120 NEWS REVIEW – INTERNATIONAL
INTERNATIONAL Corporate and political contests produced winners and losers in an eventful year
I
n January, local government leaders and representatives of the salmon farming industry wrote an open letter to Canada’s Fisheries Minister to protest her decision to phase out 19 salmon farms in British Columbia. The decision to phase out all opennet fish farming in the Discovery Islands region over the next 18 months was announced by Bernadette Jordan, Minister for Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, in December 2020. The letter said the decision puts at risk 1,500 jobs supported by the farms and indirectly threatens the viability of the industry throughout the province of British Columbia. It also asked Jordan: “What is your plan now to help our communities recover from your decision? What is your government willing to commit at this stage, and beyond, to help us pick up the pieces for the people who live, work and take care of their families here on our coast?” Announcing the shutdown,
THE LETTER SAYS THE DECISION PUTS AT RISK 1,500 JOBS This page from top: Discovery Islands BC; Brier Island, Nova Scotia Opposite from top: Brian Perkins; VegaIslands
International News V2.indd 120
the Canadian Government said that it had consulted with First Nations representatives in the region, who blame fish farmers for the decline in wild salmon. In February, we reported that two leading fish farmers in the region, Mowi and Cermaq, had applied to the Federal court of Canada in Vancouver for a judicial review of the Discovery Islands decision. The dispute rumbled on throughout the year. Also in February, we reported that Cooke Aquaculture was planning to invest almost CAN $60m building a post-smolt salmon hatchery in Canada’s Nova Scotia province. The facility will be at Centreville on the 20-mile-long Digby Neck peninsula. The national broadcaster
29/11/2021 14:52:47
