Wharfside December 2015
In this issue Returned to Hope Island. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Salmon BBQ keeps on giving. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Aquaculture lures health and safety professional back home. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Christmas gifts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Be safe, be warm. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Bob Minkler Scholarship awarded to Taylor Workman. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 BC CAHS brightens up Campbell River. . . 5 MHC supports Goldstream salmon enhancement project. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 James Walkus Fishing Company. . . . . . . . . . 5 Don’t forget these holiday dates. . . . . . . . . . 6
Did you Know? That eating bananas increases your chance of being bitten by a mosquito.
Trivia time! What year was the first video cassette recorder made? Answer on Page 4
Comments about this Newsletter? Please email comments, articles and ideas to Ian Roberts, Director of Public Affairs, at ian.roberts@marineharvest.com
Bull Harbour, Hope Island, B.C.
Returned to Hope Island Five years since the initial discussion between Tlatlasikwala First Nation (TFN) and Marine Harvest Canada (MHC) about salmon aquaculture operations in their traditional territory, fish are in the water at Bull Harbour on Hope Island. In 2013, the parties signed a collaborative agreement that helps to fulfill the dream of Tlatlasikwala First Nation members to return to Bull Harbour, and provides business growth for MHC. The agreement includes ownership of two aquaculture tenures by the TFN, while MHC retains ownership of the infrastructure and salmon. The Ghi-ya site has received, over the past two months, 600,000 smolts originating from Ocean Falls hatchery and the farm staff
are working hard to help the first generation of Hope Island salmon grow into their new home. There is a mixture of experienced and new employees at Ghi-Ya, and out of the eight person starting team there are two Tlatlasikwala First Nation community members. Lesley Higginson and George Lafleur have taken up the opportunity to work in their traditional territory for the first time. Lesley and George’s return to Hope Island to work is beginning to realize the Nation’s and Chief Tom Wallace’s vision to create growth and opportunity for community members and guests to the land, and enables TFN members to “move back home” and
SAVE THE DATE! Children’s Christmas parties on December 5th in Port Hardy and December 19th in Campbell River (see page 6 for more activities)
Cori Wheeler from MHC, Brian Stamp from the hospice build team and dragon boaters Jeanne MacGregor, Nick Hindle and Carole Dodds celebrate the proceeds from the Race the River barbecue
Salmon BBQ keeps on giving Summer fun may be long ago but the funds keep flowing to charities in Port Hardy and Campbell River. Two cheques from summer events were recently presented to the Campbell River Hospice House Building Fund and the Port Hardy “Harvest” Foodbank. A cheque for $2055 was presented by the Race the River organisers to the team
building the new Campbell River Hospice House. The dragon boat regatta was held in June and, for a donation, participants ate delicious salmon burgers and tacos from the Marine Harvest barbecue trailer. The donation brings the building fund to about $600,000, allowing construction of the hospice house to start this month.
Ronita Prasad, Kathy Baker, Erin Klatt and Pam McDermott hand over their donation to foodbank representative Randy Elliott (centre)
Meanwhile in Port Hardy, employees from the processing plant presented a cheque for $1200, raised at the Port McNeill Orca Fest in August, to the Port Hardy foodbank. The foodbank will use the donation to meet the increasing need across the regional district of Mt Waddington.
Returned to Hope Island Continued from page 1
use Bull Harbour as a core community for themselves and their families. There are eight 120 metre circles at Ghi-ya, a fairly exposed ocean site near the mouth of Bull Harbour, which is expected to have very good conditions for fish growth. A second site further away – Wanx talis (at Heath Bay) – will be ready for fish in the near future. Manager Jason Fraser says the team is excited to be learning operations at the new site. 2
“So much work has been done to get us to this point, it is great to see the pens finally full of salmon,” Jason says. “We’ve still got a lot of work to do away from the farm, and because we are using Bull Harbour as a base of operations, we’ve started to help upgrade a lot of infrastructure in the village.” Staff and contractors are currently residing on a barge and in a rental house while plans MarineHarvest.ca
are in the works to build new housing at Bull Harbour. “It’s a stunning place to work,” Jason says, adding, “There are many people from the company and Tlatlasikwala First Nation that deserve many thanks for getting us this far.” To learn more about the TFN’s economic diversity initiatives, visit www. ReturningToHope.com.
Aquaculture lures health and safety professional back home
Mike and his son Austin By Gina Forsyth
Marine Harvest’s Health and Safety Department has been benefitting from the experience of Mike O’Neill since February of this year. And he’s enjoying it all. As part of a three person Safety Department, it’s Mike’s job to do accident investigations (loss of time incidents are very rare, said Mike) and ensure corrective
action is taken as well. He also carries out safety visits and completes observation reports. Mike is also responsible for checking new equipment to ensure that it’s in safe, working order, and he also creates standard operating procedures for review.
Mike first got involved with the safety aspects of industry in Alberta, where he worked closely with a certified safety operator. His experience in Alberta had held Mike in good stead since moving to the aquaculture field.
“I’ve seen it all, from hatcheries to farm sites to processing,” said Mike, adding that the variety of places he gets to see on Vancouver Island is one of the best things about his job. He also appreciates the opportunity to work with Dan Pattison and Blaine Tremblay, who make up the balance of the company’s Health and Safety Department.
“I had to ensure all documentation was completed, carry out investigations, interview managers, supervisors, contract workers and employees and follow up on corrective action,” he said.
Mike came to Marine Harvest from Alberta’s oil and gas industry, where he spent eight years working on the oil rigs. “Eight days after graduating from Timberline in 2007, I was in Alberta,” he said. He was laid off at Christmas 2014 due to market conditions and was hired at Marine Harvest in 2015 after seeing the job posting on-line.
Mike and his wife Steff, a nurse in Campbell River, have two boys, aged two and fiveand-a-half. The oldest is in hockey. Mike grew up fishing and hunting and is passing that along to his kids, who also enjoy bike riding. Mike is currently enjoying learning all about archery.
Born in Victoria, his family spent a short time in Calgary before settling in Campbell since his early elementary school days. He has an older sister and a younger brother.
Christmas gifts Marine Harvest has made donations of $2500 (each) to four charities to help with increased demand during the holiday season: the Knights of Columbus Christmas Hamper Fund in Campbell River, the North Island Gazette Hamper Fund in Port Hardy, the Women’s Resource Centre, and the Campbell River Foodbank.
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Be safe, be warm By Joy Stowe, Freshwater Support
Wow! The recent dip towards wintery temperatures feels very cold after our extended summer. Do you wish for those 30°C temperatures again? No worries, you can get through this cold weather confidently knowing your brain has it all under control. An area of your brain called the hypothalamus will keep your core at a balmy 37°C. Sounds great, doesn’t it? But there’s one little problem with this amazing thermostat—it doesn’t care if you’re cold on the surface! All those exposed extremities are quickly sacrificed when blood is needed to
stabilize core temperature, so plan for the cold—including crew travel and work— and heed warnings from your internal thermostat when the chill hits. There’s a quick course on Marine Harvest Canada’s training system (DATS) called ‘Working in Cold Weather’ to review
during crew meetings. It might also be a good time to share some of the many experiences and stories of previous winters on the North Island. Be safe, be warm.
Bob Minkler Scholarship awarded to Taylor Workman
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Bob could give one message to a student receiving this entrance award,” says Ellie, “it would be to enjoy your life and your job, keep high standards and never take the everyday things for granted.”
This bursary is named in memory of Bob Minkler, a man who lived his life with great enjoyment and never took the little things for granted. Bob was proud to work in aquaculture: a caring man who treated people with respect and consideration. “Bob was a special man,” says his widow, Ellie. “He lived his life with high standards whether it was the way he was romantic with me, how he cared for friends and family or his dedicated approach to his work. If
The $2100 bursary is available to a full-time student enrolling at North Island College and living within the geographic area encompassing the Comox Valley through to the northern end of Vancouver Island (including adjacent islands). Preference is given a student pursuing an educational goal within salmon farming, aquaculture, marine biology, or an associate degree in the sciences.
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Taylor Workman (left) received the Bob Minkler Bursary from Marine Harvest’s Shylo Loock
Marine Harvest Canada HR Coordinator Shylo Loock recently presented the Bob Minkler Memorial Bursary to Taylor Workman to help her pursue her studies in biology at North Island College.
BC CAHS brightens up Campbell River The BC Center for Aquatic Health Science (BC CAHS) chose a mural project to commemorate their 10th anniversary in Campbell River. The beautiful 550 square foot ocean odyssey mural was completed over four weeks in September by J. Alex Witcombe and Nick Hutton-Jay of Flywheel Studios. It was officially unveiled at a ribboncutting ceremony last month.
“As part of our 10 year anniversary celebrations, our staff saw an opportunity to welcome people to the downtown core with a mural of the Discovery Passage sea life,” says Jim Powell, CEO of BC CAHS. “We all feel that this mural is a portal to our past, our future and who we are as a citizenry.” City of Campbell River Mayor Andy Adams says the mural truly reflects Campbell River and is a great addition to the beautification projects that have been occurring throughout downtown and Pier Street.
The mural decorates the rounded wall in the Pallan Group building, which houses BC CAHS on Island Highway at the entry to Pier Street and downtown Campbell River. The project was made possible through corporate sponsorship which included Marine Harvest, and funding from the City’s Façade Improvement Program.
< Jim Powell speaks at the opening of the mural
James Walkus (pictured right) owner of James Walkus Fishing Company and major supplier to Marine Harvest Canada, was pleased to meet Hunter Tootoo, MP for Nunavut and Minister for Fisheries, Oceans & the Canadian Coast Guard. Mr. Walkus was in Ottawa last month to speak to Canadian aquaculture experts about his company’s history of commercial fishing and salmon aquaculture in British Columbia.
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Peter McCully, Howard English hatchery manager, inspects the area that will house two new circular rearing tanks
MHC supports Goldstream salmon enhancement project Marine Harvest Canada is pleased to support the volunteers at the Goldstream Salmon Enhancement Association (Howard English Hatchery). In November, MHC delivered a cheque of $3000 to the volunteer group located in Victoria, B.C.,
to complete the installation of two new circular tanks that will provide more rearing space for young coho salmon. The salmon smolts will enhance local watersheds and help provide for recreational and food fishing opportunities in the area. MHC has
supported several improvement projects at the salmon enhancement facility over the past two decades, including providing the egg rearing (heath) trays for the hatcheryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s incubation room.
Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t forget these holiday dates Breakfast with Santa on December 5th in Port Hardy and December 19th in Campbell River. MHC is sponsoring two public skating and two stick time sessions at the Chilton Regional Arena in Port McNeill over the holidays. The Marine Harvest sponsored time for public skating will be from 1 pm-3 pm on Tuesday 22 December and Saturday 2 January, and stick time will be on Monday 21 December and Sunday 3 January (these times to be confirmed).
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