DFO

An ambitious project to map and monitor sea kelp forests along the entire B.C. coast is afoot, and scientists are using seemly disparate tools — both ancient and modern — to do it.

A West Coast MP is urging Ottawa to craft a transition plan with those affected by the potential employment and economic impacts of a recent decision to phase out fish farms in the Discovery Islands.

A coalition of Vancouver Island mayors and industry stakeholders say Ottawa's decision to phase out Discovery Islands fish farms puts 1,500 jobs at risk.

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.

Bernadette Jordan announced Thursday that contentious fish farms in the Discovery Islands on the West Coast will be phased out over the next 18 months.

Funding for permanent fishway announced at Big Bar, B.C.

Federal Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan is expected to make a decision this month about whether to renew fish farm licences set to expire on Dec. 18 in the Discovery Islands region.

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.

When Nathan Bennett looks at B.C.’s fisheries, he sees problems — and not only those associated with low stocks. He also worries about the people who catch the fish.

Each year, about 196,000 tonnes of seafood — everything from salmon to scallops — is harvested off the B.C. coast. But unlike its East Coast counterparts, the province doesn’t have a fisheries minister.

Volunteer streamkeepers on B.C.'s Quadra Island can monitor returning salmon from the comfort of their kitchen table with the help of a high-tech surveillance system.

B.C.'s Quadra Island Salmon Enhancement Society runs a salmon eco-centre, monitors fish populations and conducts watershed enhancement activities on five of Quadra’s most productive spawning streams.

Despite a generally good outlook for pink salmon along east Vancouver Island, runs along the Quinsam River can be wildly inconsistent, according to Ed Walls, watershed enhancement manager at Quinsam River Hatchery.

The Pacific Salmon Explorer, a user-friendly data-visualization tool, provides valuable insights into the current health of salmon across British Columbia. 

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.