BC Environmental Protection From Bad to Worse

B.McPherson

Diseased salmon being unloaded in Tofino. 

Coming hard on the heels of the federal Tories sacking of senior scientists who monitor the health of our oceans, the Provincial Liberals are contemplating passing a gag bill that would make it illegal for people to obtain information about “farm disease epidemics”. Industrial production of fish, meat and poultry is about as far as from what has traditionally been a farm as it can get.

Currently there is a viral epidemic in the fish raising industry. This mostly foreign owned industry uses open nets in the clean clear waters of our coast and has feed lots for fish. They are crowded, fed generously, dosed with antibiotics and drop their copious poop into the water. When an epidemic breaks out the billions of infective agents drift out to the wild salmon stocks, endangering them.

While I am a confirmed carnivore, I will not eat this fish. I had two reasons, the first that the quality of the fish is not as good as the wild and secondly the fish ‘feed lots’ are harmful to the environment, consuming huge amounts of wild fish to supply the feedlot, spreading disease and pollution into the water and harassing marine mammals.

Now the BC government is attempting to muzzle any news of diseases in animals heading for human consumption. If they pass this draconian law, people like Alexandra Morton will be silenced. Following is a copy of an email that she wrote while witnessing the sloppy handling of the half million virally infected farmed fish.

Ask yourself who this new muzzle law would protect? For your answer just follow the money.

Hello
>
> In two weeks the Province of BC wants to make it illegal to talk about
> reportable diseases in animals destined for human consumption
> http://www.theprovince.com/news/information+farm+outbreaks/6657194/story.html
> They also seek to amend the Offence Act so that the punishment can be
> maximum for talking about reportable diseases in animals/fish people are
> going to eat. I am in shock.
>
> Last night Anissa and I went to observe the offloading of the OCEAN KING
> mort packer for Mainstream. They are moving the viral infected fish through
> the most productive wild salmon waters of the west coast of Vancouver
> Island - Alberni Inlet, avoiding every fish farm. There was no containment
> around the vessel as they pumped, the trucks were dripping bloodwater as
> they drove to the nearby Land, Earth and Sea "organic" composting facility
> between China Creek and Port Alberni. There is concern this will leach
> directly into the Inlet. People do not understand why this facility was used
> and not the much more secure mass mortality compost facility in Parksville.
> These fish should be removed before the next big rainfall.
>
> We contacted Local First Nations who were not notified. DFO was called but
> they were not visible on scene, the mayor showed up but did not speak with
> me. The boat left and will presumably be back late today.
>
> We have posted videos at Salmon Are Sacred facebook page and a posting on my
> blog alexandramorton.typepad.com
>
> So folks this may be the last chance the people of Canada have the
> opportunity to be vocal about highly infectious diseases in Norwegian
> feedlots, leaching into BC. Christy Clark, premier of BC is taking us into
> Dark Ages. Mainstream is telling the world I breached quarantine at the
> dock, but there was none when we arrived and once there was I never stepped
> inside.
>
> http://www.twitter.com/CTVNewsGord
>
> If you want wild salmon - this is your last chance to protect them from
> viruses in salmon farms. I have no reason to trust that is IHN in the Dixon
> fsih farm owned by Cermaq which largely owned by the Norwegian government.
> If it is IHN we don't know what strain and IHN epidemics in Atlantic salmon
> is not natural to BC waters. The doors on free-speech are slamming shut if
> you feel like using democracy to try and stop this now would be a good time.
>
> Alexandra Morton
>
>
>

Don’t eat farmed salmon. Refuse it in restaurants. It’s not good for you or for the environment.