alexandra morton

10,000 People Ask Norway to Divest its Dirty Salmon Farming Industry

 A petition asking Norway to Divest Dirty Salmon (farmed salmon) was started in March, 2015 and appeared on Facebook pages for Salmon Are Sacred and Alexandra Morton. 

Gradually the petition spread worldwide with 10,031 people from 72 different countries signing and 2,340 people left comments telling Norway what they think of their dirty industry, using chemicals that harm the environment and people.

Norway is home to the Nobel Peace Prize. In January 2015 Norway divested its $900bn sovereign fund from dirty coal, and yet Norwegian companies are causing irrevocable damage to coastlines worldwide because they refuse to farm salmon in a responsible manner that does not use the ocean as an open sewer.

 

These Norwegians companies attempt to buy social licence by printing their logo on children's uniforms, but reading through the thousands of comments, this is not working Norway. 

Norway - here is what people worldwide think of your salmon farming industry.

View the petition - DIVEST DIRTY SALMON

 

"Dear Norway, 

You divested from dirty oil and coal earlier this year.  Thank you! Now it is time to divest from dirty salmon, your industry is too big now to be using our oceans as an open sewer. 

Canadians and Norwegians love wild salmon, but Norwegian salmon farms are one of the greatest threats to this magnificent fish in both our countries.

Norway,  world champion for social responsibility, actually convinced the EU to permit 10x more endosulfan in farmed salmon feed to increase profitability. This is one of the most dangerous pesticides known, banned in most parts of the world because of the horrific damage it does to babies!  Is this really the same Norway, who chooses the Nobel Peace Prize laureates to reward the highest moral behavior?

Please stop this industry before a devastating virus destroys the last wild salmon.  Viral pollution is unforgiveable and our children will not understand why we did this to them."

Signed by 10,000 people from 72 countries

7,260 - Canadians

860 - American

511 - Norwegians

492 - English

152 - Swedes

100 - Germans

Here are some of the comments:

Austria - It has to stop! It has no viable future for itself, its customers or the environment in its current form.

Norway - They are destroying Norwegian nature for our future generations.

Norway - I'm a flyfisher from Norway so i seen what the industry have done to our rivers and fjords, its a shame and a disgrace! Some few people get rich on the behalf of the nature and destroying rivers

Norway - Divesting, not digesting...this is not sustainable!! People should understand that!

Sweden - Because this is wrong. Hiding stuff like this is so typical. Cowards who hide behind their money. Disgusting

Canada - tired of dirty politicians trying to feed us dirty fish @ the expense of nature.

Canada - Norway's Grieg family and their fish farms are destroying our wild salmon in BC.

Canada - Risk to the environment and wild salmon is too great. Its time to GET YOUR FILTH OUT NOW!!!

UK - I'm signing because I disagree with the damage to the environment, wild fish stocks and the ecology of our rivers and seas caused by the industry of salmon farming

Germany - I want healthy salmon.

Ireland  - Norwegian salmon farming companies are poisoning the sea's of our planet. PFO.

Canada - It is my duty to our children! I grew up in Finland when there was only wild salmon available, now it is farmed, polluted and dangerous to our health! I have lived in B.C. now for almost 40 years and want to protect the beautiful salmon and other seafood we can enjoy here, and all the living creatures in our oceans.

Netherlands - I'm busy with salmon restoration in river Rhine. Also escapees and slice from aquaculture is a problem here.

Switzerland - Farmed salmon is disgusting...

USA - It is time to move forward Norway

Australia - Norway ...i am banning your dirty salmon...and pass the word around.. shame on your lack of integrity and respect for nature

South Africa - Human beings are killing this planet it starts with one person, one country. Lets shut down these salmon farms  The sea is losing different species of fish due to pollution and over fishing.  It has to stop now.

Belgium - I simply care!

Portugal - Salmon used to be good. Before it turned into an industrial complex.

Bulgaria - I want natural food. Clean enviroment. Healthy kids.

Japan - Oceans are public resources and shouldn't be polluted by salmon farms. Salmon farms should be land based.

 

 

What if nations stood united...

On September 21 we filed out of Lennie John's house into the cool predawn light.  We were laughing, sharing the excitement of seeing something unprecedented and momentous.  Qaamina Hunter lashed his large carved masks to his boats. Eighteen feathers for his grandchildren, 5 for his children.  One mask shed tears in the shape of whales.  Sacred cedar boughs were lashed to the rails.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we sped over the dark waters we wondered. Was the huge metal big agri-industrial pen system gone?  Had it left under cover of darkness? Had we missed witnessing its retreat?  My eyes cruised the water and shoreline, but as we got closer I saw that nothing had changed.  The bay called Yaakswiis remained bisected by aluminum walkways, sectioned into 10 squares of water.  Anchors held the pens over Yaakswiis's seafloor. 

 Within days 100,000s of Atlantic salmon were scheduled to begin raining feces down on this piece of seafloor...for the next 20+ years.  Corn, chicken fragments, fish from other oceans, chemicals to pink-up the flesh would sink to cover the life that call Yaakswiis home. 

Piscine reovirus, sea lice, urine, mucus would change these waters into an industrial waste flush.

 Yaakswiis remained in shackles.

We waited for six hours, hopefully scanning the horizon for any sign of Cermaq. But Cermaq never sent the barge to pull the anchors.  Cermaq never sent the tug to pull the facility away.  I looked at the people in the boats around me.  What would they do?  They had been living in soggy tents for 11 days on the pen, standing between the living world and the corporate world.  Exhaustion, disappointment, stress, anger and fear swirled, breathing in and out. 

Lennie sped for the nearest farm at Ross Pass and made it clear he wanted to speak with the Cermaq head office.  After that they took his call and it became clear Yaakswiis would not be freed that day.

          

                    Lennie John speaks to Cermaq from Alexandra Morton on Vimeo.

A thousand people live in the village of Ahousaht. It is a place of complex pathways of communication and protocol, where lineages weave together the fabric of an ancient society.    For me, a visitor invited to add my support to the work they planned, what happened next slipped beneath the surface, out of sight, like a diving whale.  Ripples, upwellings, the tip of a fast-moving fin told me something powerful was in play.

Leadership has deep roots in Ahousaht, reaching deep beyond memory, but also holding space for Ahousaht to survive today.  There was no point in asking questions, I don't think there are words in my language for the full dimension of the communication that occurred.  Corporate contract collided with ancient laws. 

 

The next morning there was only one boat, Lennie's Sweet Marie, and so we had to draw a form of straws as to who would be the five to go.  It was one of the hardest moments of this action.  Standing in the face of something huge binds people together, we didn't want to leave any behind. 

As we scampered down Miller Channel in the fleet little boat, the skeleton of the salmon farm remained untouched. It appeared unbent by the will of the people of that land, the anchors spread eagle across the beautiful bay.

We turned away and stopped across the channel, where we could barely see the farm.  We would not give Cermaq the opportunity to complain that we were too close.

Lennie spoke into his VHF radio mic,  I need eyes on the water... anyone see a tug and barge please come back to Sweet Marie."  Sure enough one guy spotted a tug under way towards us.  Hope sparked among us.  Sacheen looked startled by its sudden appearance, before shrugging it off, too many battles lost to protect her lands.  That tug could be going anywhere, no point investing in hope.

Then a barge lumbered out of Ross Pass in the driving rain.  The cement blocks that Cermaq could not drop because Ahousaht said "no" were still on deck.  

Then the tug appeared steaming north past Ahousaht!!!

... and the ropes to the anchors came away from the pen...

and the tug dragged the abomination away.

 

It was done.

Yaakswiis was freed... the shadow of Cermaq salmon cages were dragged off her, no salmon would swim in endless circles here until slaughter... sea lice would not boil over to eat young wild salmon leaving the Atleo River, bright lights would not lure Ahousaht herring to feed corporate share holders that would never be satisfied.

Oh the smiles in that little boat were so beautiful!  Our hearts were stretched with joy...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     I actually saw Joe James Crow smile! 

 

 "Look at what a handful of warriors can do... image what a nation united  could do." Lennie John.

The Norwegian company, Cermaq, thought it could use Ahousaht territory without consent of the people. They were mistaken.  They are also doing this in Dzawada'enuxw territory in Kingcome where they are tripling the size of the salmon farm in a small bay called Sir Edmund, without consent of the people.  This farm could be the reason the Kingcome herring have failed to rebound despite 30 years of no herring fishery.

Cermaq has been bought by Mitsubishi.  While Cermaq has made a mess, perhaps Mitsubishi will take a smarter approach and work with First Nations, retire salmon farms in critical wild fish regions and work to diversify with herring roe on kelp, chum salmon fisheries, land-based aquaculture... Using the BC coast as a sewer for the Norwegian way of farming Atlantic salmon is no longer acceptable. It is disgusting, and their tactics have brought shame to Norway.  Using trinkets, and trade beads, in the form of children sport team uniforms, money to enhancement groups, etc... they try to buy social licence, but people have seen through them.   

We are standing on a dying planet and unless we adapt our relationship with our planet to consider the impact of everything we do over the next 7 generations, we condemn our children to a painful extinction process.

Once again I ask you to tell Norway their dirty business is over in BC SIGN PETITION HERE

See below the support from other nations and villages for the bravery of the Ahousaht.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cermaq Dishonourable

Cermaq told the Ahousaht that they would remove their fish pens from Yaakswiis at dawn on Monday.  They did not. It was a slap in the face of the Ahousaht Warriors who spent 9 days occupying the farm to protect the area from pollution of their food resource.

On Friday Lennie John phoned Cermaq and reached James Costello.  James Costello said that the Cermaq barge would be at Yaakswiis at daybreak on Monday.  The farm was to be removed.  This was a moment of celebration.  A feast was planned for Monday evening and the people prepared to see the Cermaq farm leave a place that the Ahousaht wanted left clean so that they could continue to gather food there.  Vessels were decorated to commemorate this day.

We left at dawn.

We went out with happiness in our hearts,

And we waited.... and waited.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally Lennie started making phone calls to Cermaq and to the Ahousaht Band Office. At 10:45am we were told the barge was coming.

 

 

A few hours later we were told Cermaq would have to reschedule the barge and they were not coming.

The barge is sitting ~2km from the farm with the tug tied to it.

 

AHOUSAHT KICK FISH FARM OUT!

WE WON!!!!!!!!!!

Ahousaht Forces Nation forces CERMAQ to remove salmon farm

When Cermaq tried to anchor a new farm in Ahousaht territory in a bay called Yaakswiis, Ahousaht people stepped on the farm and told the Cermaq crew to leave (see previous post).   Thus began a 9 – day occupation of the farm, meetings between Ahousaht and their leadership and support from hundreds of people throughout British Columbia, Canada and beyond. There was a rally of support in Vancouver on September 18.

Called the Yaakswiis Ocean Camp, led by Lennie John, Sacheem Seitcham, and Joe John Crow the fish farm was also occupied by supporters such as Clayoquot Action, Friends of Clayoquot Sound and independent biologist Alexandra Morton.

"This is a victory, says Lennie John, an Ahousaht tourism owner/operator, "I wanted to protect the Atleo River and the salmon for our future generations. We are just waiting to witness the removal of the floats and anchors as this is now a protected site. Cermaq is done here."

After much discussion and communications with Ahousaht people and Cermaq Canada, the Ha’wiih and Chief & Council of Ahousaht came out with a statement of support for the removal of the new Cermaq farm at Yaakswiis.

Grant Warkentin, communications officer at Cermaq Canada, said the company made a commitment to Ahousaht leadership to move their cage system away from Yaakswiis.

There are currently 16 Cermaq salmon farms in Ahousaht territory. Despite promises of employment and prosperity to the remote village of 1000 people, only 15 jobs have been created. Populations of wild salmon, which are a staple of the British Columbia’s First Nations for centuries, have been in decline since the industry arrived. The Province of BC issued four new salmon farm sites in July, and among them was the Yaakswiis site. 

Lennie John talks getting CERMAQ farm out from Alexandra Morton on Vimeo.

 

This is unprecedented, the Ahousaht are a strong nation who see the value of their wild fish.  It only took 9 days of their determination to get rid of the farm… 9 days.  That’s a good lesson for everyone else fighting to keep their waters safe from salmon farms.

 

I am returning after this post to Yaakswiis to remain with the Ahousaht in a small tent on the farm until Monday morning when the anchors are scheduled to be removed. 

 

 

The beginning of the end of salmon farming in BC

 

When the Province of British Columbia recently issued the biggest salmon farm expansion in over a decade, they knew the public were not onboard with the decision.  A petition with over 110,000 signatures was recently delivered to the Premier. 

However, the Norwegian-based companies each courted a First Nation chief and council and once they made their deals, the Province of BC felt it would be clear sailing to grant leases, despite the public demand that this industry get away from our wild fish.  Four more salmon farms were given tenures to release tons of waste daily.

We can’t know what kind of deal was made with each of the three Nations involved, but what we are seeing now is the failure of this scheme.  Governments can't ignore the people forever.

On September 9, 2015 five members of the Ahousaht Nation stepped onto one of the new salmon farms that Cermaq was busily anchoring in their territory.  The men asked the fish farm crew to leave and declared they would stay until the farm is removed with no replacement tenure. 

The site is called Yaakswiis. It is a bay on Flores Island in Clayoquot Sound and it lies just south of the Atleo River.  The Atleo was once a highly productive river for all six species of salmon, and trout and has long been utilized by the Ahousaht Nation. There is already a salmon farm just north of the Atleo, placing a second salmon farm just south of the mouth of this river, is going to seal its fate.  Juvenile salmon leaving the Atleo River are not going to survive.  Attempts to restore the river have been unsuccessful.

map courtesy of Living Oceans

This occupation of the Cermaq salmon farm at Yaakswiis is not the first time this has happened.  In the early 1990s, Gwawaneuk Chief Charlie Williams near Kingcome Inlet stepped onto a salmon farm and demanded that it release its moorings from an island that is an ancient burial ground. The farm was removed and a restraining order placed on Chief Williams.  Since then there have been many First Nation led protests around salmon farms - to no avail.

Government and industry like to tout the media-friendly message - that First Nations support salmon farming, but as Namgis Chief Debra Hanuse recently testified before the Senate Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans, nations who refuse to allow salmon farms are ignored.  Salmon farms go in whether First Nations say yes or no.  

This is painfully evident in Dzawada’enuxw territory, Kingcome Inlet.  The Dzawada’enuxw never said yes, and yet salmon farms arrived, continue to operate, and they are expanding.  The scientific evidence suggests this is why Kingcome herring and salmon have dwindled to almost nothing despite closures of fisheries.  Foreign shareholders and CEOs get rich and the local people get poorer.

The biology is clear; it is the politics that are muddy.  We know that another Norwegian company, Grieg Seafood tried to pay commercial fishermen that opposed two new farms.  What I don’t know is why the Province of BC stubbornly persists in thinking it is a good idea to ignore the people in favour of a small industry run by 3 foreign companies.  What are they getting out of this deal?  The industry has failed to make jobs and they are hated even as they try to buy their way into the hearts of British Columbians.

 

Recent sea lice data from the Cermaq farm closest to Yaakwiis reveals that Cermaq is apparently unable to keep its sea lice under the limits prescribed in BC.

As well, these fish were treated with Aquaflor for some baterial issue. See info posted on this drug - does this belong in waters that people food fish in?

 

Aquaflor Indications

For the treatment of furunculosis caused by susceptible strains of Aeromonas salmonicida in salmon.

Warning: Treated fish must not be harvested for use in food, or released as stocker fish, for at least 12 days after the latest treatment with this drug. Do not use in fish maintained at water temperatures <5°C. Avoid inhalation of dust and contact with skin and eyes. Wear protective clothing (mask and gloves). Wash hands after handling. Keep this and all medication out of the reach of children.

 

In a petition to keep Yaakwiis clean for the wild fish - Lennie John writes:

Our initiative aims to protect our waters, our salmon and our other marine resources. Hiisstalktsawaak – All is one. What we put into our waters affects everything living in the water and everything that depends on it… including us! The fecal output, excess feed and fish diseases and illnesses do far more harm than any financial aid Cermaq offers us can repair.

I asked Lennie John, the first to step onto the farm and who remains there, what is his purpose.

I am fighting to get the fish farms out of our water and we are not going anywhere until they are gone for good!

All fish farms in your territory?

Yes, this new one is just the beginning.

The salmon farming industry has misused the BC coast for 20 years. Today, this is the beginning of the end for this dirty, aggressive little industry.  It can move itself into tanks on land, or it can leave, while others work to rebuild the wild salmon and herring and bring prosperity back to this coast.

The Chilean government just made a unprecedented move to disallow salmon farms on part of their coast http://oceana.org/blog/ceo-note-expansion-harmful-salmon-farms-stopped-chilean-patagonia-community

 

I stand with the Ahousaht.

 

You can too sign Lennie John's– PETITION

You can connect with Lennie via facebook and follow this brave effort.

While this is an entire Ahousaht driven action, Tofino environmental group Clayoquot Action is playing a support role. Funds are needed for access to this remote location http://clayoquotaction.org/

Here is some of the media generated by this bold and brave act.  While Cermaq tries to make this about "environmentalists" that is not accurate. 

WAR ON THE WATER

http://globalnews.ca/news/2213533/salmon-farm-protesters-near-tofino-vow-arrest/

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2015/09/10/first-nations-blockade-halts-anchoring-of-tofino-area-salmon-farm_n_8118398.html

http://www.vancouverobserver.com/news/first-nations-blockade-clayoquot-sound-salmon-farm

https://redpowermedia.wordpress.com/2015/09/11/first-nation-blockades-tofino-area-salmon-farm/

 http://www.intrafish.com/news/article1419521.ece

 

THE PETITION

Three Ahousaht 'Chiefs' have signed off (in 2013 and 2014) on Cermaq's Yaakswiis salmon farm - 2km away from the Atleo River and just south of a clam beach.

Ahousaht people were not informed of this farm during the consultation process and now that the Government has granted approval and they have become aware of it, they want to put an end to this farm. The 'endless growth' model that the aquaculture industry is built on is unsustainable in Clayoquot Sound. We are at risk for losing our wild salmon stocks and shellfish beaches. There will be no natural resources to sustain our future generations, nor traditional food sources for them to experience if we allow this to continue.

The Chiefs are supposed to look out for their people, and represent their views and opinions. This is NOT happening in the case of the Yaakswiis farm.

Ahousaht Chiefs have the power to revoke the 'permission' given to Cermaq, but if the Chiefs will not represent their people, the people will take action themselves. 

This petition represents Ahousaht members who feel another salmon farm in Clayoquot Sound, only 6km from the mouth of Ahousaht Harbour, 2 km's from the Atleo River, and 1.25 km's from a clam beach, is not in the best interests of the Ahousaht people.