Dear Editor,
Re: The People have spoken, Oct. 29, 2010
On the same day that DC Reid says the people of BC spoke through a couple hundred protestors at the Cohen Inquiry in Vancouver, 6,000 people employed due to the BC Salmon farming industry began to have their voices heard as the commission's evidentiary hearings kicked off.
The BC Salmon Farmers Association is a part of the commission so that all the research, operational procedures and information we have will be part of Justice Bruce Cohen's investigation into the Fraser River Sockeye. A release of the raw data for five years on 21 farms, as requested by the Commissioner, is the beginning of that sharing.
If the science were as clear as Mr. Reid alleges, however, then the commission would not be needed. In reality, there is science "10 feet deep" that highlights many factors impacting the survival of BC's wild salmon stocks, and Cohen's discussion paper and interim report depict the expansiveness of them.
From fisheries management to logging, rising ocean temperatures and varying plankton blooms there is much that needs to be considered. To try and blame salmon farming alone is frankly doing a disservice to a much broader and more challenging debate.
And for further clarity to the goal of closed containment: BC's salmon farmers are leading the way on research into this new technology, but the bottom line is that it is not established enough to transfer the current industry onto land at this time. As we continue to look at the potential of this emerging technology, we're also ensuring that our ocean operations are being run to the highest standard.
We share the protesters' goal of protecting wild salmon and agree that the Sockeye and Pacific salmon are key to our cultural identity as British Columbians - that's why we're at the table answering the questions people have.
Mary Ellen Walling
Executive Director
BC Salmon Farmers Association