Righteous

Good on ya, Rafe. The world needs Grumpy Old Farts badly. Now if we could only get more grumpy young ones… to ask piercing questions, stir up debate and create dialogue, the world around the Salish Sea would be a much better place.

Keep on keeping on.

Slice and Stuff

Rafe: "Illahie says that the pink salmon returns in south are doing just fine, citing this link.

Illahie neglects to inform us that these happy returns were because the fish farms involved were heavily dosed with Slice, a toxic drug which kills sea lice, in order to let the pink salmon smolts pass unmolested."

Huh? So the pink salmon smolts are protected from sea lice by Slice but the sockeye smolts aren't?

Does Slice come with a disclaimer that says: "Only good for Pink Salmon but won't protect Sockeye Salmon"? Yikes!

ask piercing questions, stir up debate and create dialogue

You’re bouillabaisse is excellent MJK; all we need now is the recipe.

Although Rafe does an excellent job of editorializing, and the Tyee’s fish farm stories spell out problems and solutions faced by the aquaculture industry, this information is not reaching enough people. And what’s worse ... outside of some Tyee readers ... those that it does reach seem unable “to ask piercing questions, stir up debate and create dialogue”.

This is a problem found far beyond fish farms. How do we effectively counter balance the spin we find in MSM? How do we spread the work of folks like Tiffany Poirier (http://thetyee.ca/Life/2009/09/08/YoungPhilosophers/) so that more of us are able to “test generalizations, make connections and draw inferences, find analogies, formulate and test criteria, take multiple perspectives, cooperate, build on others ideas”?

Thanks Rafe.

Keep on fighting.

Fish farms again?

We all appreciate a well researched opinion, what pisses us off is when a good commentator becomes so focussed on one topic that he becomes a bore.
Dear Rafe, everybody subscribing to the Tyee knows your stance about fishfarming, give it a rest!
If you try hard you will discover that there are many other topics that deserve your attention.

and no need to be sorry..

..for being an Editorialist or focusing on the issue of fish farms. It is a huge issue anywhere on the coast.

Keep up the great work Rafe!!

I'm surprised that there are some who claim not to know that you are "editorialist".

Thanks for rebutting the info. by "illahie". Too often I've seen misleading/incorrect/outdated info. in the postings or by links.

I'm sure a lot of readers have to wonder if some of these posters are actually in the employ or benefit of some sector that will profit from misleading info.
Although I don't think they are fooling many Tyee readers!

Good article Rafe

Thanks for reviewing reader comments

Thanks for keeping this topic alive!!

I just this am discovered Tyee and your column. I am glad you're an editorialist! Its refreshing to here opinions instead of politically correct drivel. Keep up the good work. Keep us stirred up. Without people like you, we'd (me anyway) tend to become complacent....

editorials

keep those "takes" coming. They're INVIGORATING!!

editorialism

Excellent job Rafe. You tell your side of the story very well. People should be intelligent enough to look for the "on the other hand" point of view on their own. They'll learn that, seeing the other side compared to your view, you'll usually win the argument.

Slice

"Does Slice come with a disclaimer that says: "Only good for Pink Salmon but won't protect Sockeye Salmon"? Yikes!"

Just wanted to mention that while I have no idea about the specifics of the Slice application implemented, it is entirely possible that it protected the juvenile pink salmon outmigration and not the sockeye. You see all species of salmon have different life cylces and the juveniles from each species are migrating past the fish farms at different times and stages. Therefore, if the application of slice was timed to benefit the pink salmon outmigration, as the impact of of sea lice on pinks was such a concern in the recent past, then it may well have not been applied during the sockeye outmigration. Therefore the sea lice populations would be unchecked or would have had a chance to rebound after the Slice application, and still attack the sockeye.

Like I say, I don't know about any of the specifics of the case, but simply the timing of outmigration and the application of Slice could explain the question.

What I do know for sure, is that I have fished at a few locations around Vancouver Island this summer and almost every adult salmon I have caught has sea lice on it, and some have lots. I would expect one or two on the odd fish, but what I have found seems excessive. Does anybody remember it being like this back in the day.......before the era of the fish farms?

Big Difference

I rarely disagree with Rafe, but he needs to thicken his skin when it comes to critics.

Public discourse would diminish if an advocate had to nuance over every word. I would indulge much heated argument, even if defamation or speculative accusations might arise from same. The redress for that is: retraction and apology. Nothing more. Critics have forums to state their views. Unfortunately, often Canwest isn't one of them.

Rafe's best work is done when he is angry. Hey, an angry Rafe is an entertaining Rafe.

Canwest lawyers disclose that the company holds an extremely low threshold for proving Defamation. Clearly it is reflected in their editorials, where same involves liberty issues. I hope Rafe doesn't emulate Asper-Nation.

http://www.canlii.org/en/bc/bcsc/doc/2008/2008bcsc1609/2008bcsc1609.html

Illahie... "Good article Rafe"??

You don't dispute Rafe's "Rebuttal to a Tyee Reader"?

If the scientific articles (which seem to me to be written in Greek) and Rafe's interpretation of them are correct, how can we do anything except ban all open net fish farms?

You can easily spot those that care about the wild salmon

Anyone who's taken the time to follow and read the studies and reports and either fishes or watches the returns each year knows that our wild salmon are in crisis.The Thompson river steelhead,once a decent run of outstanding fish is now near extinct.Into this mix we now have run of the river power,operating at just the right time to grind smolts into pulp.This government was supported by so called environmentalists in the last election.Perhaps they've been enthralled by Gordo's so called green shift,which is just a scam which accomplished exactly what he expected.

sicntired

Steelhead, salmon and searun cutthroat (the real canary in the salmonid mine shaft) have been in trouble ever since folks decided they wanted a share in the largesse spun from growth.

It really doesn’t matter what human-centered “growth” you focus on … industrial, financial or politcal … wild salmon have been forefront in the race to sacrifice nature in order to appease the money mongers and manufacture the much sought after largesse.

News that wild salmon populations were on a downhill slide wasn’t lost on these three groups which is why we have hatcheries, fish farms and a myriad of other “no net loss” fiascos surfacing to quell the concerns of the largesse-seeking public.

That the largesse producers knew salmon were in serious trouble was made clear in the early 70s when the Big Three … represented by federal and provincial fishery folk … travelled the province selling the Salmon Enhancement Snake Oil remedy to the gulible public.

And we see the latest results of that travelling road show today … run of river power generation and fish farms.

Although today’s Thompson River steelhead may face a gauntlet of run of river power projects, the story of their demise was written long ago.

History lesson

The fish farm fiasco started about 30 years ago when small farms started to show up on the coast.

The product that fish farms produced back then was not as good as what farms produce today, but the quality of the product was sufficiently high to be alarming to the commerical fishermen. Fish farms could deliver product all year long, whereas the commmercial fishery was seasonal. The fish farms could deliver live product to the processing facilities, and it could be delivered to consumers within one day.

Most of the seine and gillnet catch was handled in the round (they were not cleaned nor were the gills removed) and were only considered to be suitable for canning.

The commercial fresh fish catch was mostly delivered through the troller fleet. Many trollers had uninsulated holds, and after a 12 day trip, much of the catch could be in a state of advanced decay. Even if the troller had insulated holds, they were still delivering up to 12 day old fish to the processing plants which then sold it as fresh.

The commercial fishing fleet had good reason to be fearful of the fish farms, they simply could not compete in the high end marrket.

The solution to the fish farm problem was to start a propaganda campaign to discredit the fish farm industry.

One of the first acts was to produce bumper stickers with sayings such as "real fish don't eat pellets" and "wild salmon don't do drugs".

The propaganda campaign was wildly successful.

When the fish farm industry started to introduce exotic species such as Atlantic Salmon, the environmental crowd jumped on the bandwagon. Concerns were expressed that exotic diseases may accompany the exotic fish.

The propaganda became that the Atlantic Salmon where full of exotic diseases, which would wipe out the wild stocks on the coast.

When the commercial fleet improved the quality of their catch with chilled brine systems, and freezer boats, the commercial fisheries campaign was discontinued, although the enviromental crowd was still on board.

When the fish farm industry started hatchery programs, so that Atlantic Salmon eggs did not need to be imported, The exotic disease issue started to lessen, and the campaign switched over to sea lice.

See the facts for yourself

Rafe, great article as always.

Illahie and others, the issue isn't about propaganda against fish farms, it's about the facts. You can see these for yourself at www.callingfromthecoast.com, particularly the video "Fraser River Sockeye Lice Infection".

Unavoidable conclusions:

Salmon farming based on net-cage technology is a clear and significant threat to the marine environment; the proper functioning of the total ecosystem including the health and permanence of wild salmon populations. The risk clearly depends on the location of specific fish farms and the characteristics of the local environment.

DFO, having been involved in the massacre of the Eastern Cod, is hardly the kind of "scientific" authority upon which to base sound decision making.

Furthermore, the poor quality and inconsistent nutritional profile of generic farmed salmon is well known and has been confirmed by multiple testing.

Why would anyone risk eating this stuff, let alone permitting corporations to make gold-rush profits from the ruination of a natural resource.

The Alaska fishery is the healthiest on the coast - they have no fish farms and spend their efforts concentrating on preserving and building natural stocks.

This is not rocket science. But then, fish farm supporters aren’t geniuses either….they do like the idea of making a quick buck though and BC is the perfect place for such a gold rush mentality…..

Keep up the good work Rafe

thanks for the history lesson, Illahie

...clearly there has been a long history of manipulation by competing interests. An interesting read.

I suppose it cuts both ways? As much as the Wild Salmon industry has attacked the Farmed Salmon industry, the Farmed Salmon industry also doesn't have much interest in the additional cost of impermeable floating enclosures or land based tanks ( http://www.puresalmon.org/solutions.html ) - only to protect their competitors, the Salmon Fishing industry.

I wonder if there is any way to work together. It certainly would seem to be in the interest of the Salmon Fishing industry to support the cost of converting Salmon Farms to some kind of sealed systems. Perhaps the Salmon Farming industry would also benefit from healthier stocks of Herring?

Thank-you Rafe

Rafe, I appreciate your dedication and expertise on fish farms, and on IPPs. To expand your focus to an array of numerous topics, as alive has suggested, would probably diminish the quality of your research. Thank-you for helping bring attention to these very important issues.

I will have heard enough about fish farms (and IPPs)when they are eliminated or are able to function with minimal damage to other organisms and the environment.