alexandra morton

DFO - Call me for the data

Dear Fisheries Minister Shea:

I have a few questions/concerns about the Atlantic salmon escapes in general and specifically from the Marine Harvest Port Elizabeth site.

I received reports that when this farm salmon escape occurred there was a seine boat, Kristin Joye, present at the farm and that it had a seine net onboard. The report says as the fish left the pen, they were visible around the boat in large numbers under the vessel lights. I have been told the vessel phoned DFO for permission to set on the fish to recapture them and was denied permission while the fish were still tightly schooled because it was not on the list of designated Atlantic salmon capture vessels. As I understand it, by the time either permission was granted or the right boat ended up on site many if not most of the Atlantics were dispersed.

Fishermen who caught these Atlantic salmon tried to include them in their hales to Archipelago and were told they were not allowed to have the fish. The person collecting the numbers had no column to mark down the Atlantics. The fishermen did not know if they were in violation of their licenses having the Atlantics onboard. How is DFO going to have any idea how many Atlantic salmon are out there if there is no systematic way of counting them? Fishermen gave their Atlantics to me to examine and I found wild food in them. How is DFO going to learn about the behaviour and threat posed by escaped farm salmon if no one is counting or collecting them?

Fishermen who are concerned have gone to the DFO Atlantic salmon watch website where it says to report the fish and that you will be asked where and when the fish was caught, and to keep the fish because you will be asked to donate it for study. People who have called this program to say they had an Atlantic, have waited 2 years with no response. No one took the data on where, or when and no one took the farm fish to study.

You cannot claim to have an effective recapture plan in place, under these circumstances. Atlantics began hitting gillnets 40 km away from Port Elizabeth 2 days later. They could easily now be spread over hundreds of kilometers. If DFO knew fishermen were capturing them DFO could have tasked fishermen to track the Atlantics with nets that were unlikely to intercept by-catch, but instead there appears to have been no response to the large Atlantic salmon catches being made by the fishermen. No one even checked to see if these were the Atlantics from Port Elizabeth. Someone should have been doing DNA samples.

Furthermore, DFO has no idea how many escaped Atlantic salmon are swimming around in the Pacific, what their condition is, what they are eating and what kind of threat they are posing to wild stocks, if you don’t even pick up your phone messages from the fishermen who took the time and effort to phone your Atlantic Salmon toll-free ASWP Reporting Number. If you want the data you can call me!

I am exasperated with DFO. We are doing your work for you! Picking up these Atlantics, measuring, weighing and sampling them and recording what they are eating. I am dealing with all the reports about illegal herring, rock cod, black cod and salmon in the fish farms and their boats. I am laying the charges under the Fisheries Act that you should be laying to protect the wild fish you are mandated to protect, using YOUR Fisheries Act to do it.

DFO is a disgrace that needs to be completely renovated top to bottom, deconstructed and reassembled! It is my opinion you have no right to manage fish in Canadian waters any longer, far too much is at stake. The ocean and the wild fish in it are an essential planetary resource that DFO clearly has no business touching. If someone doesn’t deal with this mess soon we will all be held responsible by future generations!

Alexandra Morton R.P. Bio

Federal Member of Parliament launches Petition for a Judicial Inquiry!

Hello All

Good News Finally! Peter Julian, Member of Parliament – New Westminster has just launched a petition for a Judicial Inquiry into the Fraser sockeye crash.

CONSIDER THIS: If there had been a Judicial Inquiry into the declining North Atlantic cod, we would have rebuilt that fish stock by now because we would have discovered that the critical research by Dr. Ransom Myers of DFO was being suppressed by DFO (Department of Fisheries and Oceans).

Here we are again. DFO is completely silent, they have not even acknowledged that the Fraser sockeye crash pattern is extremely specific and provided the media with misinformation.

A judicial inquiry will place people under oath so they can be heard over the politics.

Please go to Peter Julian’s website: http://peterjulian.ndp.ca/node/864

And download the petition document, and sign: http://peterjulian.ndp.ca/sites/default/files/Petition_A%20call%20for%20an%20independent%20judicial%20inquiry%20on%20salmon%20crisis_October%202009.ENG_.pdf

This has to be a paper copy, there can be 1 signature on a page, or a full page of signatures, the address is on the document and postage to the federal government is free.

You cannot say you care about wild salmon if you don’t make this effort. This will make a very big difference in the future of BC and the eastern pacific.

Alexandra Morton
Www.adopt-a-fry.org

Escaped Atlantics caught by gill-netters 40 km away

According to a Marine Harvest press release 40,000 Atlantic salmon escaped from their pens in Port Elizabeth in Knight Inlet on Oct. 21. Two days later commercial fishermen were catching them 40 km away.

I examined 20 Atlantics caught on the north shore of Malcolm Island and one had a salmon smolt in it's stomach. There are not many salmon smolts in the area at this time of year so it was surprising this Atlantic managed to find and consume one in only two days out of the farm. This picture shows the partly digested salmon smolt from this male 8 pound Atlantic salmon

When 1,000s of wild salmon, herring and blackcod juveniles get lured into fish farms by the lights and food, it is hard to imagine the farm salmon don't eat them.

Press Release from Member of Parliament Peter Julian and press release on another farm fish escape

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 23, 2009

NDP CALLS FOR AN INDEPENDENT JUDICIAL INQUIRY ON SALMON CRISIS

The federal New Democrats are calling for an immediate independent judicial inquiry into the catastrophic collapse of the Fraser River sockeye run to ensure that west coast salmon don’t go the way of Atlantic cod.

NDP Western Fisheries Critic Peter Julian and Fin Donnelly, NDP candidate in the New Westminster-Coquitlam by-election, say the inquiry is urgently needed to ensure the long-term viability of west coast salmon.

“This is an emergency that requires immediate attention, but the Harper Conservatives are turning a blind eye,” said Donnelly, who has dedicated most of his working life to protecting wild salmon.

“The worst thing is that this isn’t an emergency that happened overnight. It’s been building for a long time and successive Liberal and Conservative governments have let it spiral out of control.”

Julian pointed out that the Conservatives promised to initiate an inquiry while in opposition, and made it a key plank in their 2006 platform.

“They broke their promise to make protecting wild salmon a top priority, and now we’re in serious trouble,” he said. “We need action from this government, not broken promises.”

The NDP call for an inquiry has broad support from scientists and conservation groups. Renowned fish biologist Alexandra Morton said “we would still have the great North Atlantic cod stocks if a judicial inquiry had been called before they crossed the line of no return. The Fraser sockeye collapse pattern is so remarkably specific it could be deciphered if politics were swept aside. It is up to us. If we want the Fraser sockeye this inquiry is essential.”

Julian and Donnelly said the government should strike the inquiry immediately and produce a binding public report within six months.

Donnelly, who has been executive director of the Rivershed Society of BC for the past 13 years, says the wild salmon crisis will be a key issue in the November 9th by-election.

October 23, 2009

For Immediate Release

Media Contact:

Clare Backman, 250-850-3276 ext 7258

Salmon Escape From

Marine Harvest Farm

Campbell River, BC. Marine Harvest Canada reports an escape of farm-raised

Atlantic salmon from its Port Elizabeth site on Wednesday, October 21st.

Scuba divers discovered several holes in two pens at this Broughton area farm

while removing fish which had died as a result of low oxygen levels.

Prevention methods to eliminate further escape are in place. This incident has

been reported to regulators and a vessel is on site for recapture efforts.

A substantial number of fish still remain within these two pens. The exact number

of escapees will not be known until officially recounted next week, but is

estimated to be approximately 40,000. At an average weight of 4.7 kilograms,

these fish were shortly to be harvested and have not been treated with any

antibiotics.

This unfortunate event may represent a significant financial loss to the company.

The cause of the holes remains under investigation, but may be related to the

fish removal process.

Marine Harvest Canada will provide an update when more information is known.

For more information about fish escapes visit:

http://www.marineharvestcanada.com/farming_escaped_farmed_salmon.php

Dear Mr. Paul Sprout

October 22, 2009

Paul Sprout
Regional Director General – Pacific DFO
Vancouver. BC

Dear Paul Sprout:

I agree with your statement in the Vancouver Sun (October 21), that the collapse of the 2009 Fraser River sockeye occurred in the ocean. Furthermore, I think the nature of the collapse makes it possible to identify the problem.

Here is what we know.

1 – The Harrison sockeye within the Fraser River returned at 3-4 times the DFO forecast;

2 – The other Fraser River sockeye runs collectively failed at 90% or more;

3 – Some runs were completely wiped out with zero returns;

4 – Other nearby sockeye runs to the south and west did well (Columbia River, Somass River);

5 – Just north of Campbell River the Heydon Creek sockeye did very well;

The Harrison sockeye have an unusual life cycle. They leave the river earlier than the other sockeye, spend extended periods of time in the Strait of Georgia (which should be a stroke against them) and, according to an unpublished paper by DFO, have been found to migrate to sea via the Strait of Juan de Fuca. If they were the only good south coast return, the pattern would be less definitive.

However, the nearby Somass, Columbia and Heydon Creek sockeye also did well, forming a tight circle of high sockeye production all around the Fraser. Heydon Creek enters Loughborough Inlet north of Campbell River. One hypothesis is this data gives us the boundary defining the geographic zone of greatest impact.

Pursuing this line of inquiry further. What variables exist only between the Fraser River and Loughborough Inlet, and not on the migration routes of the Columbia, Harrison, Heydon and Somass sockeye? One that fits this description is:

18 Marine harvest fish farm sites
3 Mainstream fish farm sites
1 Grieg fish farm site
1 Yellow Island fish farm site

Some people think all fish farms have the same potential for impact. This would suggest that since the Heydon Creek sockeye did pass some salmon farms north of Campbell River, fish farms are not the problem. However, my research has shown an empty farm is different than a full one and a farm with new smolts has different impact than one with fully-grown fish. The Marine Harvest Canada website reports losses in the order of a 100,000 fish or more month to month. How many of these were due to disease? One fully stocked farm experiencing a viral or bacterial epidemic in the narrow passages of the Discovery Islands in June-July 2007 could have killed millions of Fraser sockeye smolts.

Please note, I said, “could have,” because I don’t know the disease history of the fish farms. To complete this line of reasoning we need to know the state of health, maturity and stocking of the BC salmon farms in spring 2007.

There is no point to guessing as the Provincial Minister of Agriculture of Lands should have this data, as well as the fish farmers themselves and you have the power to request it. There can be no confidence in statements by government or NGO’s on the cause of the catastrophic collapse of one of Canada’s most significant fish stocks, unless this information becomes public.

Another fact must be considered. In 2005, the Fraser sockeye return exhibited the same pattern – failure of most runs, high production by the Harrison. In that case, we know northbound sockeye smolts passed through unprecedented high levels of IHN viral effluent from fish farms off Campbell River and elsewhere (Saksida 2006).

Was there a bacterial or viral outbreak again in 2007? Is that why the pattern is the same but more severe? BC Supreme Court Justice Hinkson ruled that the ocean inside and outside the farms is the same. It is public. Fish inside the farms are a fishery. As a result, Norwegian fish farmers have no legal right to say disease data and statistics are ‘proprietary’.

If these companies are harming a Canadian fishery resource, it is DFO’s responsibility to correct this. Before he became Premier, Stephen Harper called for a judicial inquiry into what happened to the 2005 Fraser sockeye. The ruling party said “no.” Was the truth inconvenient? Is it still inconvenient? Would we have abundant sockeye this year if a 2005 Inquiry had occurred? If Canada had done a Judicial Inquiry into the declining North Atlantic cod stocks we would still have those fish. We would have learned that crucial findings by government scientists such as Dr. Ransom Myers had been suppressed by DFO.

Given the above, you cannot avoid examination of the production and husbandry records of all salmon farms on the Fraser River migration route. Furthermore, you could test every farm in production right now, as well as their hatcheries, for disease, including the ISA fish virus (an exotic virus rapidly appearing everywhere Marine Harvest, Mainstream and Grieg farm salmon.) The Minister’s policy to continue Atlantic egg imports is reckless.

Mr. Sprout, these are critical issues that need addressing. I am formally requesting a meeting with you to discuss further information at your earliest convenience.



Alexandra Morton R.P.Bio.

Letter to Minister of Agriculture and Lands

October 19, 2009
Minister Steve Thompson, Ministry Agriculture Lands

Dear Minister Thompson;

The Fraser River sockeye collapse demands government action. Many spawning areas have zero returns which means this generation of some runs are now extinct. It is good to see your government is concerned (BC Environment Minister Barry Penner’s September 29 letter to Federal Fisheries Minister Gail Shea calling for a meeting and public review). We need to know what happened so we can remedy it before May 2010, when the next generation of sockeye heads to sea. There is something very specific only the Province can do that does not require the feds, meaning you could get started right now.

The 2009 Fraser sockeye crash is highly specific, affecting only the sockeye known to travel north along eastern Vancouver Island as juveniles. The Fraser sockeye stock known to migrate to the south through Juan de Fuca Strait is healthy and returned at twice the DFO forecast. This is a natural experimental design and highly informative. One river, one ocean, two migration routes. One migration route produced twice expectations, the other failed by 90%. There was a similar pattern in 2005 sockeye returns. In that case, we know that the northbound Fraser salmon that swam through the 2003 viral epidemic on the Campbell River and Port Hardy salmon farms did not survive well. The southbound ones that did not swim through an epidemic flourished. Did the 2003 IHN epidemic on the fish farms cause the 2005 sockeye crash? This is only a hypothesis based on a correlation, but it bears scrutiny.

Your Ministry was responsible for salmon farm disease monitoring in 2007. The MAL Fish Health Program 2007 report states:

1.1 Executive Summary
The Province of British Columbia maintains a comprehensive health management program for salmon aquaculture. The program includes a requirement for on-farm health management plans; mandatory monitoring and reporting of disease events and a British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture and Lands (BCMAL) audit of industry reported information.

These records are essential to the analysis of what happened to this year’s sockeye and how to correct the problem. If disease on salmon farms is contributing to these sockeye declines the good news is that it is easily remedied by removing salmon farms from the Fraser River northbound migration route. Your government wants action to protect the Fraser sockeye and you can play an essential role, no permission needed from the feds to do the analysis.

There are many large farm fish losses posted on the Marine Harvest Canada website 2007/9.

Brougham Pt. - lost 142,463 fish July 2009 (Campbell River)
Bickley Bay - lost 123, 297 fish July 2008, (Campbell River)
Doctor Island - lost 71,056 fish August 2008 (Broughton)
Raynore Group - lost 343,226 fish Sep. 2008 (Port Hardy)
Lime Point - lost 63,875 fish October 25, 2008 (Central Coast)
Jackson Pass - lost 661,367 fish August 2009 (Central Coast)
Okisollo Channel lost 500,000 fish Jan – July 2007 (Campbell River)

All of these losses were during wild salmon migration windows and we don’t know what is going on, on the Mainstream and Grieg farms. How many of these losses were due to disease? Your Ministry knows. We cannot manage wild salmon without knowing what is going on with the millions of farm salmon sharing the same ocean. As you are a member of a longtime farming family I am hoping you can see the reasoning on this. In the wild each generation dies before the next one appears and this breaks the cycle of disease. Fish farms, however, capture the disease of one generation, incubate it and pass it to the next generation. Wild salmon are not adapted to this and I think we are seeing the consequences in the Fraser River. You have the power to prove this theory wrong with complete disclosure of what all these farm salmon died of and what pathogens have been in which farm, when.

Others and I have done the science on this with one pathogen – sea lice. We now know that when the farms make a real effort to reduce their lice we get pink salmon back. The same dynamic is in play with bacteria and viruses and this cannot be ignored just because the NGO scientific community has not done this research as well. If we removed farmed bacteria and viruses, would the sockeye respond as the pinks have?

In addition, we have a Federal Minister of Fisheries who refuses to accept the science that ISA virus travels in salmon eggs and so she is allowing salmon eggs from the Atlantic into BC. The threat posed by an introduced virus is tremendous. Norwegian scientists tracking the ISA virus say BC is guaranteed to get the disease, if we continue with this unintelligent policy. Fish farmers don’t know what the other companies are doing and so your Ministry would be providing a huge service to test every salmon farm for ISA right now, including Clayoquot Sound. That way we don’t have to guess where we stand with this virus, which could change the status of wild and farm salmon completely, just look at the mess in Chile from ISA where 65% of all farm salmon have it. We know it spreads to the wild and there is no cure.

And finally, last week I received pictures of medicated salmon feedbags on a truck in a ferry lineup. The destination printed on the bags was Steamer (Point in Esperanza Inlet), the company Grieg. Since a withdrawal time was printed on the bags I was asked to find out if this drug is safe for the fishing public who can’t know when treatment started. They also asked me to find out what disease is being treated at this site? It would seem a reasonable request and a human health concern to allow drug treatments in facilities that release feces into areas where people fish and perhaps signage should be required to warn people.

Thank you for considering my concerns,

Alexandra Morton R.P.Bio.
www.adopt-a-fry.org

Dumping IHN infected morts at Sir Edmund 2003

Dear Minister Shea

October 14, Barry Rosenberger, B.C. Interior area director for the DFO's Pacific region, is quoted in The Record:

“there has not been a salmon collapse in the Fraser,” “while this year's sockeye return is the lowest in 50 years, Rosenberger said, “they've rebuilt stocks from worse cases in the past.”

http://www2.canada.com/newwestrecord/news/story.html?id=0d908438-f4e8-4ca8-8ac6-6fd447340ce8

On the same day Stephen Hume published DFO sockeye numbers to date throughout the Fraser River in the Vancouver Sun including:

Nechako River System – forecast 374,000......counted – 71 fish
Many creeks were zero.

http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/worst+years+history+salmon+still+killing+them/2099674/story.html
This is a collapse, these runs cannot rebuild.

This is third in a string of extremely misleading statements made by your department on the Fraser sockeye.

We need all of you under oath. There must be a judicial inquiry. This behavior is immoral.

Alexandra Morton

www.adopt-a-fry.org

Letter Forwarded to me

Dear Prime Minister:

“In order to determine that and untangle this thing, we feel at this stage that we want action,”
[He called for a judicial inquiry.]
“We want to get some action on this problem while we still have a fishery to protect,” - J. Lunney, MP Nanaimo-Alberni.

“This crisis was inevitable since the DFO and successive Liberal ministers have consistently ignored warnings and advice on the fishery…[and] we do not believe that the DFO should be allowed to supervise the investigation of itself,” - John Duncan, MP, Vancouver Island North.

“Please be assured that we firmly believe immediate action is required to resolve the B.C. salmon crisis.” - Stephen Harper, Prime Minister.

The crisis in Pacific Salmon stocks today is even more dire than when you and your members were able to easily and justifiably take pot shots at the Liberal Government. Why, after expressing such concern over the immediacy of the crisis, has nothing been done now that you have the authority to do so? Your Minister of the DFO is reportedly controlled by senior mandarins while scientists in the department, fearful for their careers, will not speak publicly or truthfully about their concerns for the future of Pacific Salmon stocks, whistle blower legislation notwithstanding. A department that was once held in high regard worldwide is now a disgrace, politicized to a degree that will ensure the collapse of wild salmon stocks as surely as the department mismanaged east coast Cod stocks to extinction.

Sadly, from John Duncan's quote above, the next Liberal government will only need to change the word 'Liberal' to 'Conservative' to accurately describe how your government is doing nothing as one of the world's greatest resources disappears from the face of the planet forever. If you do not want your legacy to be that of the Prime Minister who presided over such a tragedy, you will immediately order a judicial inquiry into the DFO.

Thank you for your consideration.

R. Gordon Persson

Victoria, BC

MEDICATED FISH FOOD HEADED FOR ESPERANZA INLET

Dear Mia Parker (Grieg Sea Foods)

On October 7 a truck boarded the Tsawwassen ferry bound for Vancouver Island. On board were bags of medicated feed. Attached are pictures of the bags taken through the plastic wrap on them.

We can read that these bags are the property of Grieg Seafood's. The vet's name is also visible, Dr. Barry Milligan. The destination of the shipment appears to be "Steamer". Grieg has a farm in Esperanza Inlet at Steamer Point.

The feeding rate on the bag appears to say 0.50 something per fish body weight per day. The warning seems to advise that the fish must not be used for human consumption 60 days after the last day of treatment.

The people who sent these images to me would like to know what kind of drug is in the bag, as they are fishermen? They also want to know what disease do you have in your fish at Steamer Point?

Alexandra Morton




Pictures emailed to me

Judicial Inquiry inching closer - please contact your MP this week

Hold DFO accountable for collapse of sockeye

Federal judicial inquiry demanded by different groups

BY BRIAN LEWIS, THE PROVINCEOCTOBER 10, 2009


It's not hard to see why increasing numbers of stakeholders say Ottawa has salmon eggs all over its face when it comes to declining Fraser River sockeye stocks.

For the past three years, overly optimistic estimates of how many mature sockeye will return to spawn has turned into disappointing real numbers.

This year, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans estimated that 10.5 million sockeye would return home to spawn.

But only about 1.3 million came back, thus extending an even longer trend in declining sockeye numbers that began in the early 1990s.

Consequently, those who have a primary stake in Fraser sockeye -- the commercial, recreational and aboriginal fishing sectors -- are demanding Ottawa hold a full judicial inquiry into the declines.

Fraser River commercial gillnet fishermen were among the first to issue the call, stating that Prime Minister Stephen Harper must keep his 2006 election campaign promise to hold such an inquiry.

"DFO's epic mismanagement of Fraser sockeye has been regularly covered up and it's long past time we got some honest answers," said gillnet spokesman Bob McKamey.

The Sto:lo Tribal Council joined that call.

"Our ancient dry-rack camps in the Fraser Canyon fell silent this summer, canning jars were put away empty, and freezers are devoid of sockeye," said grand chief Clarence Pennier in a letter to federal Fisheries Minister Gail Shea last week.

Several politicians, including maverick Conservative MP John Cummins (Delta-Richmond East) and B.C. Environment Minister Barry Penner, have taken up the call as well.

"We have to get to the bottom of this issue because we're now in the final stages of a complete collapse of Fraser River sockeye," warns Cummins, a former commercial fisherman.

However, as these advocates point out, the process must have teeth because previous inquiries into declining salmon stocks have been ineffective.

"Sockeye have been managed by politicians, not by fish managers and biologists, since the early 1990s. Now the politics has to be removed," says McKamey.

But advocates are calling for a federal judicial inquiry because that's the only process with powers of subpoena where witnesses testify under oath -- and face penalties if they lie.

Numerous sources say some personnel within DFO won't voluntarily give their honest views in public for fear of jeopardizing their careers.

A judicial inquiry opens that door while reducing those legitimate career fears and that's why it's a preferred option.

"I certainly wouldn't have a problem with a judicial inquiry -- if it gets results," says Frank Kwak, chairman of the Upper Fraser Valley Sport Fishing Advisory Committee.

Will it happen? And if so, when? Cummins tells me he's worked non-stop on this file since last July, including his briefing senior officials in Ottawa.

"I expect there should be an announcement on an inquiry in the very near future," he says.

blewis@theprovince.com

© Copyright (c) The Province

It is time for DFO to decide: do the rules apply to fish farms or just to the rest of us?

Yesterday I received an email from a friend who had heard that herring had been caught in a salmon farm and destroyed. I went to Beaver Cove with Robert Mountain of the Musgamagw Tsawataineuk Tribal Council. We looked at the Sea Soil site, where dead farm salmon are turning into "organic" fertilizer for gardens. There were lots of bears eating the rotting remains, but no herring visible with all the big machinery turning the steaming piles

So Robert Mountain and I went to the Marine Harvest dock at Inglewood and spoke with a representative of Marine Harvest and the DFO enforcement Officer we had called. Marine Harvest said they had indeed caught small herring in their farm at Arrow Pass and during the sorting process these herring and some rock cod had been thrown into totes which were later dumped at the Sea Soil site. He did not know how much herring or rock cod had been mixed with the dead Atlantic salmon. He did know the herring were 3 - 10 grams.

The herring in this area have never rebounded since salmon farms moved in. A confidential DFO memo in the late 1980s warned of problems with herring around salmon farms. Recently, DFO simply stopped counting herring in the Broughton...end of problem for DFO.

The DFO enforcement officer seemed perplexed as to what should be done. It appeared to me that the herring and rock cod in the pens were not a concern, even though she did say it would not be legal for me to hold these species in a pen. It also seemed that because Marine Harvest had no license to harvest any wild fish, that it might not matter because... they were not in violation of a licence.... which they did not have.

On October 6, DFO posted a release on their website saying they fined a man, with no fishing licence, for possession of two Dungeness crabs - $600. The release goes on to say DFO acts to end illegal fishing activity. As part of this work, the Department asks the general public for information on activities of this nature or any contravention of the Fisheries Act and Regulations.....

So DFO you have been informed. Witnesses stood beside a DFO officer as she was informed that an undocumented amount of wild Broughton herring had been destroyed and dumped and unreported until several of us embarked on our own investigation. Marine Harvest caught and destroyed herring with no licence. They did the same with wild juvenile pink salmon 4 months ago, I believe you gave them a warning not to do this again..... Well they have done it again. Is it legal for salmon farms to kill wild fish without a licence or or not?

For all reading this please consider signing this letter telling the Minister of Fisheries to apply the laws of Canada to fish farms.

Reason must be brought to this situation.