Wild salmon advocates say meaningful action needs to be taken on recommendations made a year ago by a federal commission into the decline of Fraser River sockeye.
The Cohen Commission was set up after a drastic drop in the number of wild salmon off the Pacific coast of the province of British Columbia.
A year ago, on October 31, Commissioner Bruce Cohen concluded “Fraser River sockeye salmon face an uncertain future”.
He said he did not find one single cause for the drop in salmon stock, but he did conclude “that salmon farms along the sockeye migration route in the Discovery Islands have the potential to introduce exotic diseases and to aggravate endemic diseases which can have a negative impact on Fraser River sockeye.”
The advocacy group Watershed Watch Salmon Society says that “Despite the impressive strength of Cohen’s findings and the solid 75 recommendations tabled to protect Fraser River sockeye, government has taken no meaningful action on the Report or towards rebuilding salmon numbers.”
Canada’s Fisheries Minister Gail Shea says she will not lift the moratorium on aquaculture development in B.C.’s Discovery Islands for the foreseeable future. She said there were other measures included in the latest federal budget.
More information:
Globe and Mail – Ottawa hasn’t acted on salmon report, critics say – here
Watershed Watch Salmon Society – Federal Government accused of failing to act to protect sockeye salmon – here
CBC NEws – Feds keep ban on aquaculture development in northwest B.C. – here
RCI – ‘Salmon Confidential’ documentary raises disturbing questions about farmed salmon (audio) – here
Cohen Commission report 2012 – www.cohencommission.ca
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