Fish farming court order confounds federal government

Charlie Smith December 30, 2009 Straight.Com

Last February, fish biologist Alexandra Morton and a few other petitioners won a declaration that provincial regulation of the ocean-finfish aquaculture industry was unconstitutional. In his written decision, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Christopher Hinkson ruled that under the Constitution Act, 1867, the federal government is responsible for management and protection of fisheries. He ordered an end to provincial regulation over ocean-finfish aquaculture by February 9, 2010.

Morton has often claimed that regulators are not addressing the threat of sea lice from fish farms to wild salmon. “Salmon farming is the emperor with no clothes, and I really just want people to see that,” she said in a phone interview with the Georgia Straight.

In late December, the federal government was back in B.C. Supreme Court, asking Hinkson to extend the deadline to December 2010. In a November 5 affidavit, Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s director general of the aquaculture management directorate, Trevor Swerdfager, swore that it was impossible to create a federal regulatory regime in time to meet the court-ordered deadline. He described the impact of the B.C. Supreme Court decision as “monumental” on aquaculture governance, claiming it would require the hiring up to 50 new staff.

Read the full story on The Straight.com