salmon and aquaculture are all thriving.” – Jennifer Woodland, Chair of the BC Salmon Farmers Association By Fabian DawsonSeaWestNews Growing up in the midst of Newfoundland’s cod crisis,…
Surrey reels from salmon farm closures, aquaculture job losses
“We’re asking on behalf of our families, our employees and the thousands of others who are impacted…stop the further closure of salmon farms.” By Fabian DawsonSeaWestNews The Surrey Board of Trade is calling on Federal Fisheries Minister Joyce Murray to…
Seafood sustainability champ to helm BC Salmon Farmers Association
“We need to find ways to produce a lot more seafood, not just salmon and we need to do it locally, not somewhere over the horizon,” Brian Kingzett, BC Salmon Farmers Association. By Fabian DawsonSeaWestNews Brian Kingzett, a veteran marine…
Changes at the helm of the BC Salmon Farmers Association
Veteran aquaculture industry expert named as interim executive director of BC Salmon Farmers Association. By SeaWestNews The BC Salmon Farmers Association (BCSFA) has announced that its executive director, John Paul Fraser, is stepping down. Veteran industry expert, Ruth Salmon, who…
$10 million program ‘hijacked’ by anti-salmon farming activists
Inside the work of activist-scientists associated with a government funded program that continues to alarm the public about salmon farming in British Columbia. By Fabian DawsonSeaWestNews A $10 million government-backed program to study the potential effects of microbes on wild…
Federal Court snubs First Nations in salmon farming dispute
In a disturbing ruling, the Federal court has rejected intervenor status by five First Nations in the Discovery Islands’ salmon farming dispute, opting to hear submissions from activists perpetuating the ‘Big Lie’ about aquaculture in BC. By Fabian DawsonSeaWestNews The…
BC’s Blue Revolution with Jaramar Balmori-Cedeño
“No one should have to wonder what they will eat tomorrow. I took an oath in Veterinary school in Mexico, and to this day, I live by it.” By Samantha Bacchus McLeodSeaWestNews The newly unveiled Youth Council of the BC…
BC salmon farms shutdown will have devastating impacts
A new report lays bare widespread economic, human and animal welfare impacts that will result from shutting down salmon farms in BC’s Discovery Islands. By Fabian DawsonSeaWestNews BC’s salmon farmers will have to destroy 10.7 million young fish – the…
BC salmon farms decision attacked by aquaculture stakeholders
Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans announces new aquaculture engagement process as it defends decision to phase out salmon farms in BC’s Discovery Islands By Fabian DawsonSeaWestNews Canada has announced a series of online engagements for a plan to transition…
‘Dead Loss’ report on aquaculture is dead wrong
BC Premier John Horgan takes aim at federal aquaculture decision, as calls mount for anti-salmon farm activist groups to be held accountable for spreading false information By Fabian DawsonSeaWestNews Using guesstimates and fact-deficit analyses, a UK-based activist group named “Changing…
BC’s Blue Revolution with Amanda Luxton
My industry isn’t staying static. We are constantly improving and always striving to be better for the environment, the fish, and people. By Samantha Bacchus McLeodSeaWestNews The newly unveiled Youth Council of the BC Salmon Farmers Association (BCSFA) is all…
BC’s Blue Revolution with Michelle Franze
“Buying and consuming sustainably farmed salmon is one of the best ways to save our wild salmon” By Samantha Bacchus McLeodSeaWestNews The newly unveiled Youth Council of the BC Salmon Farmers Association (BCSFA) is all about greening forward for sustainable…
BC salmon farmers to invest millions in aquaculture projects
BC salmon farmers plan $113 million in immediate aquaculture projects that will generate nearly 450 new well-paid jobs to help Vancouver Island in its post COVID-19 recovery efforts. By Fabian DawsonSeaWestNews BC salmon farmers say they plan to immediately invest…
Youth Council, hiring spree to grow aquaculture
Cooke Aquaculture goes on a hiring spree in Atlantic Canada while BC salmon farmers launch Youth Council to help shape the sustainable future of farming the oceans. By SeaWestNews Salmon farmers in British Columbia have announced the development of a…
‘Salmon farmers keep us going’
Vancouver Island businesses say salmon farmers, who have embraced a strident ‘support local first’ philosophy, are keeping them going amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. By Fabian DawsonSeaWestNews It was only about two months ago, as the COVID-19 outbreak spread across Vancouver…
Salmon farmers give 60,000 pounds of protein power to BC food banks
“I have been with Food Banks BC for almost a decade and I have never received a donation like this before…protein donations truly are hard to come by… particularly at this time of COVID-19,” – Laura Lansink, Food Banks BC….
Aquaculture firms to the fore in the fight against COVID-19
“We are actively seeking additional ways we can make a true difference in helping our communities weather this storm as we stand together against COVID-19.” – Shawn Hall, BCSFA By Fabian DawsonSeaWestNews Aquaculture giants in British Columbia and around the…
COVID 19 crisis puts focus back on farmers: expert
B.C. government declares food cultivation, including farming, livestock, aquaculture and fishing as essential services, during the current COVID-19 crisis By Fabian DawsonSeaWestNews British Columbia’s move to declare agriculture and aquaculture operations as essential services during the current COVID-19 crisis, will…
Salmon sleuths set sail again to study secrets of the sea
“The research conducted on this ship offers hope and promise to all who are concerned about wild salmon” By Fabian DawsonSeaWestNews A dozen scientists from Canada, U.S. and Russia set sail today from Vancouver Island for the Gulf of…
B.C. salmon farmers heed U.N.’s call to develop aquaculture industry
Embracing sustainability as an opportunity, B.C.’s salmon farmers are heeding the call by the United Nations to develop the aquaculture industry as a win-win for a planet in need. By Fabian DawsonSeaWestNews B.C.’s salmon farmers have embraced sustainability as an…
Salmon sleuths plan another expedition to uncover secrets of the sea
“While we know a fair amount about the lives of salmon close to shore and in our rivers and streams we really don’t know much about their lives in the open ocean” John Paul Fraser, B.C. Salmon Farmers Association. By…
First Nations hail new pact with B.C. salmon farmers
Agreements highlight importance of supporting wild salmon populations while building aquaculture capacity within the First Nations By SeaWestNews Three First Nations are hailing a pact, that gives them oversight into the operations of salmon farming companies in their traditional territories…
A new journey to raise awareness about aquaculture in B. C.
“I really want to meet everybody who wants to know more about aquaculture” – Michelle Franze, Manager of Communications, Partnerships and Community for the BC Salmon Farmers Association (BCSFA). By Samantha McLeodSeaWestNews Powered by a passion for the ocean and…
Seoul searching for salmon at BC Seafood Expo 2019
B.C. salmon worth $540,000 sold within 45 minutes via a television home shopping segment in South Korea. By SeaWestNews South Koreans can’t get enough of B.C. salmon. Just ask the folks at Elbon F&B, who sold a whopping $540,000 worth…
Scientist gets top award for a ‘lousy’ choice
Dr. Simon Jones honoured as a new report states salmon farming companies have slashed medicinal sea lice treatments by 50 percent in six years By Fabian DawsonSeaWestNews Dr. Simon Jones made a ‘lousy’ choice when pursuing his career in ocean…
BC Seafood Expo 2019 Chef Line-up
BC Seafood Expo 2019 chef line-up offers a wide range of talents from around the Comox valley. Located midway on the east coast of Vancouver Island, the Comox Valley is well known for its culinary bounty from the farms and…
“The future of protein is here and it’s called aquaculture”
Political commitments, scientific collaborations and constructive conversations highlight opening of the Aquaculture Canada Conference 2019. By Fabian DawsonSeaWestNews Canada’s commitment to sustainable harvesting of seafood was reaffirmed by both the federal and B.C. provincial governments at the 2019 Aquaculture Canada…
B.C. Seafood Expo 2019 to showcase bounty of our oceans
The B.C. Seafood Expo 2019 event in Comox Valley, on Vancouver Island on June 12 and 13 is one of the largest seafood industry trade events in the Pacific Northwest. By SeaWestNews Some of Canada’s top culinary artistes will join…
Broad range of interest for new B.C. salmon fund
Newly-minted British Columbia Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund has received 192 applications. By SeaWestNews The newly-minted British Columbia Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund has received 192 applications to support the protection of wild fisheries and enhance sustainability in the seafood…
‘Our salmon farmers do not grow GM salmon’
“Salmon farmer members of the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance (CAIA), representing virtually all farmed salmon in Canada, do not grow or sell GM salmon” By Fabian DawsonSeaWestNews Canada’s leading aquaculture industry body has reiterated that its members don’t farm or…