Tag Archives: David Suzuki Foundation
Are sea lions and seals eating too much of B.C.’s salmon? The answer may lead to a cull
An increasing number of the protected seals and sea lions (larger than seals, sea lions can walk) may be upsetting the balance of the British Columbia marine ecosystem. Now some First Nations are proposing a cull. “Environmentalists trying to stop traditional seal and sea lion hunts … are trying to starve out the Indians,” says Tom Sewid of the Kwakwak’wakw First Nation on northeastern Vancouver Island. “I won’t put up with it.” And as seals and sea lions have prospered, salmon have struggled. “The demise of the salmon runs in British Columbia is equivalent if not greater than the extinction of the great buffalo herds across the Great Plains” in the 1800s, says Sewid. > click to read < 09:01
Fisheries Minister Wilkinson fires back at enviro groups for suing over killer whales
Canada’s fisheries minister has fired back at environmental groups for launching court action to protect endangered southern resident killer whales instead of working with the federal government on the issue. Jonathan Wilkinson said the groups abandoned discussions shortly after they began with federal officials and representatives from the transportation and fishing industries. “They were the ones who initially asked to convene the multi-stakeholder forum. They effectively attended one meeting and then decided that they would pursue a more adversarial approach rather than a collaborative approach.” >click to read<10:48
Feds limit chinook fishery to help resident killer whale recovery
The federal government is closing some recreational and commercial chinook fisheries on the West Coast in an effort to help save endangered southern resident killer whales. Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc said Thursday that a lack of prey for the whales is one of the critical factors affecting their recovery. There are just 76 of the whales left and LeBlanc said in a news release that a reduction in the total chinook fishery of 25 to 35 per cent will help conserve the orca’s main food source. The closures will be in the Juan de Fuca Strait and around portions of the Gulf Islands, the department said in the release. >click to read<08:26
Conservationists want emergency order to save killer whales off B.C. coast
Several conservation groups say the federal government’s failure to issue an emergency order reducing threats to endangered orcas off the B.C. coast ahead of fishing and whale-watching season could mean the species’ extinction. The organizations say Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Environment Minister Catherine McKenna had not recommended an emergency order to cabinet by March 1, which could have seen priority feeding refuges established, fishing restricted and speed reductions for commercial vessels put in place for the season. >click to read< 19:35
Finally, courage to counterpunch the green bullies – Greenpeace Faces a Resolute Opponent
When the name Resolute was chosen in 2011, after the merger of Bowater and Abitibi-Consolidated, the Canadian company, a global leader in the forest products industry and the largest producer of newsprint in the world, likely didn’t know what a harbinger it was. Today, it stands alone, set in purpose, with firmness and determination. Displaying the rare courage to stand up to the typical environmental extremists’ campaign of misinformation and shaming designed to shut it down, Resolute Forest Products is fighting back. Many people are probably unaware of the shakedown tactics used by groups whose touchy-feely names belie their true goals. Like most companies, Resolute originally went along. As Peter Foster explains in the Financial Post: “a cabal of radical environmental non-governmental organizations, ENGOs — including Greenpeace, ForestEthics and the David Suzuki Foundation — agreed to stop their campaigns of customer harassment in return for the members of the Forest Products Association of Canada, FPAC, agreeing to sanitize a swathe of the Canadian Boreal forest, and to ‘consult’ on development plans. Astonishingly, governments played no part.” The result was the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement. The ENGOs ultimately aspired to put the majority of the Boreal forest off limits — ending economic development. Regarding the Greenpeace-promoted concept of “intact forest landscape protection,” Laurent Lessard, Quebec’s Minister of Forest, Wildlife and Parks, says it threatens “absolutely devastating” economic implications. Read the story here 10:27
Province orders fisheries review after Manitoba fish get ‘do not buy’ rating
The province has ordered a review of Manitoba’s fisheries after a scathing review from sustainable fisheries organization 
. On Monday, Seachoice released a report that gave fish caught in Manitoba’s three largest lake a “do not buy” rating. All species of fish caught in Lake Winnipeg, Lake Manitoba and Lake Winnipegosis should be avoided by consumers and retailers until more sustainable fishery methods are in place, the report said. Read the rest here 10:31
Overwaitea Food Group dropped by sustainable seafood program SeaChoice
SeaChoice, a national sustainable seafood program, has dropped one of its most prominent partners, the Overwaitea Food Group, due in part to ongoing problems with getting information about where the fish sold in stores was caught. “It was disappointing,” said Jay Ritchlin, a director-general for the David Suzuki Foundation which overseas SeaChoice. Where seafood comes from — and how it was caught — are both important pieces of information in deciding whether that stock can be considered sustainable. For example, SeaChoice tells consumers to avoid farmed shrimp from the U.S. and choose instead trap-caught shrimp from Nova Scotia. Read the rest here 10:00
Lawsuit prompts feds to act on species at risk
VANCOUVER – A federal government lawyer says the ministers responsible for protecting endangered species took action on four critically threatened species because they were facing court proceedings. The Wilderness Committee, Sierra Club, David Suzuki Foundation, Greenpeace and Wildsight are asking the court to order Ottawa to complete final recovery strategies for the four species, which are up to six years overdue. Read more@chroniclejournal 17:58
Eco Capitalist Hypocrisy: The two Suzukis: There’s Saint Suzuki, the one you see on CBC, and Secret Suzuki, the capitalist millionaire
What? What???
Saint Suzuki rails against corporations and profits. He even gave a well-received anti-capitalist speech at the Occupy Vancouver protest. But Secret Suzuki himself has several corporations. One of them, the David Suzuki Foundation, took in a whopping $9 million last year and has $12 million in assets. More than 10 million of that is invested in stocks and bonds. Saint Suzuki despises lobbyists, and says they have a disproportionate control of political power in Ottawa. But Secret Suzuki himself has nine paid lobbyists registered in Ottawa’s lobbyist registry. Not one. Nine. more@calgarysun 13:12
David Suzuki sounds the alarm that the sky is falling, and there is no limit to his “endangered species” dogma
Suzuki: Downgrading endangered species legislation troubling – Despite the evidence that endangered species laws are effective, governments in Canada are proceeding with deregulation and abdicating their responsibi
lities for wildlife habitat protection, often quietly. After all, only a few environmental watchdogs such as the David Suzuki Foundation are looking out for creatures that otherwise have no voice. Read the article
