The We Wai Kai and Wei Wai Kum First Nations issued a press release last week calling for the “immediate cancellation of finfish aquaculture” following the escape of some 1,000 Atlantic salmon from a fish farm in Johnstone Strait, British Columbia.
“That site no longer has our consent to operate within our core territory,” We Wai Kai Chief Brian Assu said. “We have advised the government that we expect the cancellation of the tenure and the remediation of the site to commence.”
The site from which the fish escaped, near Shaw Point, is managed by Mowi, the world’s largest Atlantic salmon producer. The site has been operating on a month-to-month basis since its tenure expired.
A hole in the netting of the pen was discovered on 24 May and resulted in the escape of approximately 1,000 juvenile fish. The First Nations also charge that there was a delay in notifying them about the escape of the fish and cite “ongoing concerns about the impacts of sea lice on juvenile migrating salmon.”
In recent years, the tribes have tried to establish collaborative governance for salmon farming in their territories, but they said the British Columbia government has “failed to engage substantively.”
“We have tried to build on the work done by Nations in the Broughton Archipelago [British Columbia] and negotiate a decision-making agreement that is based on the best science, the best data, and the knowledge that our communities have, but we need B.C. to be a partner in this,” We Wai Kum Chief Chris Roberts said.
“The system is broken,” Assu added. “We cannot stand by and wait for B.C. to implement the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, or for [Fisheries and Oceans Canada] to protect our vital resource. Our Nations have a right to wild salmon and the right to make decisions about how our territory is used. We will exercise that right, starting with the site at Shaw Point.”
Photo courtesy of Mowi Canada
