Bob Chamberlin

The backing of a land-based salmon farm in Japan by a global company with ties to ocean fish farms in British Columbia has Indigenous and conservation groups calling on the federal government to accelerate its transition away from open-net farms.

Open net-pen fish farming on the Pacific coast took a one-two punch after operations closures were announced in both B.C. and Washington state this week. 

The summer of 2022 is shaping up to be a bumper season for both pink and sockeye salmon in British Columbia rivers, with one veteran Indigenous fisherman reporting the biggest catches of sockeye in decades.

A recent Federal Court ruling to set aside a decision to phase out salmon farms in the Discovery Islands doesn't necessarily mean the issue is dead in the water, say First Nations and environmentalists.

First Nations supportive of salmon farming are entitled to make economic decisions in their territories, and failing to renew operating licences would violate the federal government’s stated commitment to the rights of Indigenous peoples, says a new coalition.

Any federal government plans to move away from open-net pen salmon farms in British Columbia should come with transition help for the industry and workers, says Premier John Horgan.

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has rejected two recent applications by Cermaq Canada to transfer 1.5 million fish to the company’s Venture Point and Brent Island sites following a decision by Ottawa last year to phase out salmon farms in the Discovery Islands by July 2022.

Federal Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan revealed the initial framework and guiding principles for Ottawa’s $647.1-million Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative (PSSI) announced in the 2021 budget.

Fish farm opponents on the West Coast are jubilant after Ottawa’s announcement Thursday that operations in the Discovery Islands are being phased out over the next 18 months.

Ken Hardie, who represents the British Columbia riding of Fleetwood-Port Kells, raised several questions during a parliamentary committee meeting about the assessments studied by the department to arrive at its conclusion that open-net pen fish farms pose little risk to wild salmon.

Opponents are accusing the DFO of ignoring independent science and downplaying the risks to imperiled Fraser River sockeye salmon in favour of the aquaculture industry.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau touted efforts by the Liberal government to help first-time homebuyers put more down on their mortgages during a visit to a region of the country on Monday, March 25, 2019 that is facing a housing squeeze.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced a May byelection in British Columbia to fill a seat vacated by a former New Democrat MP.

Messages of love, tolerance and understanding were shared by thousands of people who gathered on Saturday, August 19, 2017, to protest racism and hate.