Flotilla takes aim at salmon farming

Judith Lavoie
August 8,2010
Times Colonist

First Nations and salmon farm opponents will take to the water this fall to galvanize public support for ending open-net salmon farming in B.C. waters.

A flotilla of canoes will paddle down the Fraser River from Hope to Vancouver, arriving on the same day the Cohen Commission of Inquiry into the decline of Fraser River sockeye starts evidentiary hearings.

The Paddle for Wild Salmon builds on the success of the Get Out Migration, a walk down Vancouver Island that culminated with a rally at the legislature in May, said organizer Alexandra Morton.

"It seems to me that, for people to understand the severity of the situation, I have to do something like this," said Morton, a biologist and fierce opponent of salmon farms.

Morton said she is uncomfortable with being in the public eye. "I really am a hermit, but I need to capture people's imagination so they will hear what I have to say," she said.

First Nations along the route from Hope to Vancouver will be adding their canoes to the flotilla, and events are planned for communities along the route.

Read the full story in the Time Colonist. 

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Posted August 9th, 2010