'Namgis host fish farm on land

Kristen Douglas
July 22, 2010
North Island Gazette

The ‘Namgis First Nation want to show the world that there is another way to farm fish.

And to prove their point, the band, along with the help of the SOS Marine Conservation Foundation, are building a land-based, closed-containment facility.

The pilot project, which will provide an alternative to open-net fish farms, will attempt to demonstrate that salmon can be grown to full-size in closed containment, according to ‘Namgis Chief Bill Cranmer.

“It’s an option of fish farming without all the negative effects of open-net fish farming in the Broughton Archipelago,” said Cranmer. Those effects include sea lice infected fish, damage to clam beds and even possible damage to the herring population, according to Cranmer who noted there has not been a commercial herring fishery here in about 30 years.

Read the full story in the North Island Gazette