FIN IN THE NEWS: Shatner's presence helps B.C.'s salmon to live long and prosper

Boldly going where science fails to dazzle

The Record June 30, 2010

Biologists, environmentalists and politicos of various stripes have been saying for years that open-net fish farming is causing problems on B.C.'s coast - and they can produce the science to back up their concerns.

So you wouldn't think Fin Donnelly would need to go elsewhere looking for endorsement of his efforts to change the fish farming system.

Unless, of course, you were savvy enough to realize that, in our celebrity-obsessed culture, getting the backing of one famous dude will take you a lot farther than the simple fact of having right on your side.

The New Westminster-Coquitlam MP has found a way to draw attention to the national postcard campaign he's launched to lend weight to his private member's bill, C-518, that would ban open nets along the B.C. coast and force fish farm enterprises to adopt closed-containment systems.

Donnelly has the backing of iconic Canadian actor William Shatner, most famous for his role as Captain James T. Kirk on the original Star Trek TV series.

The 79-year-old actor isn't a biologist. Nor does he possess any particular expertise about aquaculture. What he does have, however, is star power - and you can guarantee that more people are paying attention to the story because of Shatner's presence than they would be otherwise.

If Donnelly had stepped up and earnestly presented his case, armed with volumes of research and studies and statements from scientists, would the postcard campaign have made national headlines?

Would people pick up their newspapers and turn on their television sets and say, "Oh, cool, there's that guy with the PhD in fish biology sounding off about fish farms again"?

Um ...

Let's face it, the public and the media (yes, us included) would far rather hear from Captain Kirk.
So if Shatner's presence helps B.C.'s salmon to live long and prosper - well, who are we to argue?

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