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[aquapaloosa]

I am not sure a "qualification of opinion" is necessary as an opinion is judged on the merits of its supporting arguments, not on the credentials of the speaker (that would be an ad hominem attack).  I value many of the opinions stated by forum members that may not have degrees but whose experiences have granted them a perspective that is still as valuable and meaningful (like Dave's, before he threw in the towel) as a scientist (who perhaps is bucking for their next grant).  However, if you really wish to know  I am a historian, geographer, and geologist, not a biologist, and I have a Masters degree in Environmental History from Simon Fraser.  I am not a current or former employee of either the DFO nor a disgruntled former employee the salmon farming industry.  My allegiance is to the environment and my agenda is to see that the mistakes of the past are not repeated.

  Interesting perspective. I am not a biologist either.  But I find it interesting how intensively you appose salmon farming based on biology.  Or is Mrs Morton your anchor in that department? 
 
  The facts are that for 10 or so years there has been a massive influx of American dollars to Canadian environmental groups and more to demarket bc farm fish and other Canadian industrys.  And the common excuse is that they have to get there money from some where and that it goes both ways.  I have heard that before but I do not agree.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48jZMa5S4qY&feature=player_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6UaftK_N-k&feature=watch_response

[aquapaloosa]

This yellow fish thing is just another prime example of Motons tactics.  I assure you she will just let this issue fade into the past because the damage and doubt is done.  She will never publicly say she made a mistake after she makes an opinion of hers public, her work is done.

[StillAqua]

I wouldn't say they are more threatened as they are at least the same species over there.  There will always be concern over escapees from a farm and of course the over crowding issues are the same regardless of the location.  My main concern of the farming of Atlantic here comes from our experience with other invasive species.  Introducing the Atlantics into Pacific waters was a dumb idea in a long line of dumb ideas.  If a pathogen from the hatcheries that raised these fish enters the waters of BC it could decimate the wild stocks the way the Smallpox decimated the Native populations here. 

The risks of pathogen or parasite transmission from a farmed salmon to a wild salmon is much higher if they are the same species because the pathogens are already adapted to the physiology and life cycle of that species and won't necessarily do well or survive in a different species. Similarly, the risk of crossbreeding and dilution of the wild gene pool is obviously very much higher if they are both the same species that can interbreed. So farmed Atlantics can devastate wild Atlantics if they escape and interbreed or carry pathogens to the spawning grounds. It's actually a better risk as far as disease and gene pool dilution are concerned to farm a non-native species.

[shuswapsteve]

You do not have to be a Morton supporter, nor a believer in her theories, to be against the farming of Atlantic Salmon in BC waters.  All you need is common sense.  Open net farms have caused problems around the world, why would BC be any different?

Common sense?  I think it would make sense to read the testimony and the many exhibits from the inquiry - not just the edited ones from Ms. Morton.  The majority of this testimony doesn't fit Morton's theories and this upsets her (that's why she is now on the yellow pink kick now....next it will be Ebola).  Don't take my word for it - read the transcripts and look at the exhibits....all of them.  Problems have happened in other parts of the world like Chile because they grew too fast and their regulations were not tight enough.  BC likely has the most stringent regulations in the world in regards to aquaculture.  Big difference.

[BwiBwi]

I object as strongly to the giant industrial feedlots that produce the chicken and beef for the world's fast food chains as I do the slashing and burning of the amazon rainforest to make room for cattle ranches to supply them as well.  For the last 5 000 years humankind has been in a perpetual battle with nature, intent on more than just "survival".  We have sought to harness, control, and exploit nature to satisfy our desire for a "good" life.  In the last 100 years we have won that battle, and yet the battle rages on.  We continue to act as though we must subdue nature.  We need to recognize that the battle is won and that we do not need to continue to pommel our enemy into the dust.  Just as the two sides at the end of a war must reach across the table of peace and find a way to live together, a change in our behavior must take place if we are to coexist with the natural world.  We cannot continue to exploit the environment the way we have been doing, and we cannot continue to think and act as though we can.  A revolution is needed and it is needed soon, or the environmental damage done in the name of satisfying the desires of 14 billion people (the projected stabilized world population) will be irreparable.

Any alternatives you can think of other than just objection?

[Sandman]

Any alternatives you can think of other than just objection?

The most simple alternative that would solve a vast majority of the problems of food production on this planet is reducing the amount of meat you consume.  western society consumes WAY too much meat in their diet, far beyond what is needed for good nutrition.  Do we really need a third pounder?  Wasn't a quarter pounder excessive enough? Meat was long a food of the wealthy and powerful. Now just about anyone in the developed world can purchase a meal "fit for a king."  The need to produce this massively excessive dietary greed is what makes feedlots containing thousands of cattle or tens of thousands of swine of hundreds of thousands of chicken, crammed into a space often no larger than a hockey arena. That simple step would dramatically increase the ability of food producers to meet the needs of the growing populations, not to mention improve the health of a large percentage of the population.  No need to move the "feedlots" out into the open oceans where their effluent flow directly into the surrounding ecosystem (unlike the closed feedlots on land).  This is why I never kill more than one fish when I get lucky enough to catch more than 1.  One salmon will feed my family of 5 for days.

[Oilcruzer]

Colour me ignorant or skeptical, but there's a lot of "the world is going to end" and "no it isn't" in here that isn't supported by cited fact.  Having read this at length, I am left to form my own opinions as there appears to be a lot of bias here.

If one researches feedlots and the forced introduction of "nutrients" and "supplements", it might explain why our kids are bigger this generation, but they also seem to have higher rates of problems, like asthma for example. 

Greed and competition are certain to be the prime motivators.  Silently however, our gov'ts have agreed that a fed nation is a happy nation, no matter what the side issues may be.  As a nation, we are supporting this.  We all stop at the arches, the colonels, or simply choose to purchase less expensive, mass produced meats and vegetables.  Hint.  The first number on vegetables, if a 3, is to be stayed clear of.

How on earth could pork or chicken raised in prisons with no windows, be healthy?

That said, getting back on topic, mass production (not accelerated or treated production) of foods is necessary. Food prices are escalating as demand is out weighing supply.  Some nations have people working three jobs just so they can afford to eat.  Not eating meat, while practical in a micro theory, isn't a solution, and it simply won't happen anyway.

Fish farms are a great idea, however right now, it's not being done in a manner that makes me comfortable enough to buy it.  If it's not from the wild, I won't buy it. 

[StillAqua]

I feel Alex Morton has gone "over the top" and has lost a lot of credability with me after I read the Cohen Inquiry transcripts and how she interpreted the testimony on her blog. Not very "scientific" of her and smacking of fanaticism and an overblown ego. Too bad because I think she started out on the right track and salmon farms have a long way to go yet to demonstrate their environmental sustainability to Canadians.

The idea of switching diets to less animal protein and more vegetable protein is a healthier and more sustainable diet that we've adopted in our family but it's not a short term solution to the growth of salmon farms. If the foreign markets are there, they will continue to grow.

I don't think the yellow pink salmon issue can be so quickly dismissed as natural until we know if the frequency is higher this year or if it's just more noticeable during high pink years and no one was looking for it in previous years because we weren't as sensitized to the issue. If you do a google scholar search for salmon jaundice, its can be natural or caused by exposure to pollutants (like industrial/ pulp mill effluents) or by....wait for it......Infectious Haemolytic Anaemia that has cropped up in fish farms. So there's reason for reasoned concern and investigation.

[Carich980]

Caught a small male one in the Vedder, had an orange yellowish stripe going through it. Took a picture of it Thought it was just an off colour phase or something.

[Sandy]

Sandman, I am not "giving up " on wild salmon; most people who know me understand that.  Please refer to some of my previous posts.
I am also a keen and avid angler, and most certainly know and understand the cultural needs of FN.  Perhaps more than you know
I believe with climate change, human population increases, future electrical needs, etc, etc, wild salmon have a dismal future but I do and will continue to work for them.
Are you?

And yes, I do indeed think salmon aquaculture and wild salmon can and will co-exist in BC and will play a factor in this Province's growth.

Dave, in your support of the Salmon farm industry. Is that as is now, or in a full containment scenario?

[Sandy]

Dave, in your support of the Salmon farm industry. Is that as is now, or in a full containment scenario?

though only just been able to return to the "zoo" that we call river angling, I have noticed this year that I have seen what seems to me an inordinate amount of Stale fish (pinks) especially so above mission, though I did hook a couple that look suspicious or less than bright in Sapperton this year. I have seen this before, but not in the numbers of this year. Saying that, I was often fishing from a boat in the past an seldom had to hoof it so location may be a factor in my observation.