There’s good news, there’s bad news and we need your help

The good news is that this year’s Fraser River sockeye run is astounding. Some 30 million fish are returning, bringing richness to the economy, ecology and culture of British Columbia. For information on the 2010 return of the Fraser River sockeye, click here.

With such a phenomenal salmon return comes great hope but it is flawed to believe that all is well with the management of wild salmon. In fact, it is a critical time to be vigilant and involved since the DFO Pacific Aquaculture Regulations that have now been drafted are cause for great concern. They fall far short of providing the necessary transparency and accountability required to protect B.C.'s wild salmon. In addition, they do not address the lack of public confidence in salmon aquaculture regulation in B.C.  

• For background on the draft Pacific Aquaculture Regulations, click here. 
• For key shortcomings of the Pacific Aquaculture Regulations, see below. 
• For the detailed SOS submission on the draft Pacific Aquaculture Regulations, click here. 

What you can do:

Contact your MP and ask them how they are going to respond to DFO's draft Pacific Aquaculture Regulations. Click here for MP contact information.  Even though the public comment period has ended for the draft, the Regulations have not yet been finalized and promulgated (formally announced as "law"). Please act now. 

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Key shortcomings of the draft Pacific Aquaculture Regulations

1. The draft Regulations do not provide insight or certainty into the terms and conditions that will apply to a licence. Regulations would be achieved through the DFO Minister attaching conditions to individual aquaculture licenses.
2. There is no requirement for transparency; for DFO to consult with the public on licence applications.
3. The Regulations incorporate a number of authorizations into the licensing process that effectively remove environmental assessment triggers for aquaculture license applicants. The harmful disruption or destruction of habitat (Section 35 of the Fisheries Act) and the deposition of deleterious substances (Section 36 of the Fisheries Act) would be incorporated into the licensing process.
4. There is no clearly defined regime for compliance and enforcement. 
5. The Regulations do not include any consideration of cumulative effects in individual licensing decisions. This effectively ignores the current reality of high densities of open-net salmon farms in areas such as the Broughton Archipelago and the Discovery Islands. 
6. There is no consideration for amending or revoking a license. Currently, under the Fisheries Act, a licence may be issued for a term up to nine years. 
7. The Regulations do not address DFO's conflicting mandates to protect fish and fish habitat (pursuant to the Fisheries Act and policies such as Canada's Policy for the Conservation of Wild Pacific Salmon) and its management objects and related advocacy role to promote growth of the aquaculture industry. 

Thereby, the stated objective of the proposed regulatory regime to "ensure the proper management of aquaculture, particularly with respect to the protection and conservation of fish and fish habitat, in an open and transparent manner" is not being met. The Regulations fail to provide the necessary transparency and accountability required to address the lack of public confidence in aquaculture regulation in B.C.

Adams River Sockeye image by Bruce Paterson.