Tag Archives: Pacific Salmon Foundation
Canada to ban open-net pen salmon farming in British Columbia
“Today, we are delivering on that promise and taking an important step in Canada’s path towards salmon and environmental conservation, sustainable aquaculture production, and clean technology,” said Jonathan Wilkinson, natural resources minister. There are dozens of the farms in British Columbia. More than half of wild salmon stock populations are declining in the province’s waters, according to the Pacific Salmon Foundation. Opinion polls have shown a majority of residents in British Columbia support ending open-net salmon farming, while more than 120 First Nations in the province have shown support for land-based closed containment fish farms. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:27
8 more wild salmon restoration projects to receive funding in B.C.
Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan addressed the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade on Tuesday, saying climate change and increasing demand for seafood products has put unprecedented pressure on Pacific wild salmon. The latest projects will receive about $10.5 million from the joint federal and provincial fund established in 2018 to help the recovery of stocks in steep decline.,,, “Speaking to British Columbians, I want to assure you that our government is moving ahead with the transition from open-net pens,” she said, adding Ottawa will develop a comprehensive process to ensure all voices are heard in the decision-making process. >click to read< 10:24
Glum outlook scares salmon fishing industry – Wednesday, an expedition leaves for the Gulf of Alaska to try to help crack the puzzle
This year’s preliminary salmon outlook from Fisheries and Oceans Canada says overall expectations for salmon returns are generally low and similar to those in 2019. In many cases, expectations have even declined, it said, noting that the picture is brighter in “very few cases.”,, On Wednesday, a B.C.-based expedition leaves Victoria for the Gulf of Alaska to try to help crack the puzzle of plummeting stocks. Scientists from Canada, Russia and the U.S. will be on the chartered 37-metre commercial trawler Pacific Legacy No. 1. It returns April 4. more, >click to read< 10:00
Expedition breaks new ground in the lives of Pacific salmon
Fisheries scientists have estimated for the first time that 54.5 million Pacific salmon are living in the Gulf of Alaska — providing a valuable new tool to predict how many fish will be returning to B.C. streams to spawn this fall. This new comprehensive count is critical for First Nations, commercial and recreational fishermen, coastal communities, businesses relying on the wild fishery, and fisheries managers trying to figure out why some stocks have declined drastically in certain years or crashed altogether. >click to read<10:40
Researchers aim to find where Pacific salmon spend their winters
An international team of scientists is heading to the Gulf of Alaska for a ground-breaking research survey to uncover the secret lives of Pacific salmon in the winter. Discoveries coming out of a 25-day research cruise using a trawler in the North Pacific are expected to help countries do a better job of managing, conserving and restoring salmon stocks, including improving forecasting of returns. “I say it’s the great black box because we basically lose track of the salmon after they leave our coastal waters,” said Brian Riddell, president and chief executive of the Vancouver-based Pacific Salmon Foundation, a key backer of the endeavour. The team is made up of six Canadian scientists, eight from Russia, three from the U.S., and one each from Japan and South Korea.>click to read<13:41
Piscine Reo-Virus found in salmon on one fish farm in B.C. but more research needed
Scientists have detected a potential disease in farmed Atlantic salmon for the first time in British Columbia, but say more research is needed to determine if it could affect wild populations of the fish. Dr. Kristi Miller, head of the molecular genetics research program in the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, said pathologists found lesions on salmon on one farm in Johnstone Strait indicating they had heart and skeletal muscle inflammation. “These lesions were present for an extended period of time, at least eight months, on this (undisclosed) farm,” Miller said Friday. The Piscine Reo-Virus has been associated with all outbreaks of heart and skeletal muscle inflammation, as it was on the single B.C. farm, but it’s not known if it causes the disease, Miller said, adding scientists around the world are investigating how the virus could be linked to the disease. Read the rest here 19:36
Pacific Salmon Foundation – Health of salmon not determined by catch counts
B.C. fishermen may have to console themselves with limited harvest of salmon in the coming years, but the long-term prospects for wild Pacific salmon are not as dire as some critics claim, the head of the Pacific Salmon Foundation told members of the Qualicum Beach Streamkeepers during their annual general meeting Saturday at St. Stephen’s United Church. “If you’re interested in the future of salmon, it’s better than indicated by what people talk about in the media,” said Brian Riddell, CEO and president of the PSF and a former staffer with Fisheries and Oceans Canada. “In the past, people have been fixated on catch as the measure of abundance and health of salmon. But the health of salmon is not determined by the catch. It’s determined by the amount of fish that come back and spawn after the catch.” Read the rest here 13:31
Finest At Sea seafood company forfeits catch – no evidence the company was trying to be surreptitious
Finest At Sea has forfeited the proceeds from a $14,000 halibut catch after pleading guilty to contravening the conditions of a commercial fishing licence in March 2012. Court heard the ill health of company owner Bob Fraumeni and a skipper’s inexperience contributed to the company’s failure to apply for a special amendment to the halibut licence on a trip on the Nordic Spirit on March 18 to 20, 2012. Read the rest here 12:30
OK to Catch More At-Risk Salmon if Monitored, Scientist Says
A federal decision allowing commercial fishermen to catch five times the usual amount of endangered coho salmon this year should not be a cause for alarm, said Dr. Brian Riddell, president and CEO of the Pacific Salmon Foundation, a non-governmental organization working to conserve salmon. Read more here 21:42
