Fisheries biologist Alexandra Morton could be going to Ottawa at the invitation of a Conservative MP.
John Weston, the Member of Parliament for West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country, said in a report sent to Pique just over a week ago that he's supporting a motion to invite Morton to Ottawa to testify before the House of Commons Fisheries Committee.
"Our goal is, with officials, volunteers, conservationists and others, to demonstrate commitment and provide hope," Weston said in his report. "Our Government is determined to hear both sides of the story."
Morton has been one of Canada's loudest voices calling for reforms to how aquaculture (ie. salmon farming) is regulated throughout the country, particularly off of B.C.'s west coast.
She was instrumental in a legal victory that saw the B.C. Supreme Court hand management of aquaculture to the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Aquaculture was previously overseen by B.C.'s Ministry of Environment.
Prior to that she was raising alarms throughout British Columbia about the damage that fish farms could be doing to wild salmon stocks. She contends that salmon swimming out of the Fraser River are migrating through "fish farm effluent" in areas such as the Broughton Archipelago, a region to the north of Vancouver Island. There, she once said in a letter to Fisheries Minister Gail Shea, fish are collecting sea lice that originate with the farms and are dying as a result. Morton also helped author a 2007 report that said lice from fish farms could lead to a "99 per cent collapse of pink salmon in four generations."
Reached last week, Morton said she wants to attend a committee but may only be able to do it by videoconference because she's about to embark on the 500-kilometre Walk for Salmon on Vancouver Island, which aims to raise awareness of issues related to fish farms.
"I'm going to try to do it in video," she said. "It's been like a tidal wave of e-mails and organizing, it's unbelievable how many people want to walk with us. I'm thrilled to be speaking to them but I'm going to try and do it from British Columbia."
Though happy that she gets to speak before a House committee, Morton takes issue with some testimony that has already come before it.
On March 22 the committee heard testimony from Trevor Swerdfager, Director General of the Aquaculture Management Branch at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Weston, a member of the committee, asked him whether fish farms are promoting sea lice. Swerdfager responded that farms are required to treat for sea lice if they have "three motile live lice" and that companies have to monitor their lice loads on fish in the farms.
Weston then asked him whether sea lice are developing resistance to the drug used to treat them. Swerdfager responded that there's "no evidence" the lice are developing resistance.
Morton questions various aspects of his testimony.
"There were so many points in there that are confused and I don't agree with," she said. "The denial of the sea lice problem, the denial of the impact of this industry on wild salmon and saying that our science is completely debunked, that's completely wrong."
The House committee is holding hearings because the federal government is readying to take on the responsibilities of monitoring fish farms, thanks to the court decision that Morton initiated.
Jesse Ferreras reports for The Pique.
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Gary
1 year ago
Great
This is great news. My only hope is that her walk does.t get interrupted. And that this is not a ruse to do so. Alex has done some very good work here. And I submit that she has done more than the DFO and the BC environment Ministry combined.
circle A
1 year ago
I wish...
It would do some good, but the aquaculture business speaks the only language harper and campbell listen to,money! plain and simple.
Illahie
1 year ago
Morton is not
Morton is not a fisheries biologist.
Van Isle
1 year ago
Your right Illahie, but I
Your right Illahie, but I believe she's a marine biologist and has studied killer whales. As you know killer whales (resident) are completly linked with salmon. For that matter, so are bears linked with salmon. If ya want to get a little more enlightened go and see Ms. Morton's presentation and what fish farms do to our enviroment; it's not pretty.
Illahie
1 year ago
Van Isle
The one thing that Morton has gotten right is that she now knows that fisheries knows that "our science is completely debunked".
The issue was never really about sea lice. The sea lice thing was just an evolution of the propaganda campaign against the fish farm industry that the Commercial Fishing industry started 30 years ago.
What really stirred the pot I think, was the introduction of "exotic" Atlantic Salmon by the fish farm industry.
The Commercial Fishing propaganda campaign was not all that effective in my opinion. When the fish farm industry started to raise "exotic" fish, the environmental crowd jumped on board, and the fur started to fly.
There were real concerns about the spread of disease with the introduction of Atlantic Salmon. There were real concerns that escaped Atlantic's would colonize our rivers and destroy our wild stocks. On the surface, it looked like DFO was proceeding with total disregard to the valuable wild salmon stocks in BC.
But DFO knows about salmon, (they should salmon evolved right here in BC), they knew that Atlantic Salmon were incapable of competing against native Pacific Salmon. In hindsight, DFO could of explained to the public why Atlantic Salmon pose no threat. In hindsight they should have explained about the sea lice thing as well. But they didn't do that. Public relations is not their job I guess.
So here we are with a nutbar on the loose, and nobody to set the record straight.