FIN IN THE NEWS: Campaing to save the salmon

NDP says bill could save B.C. salmon stocks

KYLE FARQUHARSON
METRO VANCOUVER
June 29, 2010 5:23 a.m.

New fish-farming legislation could save B.C.’s wild salmon stocks without devastating the province’s aquaculture industry, New Democrat MP Fin Donnelly said yesterday.

The new proposal calls for a transition to closed-containment salmon farms, which would protect salmon migration routes from sea lice, Donnelly said. He also initiated a “postcard campaign,” to pressure the federal government to pass the bill.

Canadian pop culture icon William Shatner, who supports the bill and provided a video message, also has plenty to say about the dangers of the current salmon farming system.

“This (salmon farming situation) in British Columbia is ridiculous, crazy and irresponsible … it’s inexplicable that the government is not protecting them,” Shatner said while at a Star Trek conference in Vancouver.

Dr. Larry Dill, a marine biologist and professor at Simon Fraser University, says B.C.’s salmon species are resilient, and would return to healthy numbers within 10 to 20 years if the legislation passes.