Salmon prices soar as minister bows to anti-aquaculture activists
Why is Fisheries Minister Joyce Murray being allowed to ignore evidence-based and peer-reviewed government science advice on salmon aquaculture, ask Canada’s seafood farmers. By Fabian DawsonSeaWestNews Canada’s seafood farmers are calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to stop Fisheries Minister…
Canada’s aquaculture opportunity is unparalleled in the world
But the Liberal government is squandering the opportunity, all to get votes from anti-salmon farming activists, states the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance By Fabian Dawson and Samantha McLeodSeaWestNews Canada’s opportunity to be the world’s best salmon farming nation is being…
BC salmon farm closures trigger record high prices
Price spikes are being driven by government decisions to reduce supply of BC’s farm-raised salmon, states the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance (CAIA). By Fabian DawsonSeaWestNews As food prices continue to soar, government decisions to shut down salmon farms in British…
Salmon farmers want more time to develop transition plan
Future of aquaculture in the Discovery Islands should be part of Transition Plan for all of BC, say salmon farmers and First Nations By Fabian DawsonSeaWestNews. BC’s salmon farmers are calling on the government to allow for more time to…
BC’s anti-salmon farming activist gets it wrong again
No link between wild salmon returns in British Columbia and active salmon farms By Fabian DawsonSeaWestNews British Columbia’s anti-fish farming activists are world-renowned for spreading falsehoods about salmon aquaculture on Canada’s west coast. And they are it again, this time…
Coalition opposes facilitator for salmon farming transition plans
“We cannot trust that an impartial process will occur as the First Nations Fisheries Council’s stance against salmon farming is well known,” say aquaculture-dependant indigenous communities in British Columbia By Fabian DawsonSeaWestNews Aquaculture-dependant First Nations in British Columbia are worried…
Let us keep our salmon farms say First Nation leaders
Salmon aquaculture operations have brought us out of a dark era of depression, poverty, and suicides, say First Nation leaders in a series of poignant videos. By Fabian DawsonSeaWestNews First Nation leaders from British Columbia’s coastal communities are demanding that…
Why our world needs salmon farmers
For a world struggling with food insecurity, salmon aquaculture is a beacon of hope and opportunity – a chance for us to act locally and increase food production globally. CommentaryBy Samantha McLeodPeopleTravelFood The war in Ukraine, the economic upheaval in Sri…
Commercial fishers in Alaska ‘plundering’ threatened B.C. salmon
Nearly 800,000 sockeye salmon were caught in Alaskan fishing districts just north of the border in 2021, and most of those fish would be headed for B.C. waterways By Rochelle Baker,Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Commercial fish harvesters in southeast Alaska are…
Job losses mount over BC salmon farm closures
Workers at Vancouver Island salmon hatchery among the first casualties of the Discovery Islands’ decision, which is expected to kill 1,535 aquaculture-related jobs, mainly in BC’s coastal and indigenous communities. By Fabian DawsonSeaWestNews It was just about two weeks ago…
Make a ‘pledge’ to know us urge BC salmon farmers
Activism and the spread of misinformation about salmon farming – clearly meant to divide and polarize communities – poses an imminent threat to family supporting jobs primarily situated on Vancouver Island, election candidates told CommentaryBy John Paul Fraser As with…
Ocean farmers challenge dishonest diatribe of anti-aquaculture activists
“Aquaculture is the future, and if we do not allow it in Washington despite the best available science, it will nevertheless continue to grow everywhere else but here.” By Fabian DawsonSeaWestNews Ocean farmers in Washington State are lashing out against…
Beyond the decision to close salmon farms in the Discovery Islands
MP and husband hold celebratory dinner as North Vancouver Island reacts to the closure of salmon farms in the Discovery Islands, that will likely kill hundreds of jobs. CommentaryBy Fabian Dawson Hundreds of jobs, both directly and indirectly related to…
Social licence trumps science in Discovery Islands’ salmon farming decision
But it does not mean First Nations have veto powers over salmon farming operations in their traditional territories, says Bernadette Jordan, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans By Fabian Dawson and Samantha McLeodSeaWestNews The decision to stop salmon farming in the…
Salmon farmers want your input for a better output
Public comment period launched for Canada’s first ever code-of-care for fish, that aims to help salmon farmers demonstrate high animal welfare standards at all times By SeaWestNews Salmon farmers in Canada want to hear from you about how they can…
A September to remember for Grieg Seafood in BC
Multi-site certification, digital drive and the deployment of a $40-million specially designed ship highlight Grieg Seafood BC’s 20th anniversary By SeaWestNews Grieg Seafood has announced it has received its sixth and final Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) nod for a multi-site…
Salmon farmers relying less on wild fish for feed
Salmon farmers make good progress to reduce their reliance on wild-caught fish in the feed they use, states a new report By SeaWestNews Atlantic salmon farmers around the world and here in BC are reducing their reliance on wild-caught fish…
Grieg Seafood BC gets a high five overcoming COVID-19 challenges
Celebrating its 20th anniversary in British Columbia, Greig Seafood BC becomes only the second salmon farmer in the world to achieve ASC’s multi-site certification By SeaWestNews Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Grieg Seafood BC has achieved multi-site…
Canada’s Fisheries Minister clarifies her B.C. aquaculture mandate
“The mandate letter is clear that I have to come up with a plan by 2025 and that’s what I will be doing,” – Minister of Fisheries, Bernadette Jordan. By Fabian DawsonSeaWestNews Canada’s newly minted Minister of Fisheries, Bernadette Jordan…
Why aquaculture needs a science-led democracy
“If campaigns against salmon farming were based on facts, I wouldn’t be writing this article.” CommentaryBy Ian Roberts As activists continue to sidestep the democratic process in favour of interrupting work spaces, governments must step up to protect the health…
Getting a grip on UNDRIP and what it means for British Columbia
Event in Vancouver will look at how First Nations are succeeding in business relations with companies in the energy, mining, aquaculture, and forestry sectors By Fabian DawsonSeaWestNews From resource extraction to harvesting the oceans and to creating energy corridors, British…
Salmon farmers propel B.C. to a banner year for agriculture
Consistently ranked as the 4th largest farmed Atlantic salmon producer in the world, farmed salmon continues to be B.C.’s most valuable seafood export By SeaWestNews Salmon farmers in British Columbia exported $541 million worth of Atlantic salmon contributing to a…
Canada’s new Fisheries Minister saddled with a mandate of contradictions
Bernadette Jordan, the new Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, deserves a mandate that compliments Canada’s vision to lead the Global Blue Economy, not contradict it AnalysisBy Fabian DawsonSeaWestNews Justin Trudeau’s mandate letter to his new Minister of Fisheries and Oceans,…
Canada embraces aquaculture globally while choking it at home
Why are we funding sustainable aquaculture initiatives overseas while trying to kill it in British Columbia? Commentary By Fabian DawsonSeaWestNews Aquaculture is a cornerstone of the Blue Economy, which Canada has embraced. Our government has pledged tens of millions of…
Salmon stock recovery in B.C. gets a boost
New international lab accreditation will help salmon recovery levels By SeaWestNews The British Columbia Centre for Aquatic Health Sciences (BC CAHS) in Campbell River has attained the International Standards Organization (ISO) accreditation, another feather in its illustrious cap. The ISO…
Liberal election platform betrayal will destroy our livelihoods in the aquaculture industry
“If implemented, this campaign-promise means shutting down our aquaculture industry and throwing 7,000 British Columbians out of work, including us.” CommentaryBy Brad Rempel, Kenny Leslie and John Relyea-Voss The federal Liberals launched a surprise election promise recently to get salmon…
Sea the future with restorative aquaculture
Waters off B.C. have strong potential for development of commercial shellfish and seaweed aquaculture that can also help salmon farmers By Fabian DawsonSeaWestNews Shellfish and seaweed aquaculture in the waters off British Columbia provide numerous environmental and economic benefits to…
It’s not about wild first, it’s about votes first
Where is the application of the precautionary principle to protect wild salmon when it comes to the Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion project? CommentaryBy Fabian DawsonSeaWestNews The new Liberal political policy plank to transition all open-net fish farms in British…
Cooke makes a fish farming comeback in Washington waters
Northwest Aquaculture Alliance says Liberal political policy in Canada on banning open-net fish farms in B.C. is a “cheap ploy to gain votes” By SeaWestNews Canada-based Cooke Aquaculture has been given a five-year permit to grow trout in open-net farms…
Inside Trudeau’s fishy political promise that will be a net loss for Canadians
Why the Liberal Party is short-circuiting and disrespecting its own evidence based policy-making process for B.C.’s salmon farming industry. CommentaryBy Fabian DawsonSeaWestNews There is a reason why election campaign time in Canada is called the silly season. It’s a time…