Legacy - December 2012

Issue 14

December 2012

Legacy The Journal of Wild Game Fish Conservation Published by volunteers at:

Wild Game Fish Conservation International “It’s amazing what can be accomplished when no one cares who gets the credit.”

John Wooden

© Wild Game Fish Conservation International

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

Legacy Wild Game Fish Conservation International Wild Game Fish Conservation International (WGFCI): Established to advocate for wild game fish, their fragile ecosystems and the cultures and economies that rely on their robust populations.

LEGACY – The Journal of Wild Game Fish Conservation: Complimentary, no-nonsense, monthly publication by conservationists for conservationists LEGACY, the WGFCI Facebook page and the WGFCI website are utilized to better equip fellow conservationists, elected officials, business owners and others regarding wild game fish, their contributions to society and the varied and complex issues impacting them and those who rely on their sustainability.

LEGACY features wild game fish conservation projects, fishing adventures, accommodations, equipment and more. Your photos and articles featuring wild game fish from around planet earth are welcome for possible inclusion in an upcoming issue of LEGACY. Your “Letters to the Editor” are encouraged.

Successful wild game fish conservation efforts around planet earth will ensure existence of these precious natural resources and their ecosystems for future generations to enjoy and appreciate. This is our LEGACY.

Wild Game Fish Conservation International founders:

Bruce Treichler

Jim Wilcox

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

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By Wild Game Fish Conservation International volunteers

Contents CO HO HO… Merry Christmas ......................................................................................................................6 Robust populations of wild game fish are good for local economies .......................................................7 Everyone Loves Wild Salmon; Don’t They? - Video ...................................................................................8 Conservationists strive to restore robust populations of wild salmon game fish ...................................9 Special Feature: Recommendations resulting from Cohen Commission - The inquiry to identify causes of Fraser River sockeye salmon ....................................................................................................10  Commission of Inquiry into the Decline of Sockeye Salmon in the Fraser River - Final Featured Report .. 10  Video: Justice Cohen Gets Tough on Fish Farms - Inquiry Report Released ... 11  BC's salmon farmers support continued research in fish health ................................................. 12  Sign this petition today - Premier Clark: Do not renew salmon farm Leases .............................. 13  Halt salmon farm development in sensitive spawning area, Cohen report urges ........................ 14  Government attention to Cohen report could also protect wild Atlantic salmon ......................... 15  Opinion: Salmon inquiry spawns opportunity .............................................................................. 16  Salmon catch provisions extended pending fishery inquiry report .............................................. 17  Cohen commission report must be acted upon ........................................................................... 18  Cohen Commission Report Follow-up – Get open pen salmon feedlots out of wild salmon migration routes – NOW! ............................................................................................................ 19  Comment: Halt fish-farm growth until more studies are in .......................................................... 20 Impacts of open pen salmon feedlots ........................................................................................................21  B.C. urged to not renew leases for open-net salmon farms ........................................................ 21  Open pen salmon feedlot petition delivered to BC Premier, Christy Clark - 12,000 signatures and counting ...................................................................................................................................... 23  Closed containment is low tar salmon farming! ........................................................................... 24  Salmon farming comes ashore ................................................................................................... 25  Don’t be duped by story .............................................................................................................. 26  Why I am standing with signs again - Dr. Alexandra Morton ....................................................... 27  Atlantic salmon succumbing to parasite in huge numbers .......................................................... 28  Parasites have big impact on salmon ......................................................................................... 29  Intermediate hosts of fish parasites and vectors of fish diseases ............................................... 31  Video nasty from Loch Duart - The Toxic Salmon Company! ..................................................... 32  All Ireland's 166 TD's Contacted by Campaigners ...................................................................... 33  Atlantic Salmon Trust Highlight Three Key Salmon Survival Issues ........................................... 34  Fish Farms – Get Out of Scotland............................................................................................... 35  Flesh-eating lice spread by fish farms kill 39 per cent of wild salmon ......................................... 36  Underneath Scotland’s open pen salmon feedlots - Video ......................................................... 37  Scottish Sea Farms staff walk out over sickness ........................................................................ 38  Scotland’s open pen salmon feedlot industry kills thousands of seals (video) ............................ 39  Jefferson County commissioners hear from experts on salmon net pens ................................... 40  Fish farms, beach access controversies continue....................................................................... 41  Salmon issues go north .............................................................................................................. 42  Impacts of Chilean Salmon Farms On Coastal Ecosystem Discovered Accidentally .................. 43  United Nations summary - impact of salmon farms in different regions ...................................... 44  Follow the money – Top 20 shareholders of Cermaq stock ........................................................ 45 Seafood consumption: Food safety and health ........................................................................................46  Enjoy seasonal wild Pacific salmon dinners at these fine restaurants: ....................................... 46  Wild Salmon Supporters – View entire list here .......................................................................... 47  Alexandra Morton Receives Two Academic Honours, Forces Farmed Salmon Recall ............... 48  Fish Farmers defend Atlantic salmon after recall ........................................................................ 49  In her own words - Is Truth a Tactic? – Dr. Alexandra Morton .................................................... 50  Sobeys pulls whole Atlantic salmon - Response from Atlantic Canada Fish Farmers Association52  One in four seafood packages include illegally substituted products or are intentionally mislabeled ................................................................................................................................... 53  “Organic” Label on Fish Doesn’t Mean it’s Wild .......................................................................... 54  Costco, Safeway & Loblaws: Please stop selling diseased farm salmon .................................... 55  Sea lice in salmon poses no health risk: aquaculture expert ...................................................... 56 Energy production and wild game fish: Oil, Coal, Hydropower ...............................................................57 Oil.......................................................................................................................................................57  Welcome to Canada: a new subsidiary of ChinaCorp ................................................................. 57  Alberta Tar Sands Illegal Under Treaty 8, First Nations Charge ................................................. 58  Environment Canada Report: Tar Sands Leaching Into Snow, Harming Fish ............................ 59  Super Natural or Super Tanker? ................................................................................................. 61  Defend our coast – Eddie Gardner (Video) ................................................................................. 63

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International      

Thousands gather in Victoria to protest oil pipeline..................................................................... 64 Big Ideas: Jeff Rubin and Andrew Nikiforuk on the Future of Oil - Video .................................... 65 Battle lines drawn on Canadian tar sands coming to the EU ...................................................... 66 ‘Unprecedented’ top Fisheries job puts focus on Northern Gateway .......................................... 68 Earthquake zones & Tar Sands pipelines – a very dangerous combination ............................... 69 Supertankers, Earthquakes, and Tsunamis, Oh My: Enbridge Has No Spill -Response Plan for Northern Gateway Pipeline ................................................................................................. 70  Tar sands oil project bad for our natural resources ..................................................................... 71 Coal ................................................................................................................................................. 72  Chinese villagers clash with police in protests over environmental issues .................................. 72  Negatives of Mid-Valley coal trains outweigh positives ............................................................... 73  NW coal port traffic raises worry about huge marine spill ........................................................... 74 Hydropower .................................................................................................................................... 75  Put a stake in the heart of the Chehalis River dam proposal ...................................................... 75  Quinault Indian Nation opposes dams in Chehalis River basin ................................................... 77  B.C. urged to block planned run-of-river project in globally significant inland rainforest ............. 78  Now open after 100 years: the White Salmon River ................................................................... 80 Mining and wild game fish ..........................................................................................................................82  Pebble can't dismiss sport fishing: Bristol Bay lodges and guides are important for our lifestyle, economy ..................................................................................................................................... 82  America’s Fish Basket Could Be Destroyed By Mining ............................................................... 83  Alaska's Clash Over Salmon and Gold Goes National ............................................................... 84  Save Bristol Bay campaign – 38,000 and growing ...................................................................... 85 Wild game fish management.......................................................................................................................86  Tribal hatchery transports first fish of fall to Elwha tributaries ..................................................... 86  Austerity measures threaten to sink salmon biologist jobs .......................................................... 88  Adams River salmon run low in 2012 (audio interview) .............................................................. 89  Salmon Stocks Declining ............................................................................................................ 90  Atlantic salmon, cod and sea trout on conservation list .............................................................. 91 Special Recognition .....................................................................................................................................92  Fish researchers net Sterling prize ............................................................................................. 92  Shout out to the brave men and women of the US Coast Guard ................................................ 93  “Pants on Fire” Recognition: Hugh Mitchell, MS, DVM – Fish Health Manager / Owner at AquaTactics Fish Health ............................................................................................................. 94 Local Conservation Projects.......................................................................................................................95  Volunteer groups count thousands of salmon coming up Eel River ............................................ 95  Fish hide from heavy sediment flow in newly freed Elwha River ................................................. 96 Youth Conservation: ....................................................................................................................................97  Engaging Students in Wetland Science ...................................................................................... 97  No means No – Stop salmon feedlots ......................................................................................... 98  Artist Response Team ................................................................................................................ 99  2013 Northwest Youth Conservation and Fly Fishing Academy ............................................... 100 Conservation-minded businesses: ..........................................................................................................102  Brightwater Alaska .................................................................................................................... 102  Jim Teeny Fly Lines .................................................................................................................. 103 Attention Conservation-minded Business Owners ................................................................................104 WGFCI endorsed conservation organizations: .......................................................................................104 Featured Artist: ..........................................................................................................................................105  Cohen Taylor Hart (7 years old) - Quadra Island, British Columbia, Canada. ........................... 105  The Elders are Watching – David Bouchard and Roy Henry Vickers video .............................. 106  Art for an Oil-free Coast ............................................................................................................ 107 Featured Fishing Photos: ..........................................................................................................................108  Fishing for trophy striped bass .................................................................................................. 108  Chehalis River fall chinook ........................................................................................................ 109  Primo steelhead trout ................................................................................................................ 110  Gorgeous rainbow trout caught by Vlasta Štefanič while fishing the Soca River in Slovenia .... 111  King among the Chinooks....... .................................................................................................. 112  West Virginia Golden (Rainbow) Trout - Pipestem State Park .................................................. 113  Playing the biggest Danubian Salmon that was caught while fishing the Sava Bohinjka River in Slovenia last year...................................................................................................................... 114  Peacock bass caught by David Maynard while fishing in the Amazon River – smiles all around!115  Pennsylvania Steelheading … “Combat Fishing” (video) .......................................................... 116  Not all fishermen have two legs ................................................................................................ 117 Community Outreach: ...............................................................................................................................118  Float fishing for steelhead ......................................................................................................... 118 Conservation Video Library – “Why we’re involved” .............................................................................119 The Size of the Fish Doesn’t Determine the Size of the Memory ...........................................................120

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

Legacy Forward

The December 2012 issue of Legacy marks fourteen consecutive months of our web-based publication - Legacy. The December issue introduces Legacy’s new topical organization especially for those following specific issues no matter where in the world they occur.

Legacy is published each month to expose current and planned actions that impact the future of wild game fish and their ecosystems around planet earth to our growing audience. Please feel free to share this publication with others.

Our hope is that those who read Legacy will come to understand that what is good for sustainable wild game fish is also good for humans. Similarly, what is bad for our planet’s wild game fish is also really bad for humans!

It’s exciting that a growing number of recreational anglers and conservationists around planet earth are passionate about conserving wild game fish and their continued availability for this and future generations to enjoy and appreciate. Just as exciting is that growing numbers of consumers and retailers are paying close attention to the impacts each of us have on global resources through our daily activities and purchases.

We continue to urge our global audience to speak out passionately and to demonstrate peacefully for wild game fish and their ecosystems; ecosystems that we are but one small component of.

As recreational fishermen, conservation of wild game fish for future generations is our passion. Publishing “Legacy” each month is our self imposed responsibility to help ensure the future of these precious gifts that have been entrusted to our generation.

Bruce Treichler

James E. Wilcox Wild Game Fish Conservation International

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

CO HO HO… Merry Christmas Merry Christmas, wild salmon warriors These are my 5 Christmas card designs for 2012. They are blank inside but have a message on the back.

Packages of 5 cards sell for $15 plus shipping. Payments (Canadian funds) are made via PayPal at my website: https://www.etsy.com/listing/115499243/west-coast-holidaychristmas-card

Merry Christmas…Anissa Reed

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

Robust populations of wild game fish are good for local economies

Tillamook Bay, Oregon – October 20, 2012 (photo Jim Wilcox) During a recent road trip to the Oregon coast, it was abundantly evident that healthy wild Pacific salmon populations are responsible for the health of coastal communities .

The towns along the coast in Tillamook County were alive and thriving: restaurants and hotels were full, gas was being pumped and groceries were being sold.

Fishing boats were being purchased (and repaired), rods, reels and tackle were purchased and many other purchases were being made; all because of a healthy salmon run into the bays and rivers of this uniquely-productive region.

And the staff in these restaurants, hotels, grocery stores and service stations were all friendly as they knew that that they have a really good thing that must be protected.

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

Everyone Loves Wild Salmon; Don’t They? - Video

www.SalmonareSacred.org

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

Conservationists strive to restore robust populations of wild salmon game fish

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

Special Feature: Recommendations resulting from Cohen Commission - The inquiry to identify causes of Fraser River sockeye salmon  Commission of Inquiry into the Decline of Sockeye Salmon in the Fraser River - Final Report October 31, 2012

Editorial Comment: We at Wild Game Fish Conservation International thank Justice Bruce Cohen for his patience and courage in conducting this historic inquiry; one which involved in excess of 500,000 documents!

It is now up to those Canadians who care about wild Pacific salmon and their ecosystems to demand that the Department of Oceans and Fisheries implement and adequately resource each of Justice Cohen’s thoughtful recommendations presented in his three volume report.

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Video:

Justice Cohen Gets Tough on Fish Farms - Inquiry Report Released Featured Written by Damien Gillis Wednesday, 31 October 2012 16:53

Justice Bruce Cohen: "I therefore conclude that the potential harm posed to Fraser River sockeye salmon from salmon farms is serious or irreversible."

Alexandra Morton: “Justice Cohen you rock, thank you” Justice Bruce Cohen Justice Bruce Cohen focused much of his attention on salmon farms at the brief press conference he gave on the release of the final report from the Inquiry he's led into disappearing sockeye over the past two years.

Cohen highlighted several key recommendations to protect wild salmon from open net pen aquaculture operations, including: 1. Removing the promotion of aquaculture from DFO's mandate, which he found conflicts with the department's responsibility to protect wild salmon; 2. Prioritizing the health of wild salmon over suitability for aquaculture when siting farms; 3.Conducting more research into diseases that may be impacting wild salmon; 4. Properly implementing the Precautionary Principle and removing farms in the Discovery Islands region (noted as particularly dangerous to migrating salmon runs) should more definitive evidence come to bear demonstrating they can safely coexist with wild fish. The full commission report can be downloaded here.

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 BC's salmon farmers support continued research in fish health October 31, 2012 With confidence in the health of our fish and the quality of our farm information, BC’s salmon farmers support a request by Commissioner Bruce Cohen for more research in the Discovery Islands area.

“We know that the fish on our farms are healthy – and Justice Cohen has acknowledged the impressive data we made available,” said Stewart Hawthorn, Board Member of the BCSFA. ”We are committed to protecting the marine environment and our iconic wild salmon – and we support the call for further research in this small farming area.”

The final report from the Cohen Commission of Inquiry into the Decline of the Fraser River Sockeye was released today, which included around 75 recommendations on different areas of fisheries management. Climate change and fish enhancement facilities were among the issues discussed that may have affected the 2009 return of the Fraser River Sockeye.

Justice Cohen commended the information that was collected by our salmon farmers and provided to the commission. He has recommended that salmon farm production stay the same in the Discovery Islands area of BC while more research is done. This area represents only a small part of BC’s farmed salmon production, currently there are nine farms in the area.

Salmon farmers have shown repeatedly in the past a willingness to work with regulators, stakeholders and NGOs to collect, evaluate and react to new information with respect to potential impacts to wild salmon.

“Our members are committed to farming responsibly - and that commitment will continue as we move forward in light of these recommendations,” said Clare Backman, Board Member of the BCSFA. “It’s important that we continue with the important social and economic role we play in the coastal communities of BC while protecting our natural environment.”

The BCSFA represents salmon farm companies and those who provide services and supplies to the industry. Salmon-farming provides for 6,000 direct and indirect jobs while contributing $800-million to the provincial economy each year.

For more information visit www.salmonfarmers.org

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Sign this petition today - Premier Clark: Do not renew salmon farm Leases October 31, 2012

Alexandra Morton: “People are signing this (petition) every 5 minutes or less.

We must stop the tenure renewals which could give these Norwegian companies the right to continue spilling pathogens into wild salmon migration routes for 5-20 years.

Small First Nation communities are standing up to this (expanded open pen salmon feedlot industry), I think we should support them.

Thank you everyone who is taking the time to share this (petition). If we had a million dollars we could buy advertising - but all we have is ourselves.”

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Halt salmon farm development in sensitive spawning area, Cohen report urges October 31, 2012 B.C. Supreme Court Justice Bruce Cohen is calling for a freeze on salmon farm development in a key area on the West Coast and is highly critical of the federal government in his long-awaited report on the disappearance of sockeye salmon on the Fraser River.

In his massive three-volume document, released Wednesday, Judge Cohen said he was unable to find “the smoking gun” in the mystery of what caused a catastrophic collapse in Fraser River sockeye stocks in 2009, following decades of steady decline. But he learned enough in 18 months of judicial hearings to hand the government a blueprint calling for major changes in salmon management.

Judge Cohen said predation, infectious diseases, contaminants, climate change and other factors contributed to the collapse of the Fraser’s sockeye runs. But he said much more scientific research is needed, and he called on the government to start that work now, and not put it off because of budget concerns.

“Some individuals, I suspect, hoped that our work would find the ‘smoking gun’ – a single cause that explained the two-decade decline,” Judge Cohen writes.

“The idea that a single event or stressor is responsible for the 1992-2009 decline in Fraser River sockeye is appealing but improbable,” he states. “Throughout the hearings I heard that sockeye experience multiple stressors that may affect their health and their habitats. ...

DFO should develop and carry out a research strategy to assess the cumulative effects of stressors. ...

Video: Dr. Alexandra Morton summarizes Cohen recommendations

Regrettably, that is as far as the evidence takes me. Filling the knowledge gaps will be a major endeavor.”

READ ENTIRE GLOBE AND MAIL ARTICLE HERE

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Government attention to Cohen salmon

report could also protect wild Atlantic

November 2, 2012 St.

Andrews…

Federation

The

(ASF)

recommendations

of

Atlantic

Salmon

welcomes BC

the

Supreme

Court

Justice Bruce Cohen and their relevancy to the situation with wild Atlantic salmon on the east coast. Bill Taylor, President of ASF said, “While this report is about the decline of Fraser River sockeye,

its

messages

are

definitely

reverberating across Atlantic Canada, where government is allowing devastating impacts on wild Atlantic salmon by salmon farming in open net pens in the ocean.”

Endangered and threatened wild Atlantic salmon in southern Newfoundland, in the inner and outer Bay of Fundy and along the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia are vulnerable to the effects of migrating near the open net pens in the ocean and interactions with escaped farmed salmon that enter our wild salmon rivers.

Mr. Taylor continued, “It is my fervent hope that the Canadian government will heed the recommendations of the $26 million Cohen enquiry.”

The 1191-page report is a wealth of information and advice, whether you live on the east or west coasts, or somewhere in between”, continued Mr. Taylor. Justice Cohen recognized the potential conflict in the mandate of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) to both develop salmon farming and protect Canada’s wild salmon. He recommends that the Government of Canada remove from the mandate of DFO the promotion of salmon farming as an industry and farmed salmon as a product.

Justice Cohen’s recommends that there be a freeze in Discovery Islands on net-pen salmon farm production in the path of migrating wild salmon until 2020. He advises that, if by this date, DFO cannot confidently say that the risk of serious harm to wild stocks is minimal, the department should then prohibit all net-pen salmon farms from operating. “We strongly concur,” said Mr. Taylor, “that DFO should ramp up its research on the impacts of open sea cage salmon aquaculture on wild salmon and remove these operations when scientific conclusions indicate this is necessary to avoid impact on the health of wild salmon.”

READ ENTIRE FLY ROD REEL ARTICLE HERE

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Opinion: Salmon inquiry spawns opportunity October 26, 2012

A male sockeye shows its full spawning colours — red body and green head. The more we learn about salmon, the more we realize how important they are to us.

After multiple extensions, Justice Bruce Cohen is submitting his report for the Federal Judicial Inquiry into the Decline of Sockeye Salmon in the Fraser River to the government on Monday. Despite the delays, the timing is fitting, with the last of the sockeye salmon from the Fraser watershed in the midst of spawning after completing their difficult migration from the vast Pacific Ocean to the streams and lakes of their birth across the Fraser watershed.

And despite the urgency of the problem - at least seven stocks are severely depleted, some to the point of threatened or endangered status - it's probably a good thing that Justice Cohen took the extra time.

Many people and communities depend on salmon, and most of them would argue that it's high time for an overhaul of our management practices.

READ ENTIRE VANCOUVER SUN ARTICLE HERE

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Salmon catch provisions extended pending fishery inquiry report October 23, 2012

The Canadian and U.S. governments have agreed to extend for one year a key provision of the Canada-U.S. Pacific Salmon Treaty so both governments can consider the recommendations of the commission of inquiry into the Fraser River salmon fishery.

The provision gives U.S. fishermen the right to catch up to 16.5 per cent of the total allowable catch of Fraser River-bound sockeye and 25.7 per cent of the total allowable catch of pink salmon when those migrating fish enter U.S. waters.

The extension to the end of 2013 will let both countries “take advantage of policy recommendations” from the commission of inquiry, according to documents tabled in the House of Commons this week.

The commission, headed by B.C. Supreme Court Justice Bruce Cohen, was established by the Harper government in 2009 to look into the decline of the Fraser River sockeye fishery and assess its long-term outlook.

The report has been delayed several times and is now due no later than Oct. 29.

Cohen is expected to address several provocative issues, including the 2012 federal budget’s sweeping changes to the Fisheries Act.

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Cohen commission report must be acted upon November 06, 2012 Dear Premier Christy Clark, Please respect the Cohen Commission’s recommendations and the 26 million taxpayer dollars spent in arriving at them.

We refer to recommendations 15 through 20 that deal with siting of fish farms, which the BC Provincial government issues in the way of leases.

We specifically refer to recommendations 15 and 18 that state the proximity to migrating Fraser River sockeye should be explicitly considered when siting salmon farms and If at any time between now and September 30, 2020 it is determined that net-pen salmon farms in the Discovery Islands (fish health sub-zone 3-2) pose more than a minimal risk of serious harm to the health of migrating Fraser River sockeye salmon, they should be promptly ordered to cease operations.

Provincial and federal government science proves net-pen salmon farms now pose more than a minimal risk of serious harm to the health of migrating Fraser River Sockeye Salmon. In an April 20, 2012 televised interview, provincial veterinarian Dr. Gary Marty confirmed he found the Piscine Reovirus (PRV) in 75 per cent of BC farm salmon he tested. Dr. Marty suggests PRV is not a concern, yet a study published in the April 9, 2012 Veterinary Research Journal titled “Immunohistochemical detection of piscine reovirus (PRV) in hearts of Atlantic salmon coincide with the course of heart and skeletal muscle inflammation (HSMI)”shows the association between PRV and HSMI and strengthens the hypothesis of PRV being the causative agent of HSMI. On December 15, 2011,DFO scientist Dr. Kristy Miller testified at the Cohen Commission that the PRV virus was detected in a Chinook farm in Clayoquot Sound, as well as, in Fraser Sockeye. PRV was first found in a Norwegian fish farm.

A 2010 Public Library of Science publication titled “Heart and Skeletal Muscle Inflammation of Farmed Salmon Is Associated with Infection with a Novel Reovirus” provides evidence that HSMI is associated with infection with piscine reovirus (PRV) and concludes that measures must be taken to control PRV not only because it threatens domestic salmon production but also due to the potential for transmission to wild salmon populations.

Smolts come out of the rivers healthy, but can be subjected to billions of viral particles when migrating past the farms.

In August 25, 2011 Cohen Commission testimony, DFO, Dr. Kyle Garver, informed that during a viral outbreak a single salmon farm can release 650 billion infectious viral particles per hour. The study was done on the IHN Virus.

The Cohen Commission recommendations must be acted upon immediately with no renewal of finfish farm leases in the Discovery Islands, sub-zone 3-2. We request you protect these migration routes as recommended by Justice Cohen.

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Cohen Commission Report Follow-up – Get open pen salmon feedlots out of wild salmon migration routes – NOW!

Sabra Woodworth: "Provincial and federal government science proves net-pen salmon farms now pose more than a minimal risk of serious harm to the health of migrating Fraser River Sockeye Salmon. In an April 20, 2012 televised interview, provincial veterinarian Dr. Gary Marty confirmed he found the Piscine Reovirus (PRV) in 75 per cent of BC farm salmon he tested. Dr. Marty suggests PRV is not a concern, yet a study published in the April 9, 2012 Veterinary Research Journal titled “Immunohistochemical detection of piscine reovirus (PRV) in hearts of Atlantic salmon coincide with the course of heart and skeletal muscle inflammation (HSMI)”shows the association between PRV and HSMI and strengthens the hypothesis of PRV being the causative agent of HSMI. On December 15, 2011,DFO scientist Dr. Kristy Miller testified at the Cohen Commission that the PRV virus was detected in a Chinook farm in Clayoquot Sound, as well as, in Fraser Sockeye. PRV was first found in a Norwegian fish farm.

A 2010 Public Library of Science publication titled “Heart and Skeletal Muscle Inflammation of Farmed Salmon Is Associated with Infection with a Novel Reovirus” provides evidence that HSMI is associated with infection with piscine reovirus (PRV) and concludes that measures must be taken to control PRV not only because it threatens domestic salmon production but also due to the potential for transmission to wild salmon populations.

Smolts come out of the rivers healthy, but can be subjected to billions of viral particles when migrating past the farms." In August 25, 2011 Cohen Commission testimony, DFO, Dr. Kyle Garver, informed that during a viral outbreak a single salmon farm can release 650 billion infectious viral particles per hour. The study was done on the IHN Virus."

PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION: Premier Christy Clark: Do Not Renew http://www.change.org/petitions/premier-christy-clark-do-not-renew-salmon-farm-leases

Laurie Watt: “Excellent analysis, Sabra. With these facts in mind, many announced by government scientists themselves, the simple application of the precautionary principle would not allow siting of salmon feedlots anywhere near a wild salmon migration route. BC Liberal and Federal Conservative Governments GET the feedlots OUT of our oceans!”

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Comment: Halt fish-farm growth until more studies are in Latest approval aids firm behind two massive salmon culls this year October 20, 2012 Last week, the B.C. government and Fisheries and Oceans Canada granted permits to Mainstream Canada, a subsidiary of Cermaq, one of the world's largest aquaculture companies, for its new salmon farm at Plover Point in Clayoquot Sound.

The massive feedlot will be Mainstream's 15th opennet site in Clayoquot Sound, an area designated as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.

This announcement comes at a time of great uncertainty for those concerned with the state of B.C.'s wild salmon - species vital to cultural, ecological and economic stability on our coast. The highly anticipated Cohen Commission, a federal inquiry into the decline of the Fraser River sockeye Alexandra Morton The industry is a dinosaur. No ONE run, is set to release its findings at the end of the month. It is predicted that this study could unveil new information on the impact of salmon farms on B.C.'s wild salmon stocks.

Many groups, including the Wilderness Committee, feel it is incredibly irresponsible for provincial and federal agencies to issue permits for new open-net salmon farms before the results of the Cohen Commission are out, and until the impacts of this industry can be studied more extensively.

The fact that this permit is being issued to a company that has culled hundreds of thousands of fish at its Clayoquot Sound operations in the spring and summer of 2012 is even more disturbing.

In May and August 2012, Mainstream culled its entire stocks at its Dixon Bay and Millar Channel sites (570,000 fish at Dixon Bay alone) because of outbreaks of the IHN virus, a disease that spreads rapidly and causes hemorrhaging, anemia and necrosis of flesh and organs in infected fish.

Editorial Comment: The impacts to wild Pacific salmonids and their ecosystems due to open pen salmon feedlots sited in British Columbia’s marine environments are just as worrisome to those on the west coast of the United States given that many of the US-origin wild salmon and steelhead migrate past these same problematic feedlots as juveniles and then again as adults.

Open pen salmon feedlots sited in Washington State’s marine waters are similarly problematic for wild fish and their ecosystems.

Of course, many west coast cultures and economies rely on thriving wild salmon populations.

Alexandra Morton: “The industry (open pen salmon feedlots) is a dinosaur. No ONE else pours raw sewage by the tons daily per site into the most productive wild salmon habitat in the world off Campbell River.

They are not viable on the world market and so it is only a matter of how much is left after they get up and go back to Norway. Please wake up people - wild salmon are gift you will not be given twice.

READ ENTIRE TIMES COLONIST ARTICLE HERE

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

Impacts of open pen salmon feedlots

 B.C. urged to not renew leases for open-net salmon farms November 14, 2012

Aboriginals and environmentalists on Wednesday urged the B.C. government not to renew leases for open-net salmon farms on the B.C. coast.

VANCOUVER - Aboriginals and environmentalists on Wednesday urged the B.C. government not to renew leases for open-net salmon farms on the B.C. coast.

The groups say they are planning to hold a peaceful demonstration outside Premier Christy Clark's constituency office in Point Grey at noon and deliver an 11,000-signature petition expressing opposition to the renewal of salmon farm leases in B.C. In a statement, Molina Dawson of the Dzawada'enuxw First Nation from Kingcome Inlet said: "I know without a doubt that the cost to our wild salmon — and everything that relies on them — isn't worth it.

So, as long as the government and fish farm companies are actively endangering our fish they will not be getting any support from me."

The Cohen Commission report last month suggested that salmon farms "have the potential to introduce exotic diseases and to exacerbate endemic diseases which can have a negative effect on Fraser River sockeye."

Cohen said that Fraser sockeye could suffer "serious or irreversible harm" if exposed to disease and that the federal fisheries department needs to recognize the possible risk of disease transfer between wild and farm fish.

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

However, he declined to quantify the scale of risk, saying it "requires further study."

As a result, Cohen is recommending that federal fisheries undertake a decisive study of the risks to wild salmon from Discovery Islands fish farming operations, north of Campbell River, with conclusive results by 2020, as well as an annual cap on salmon production.

If by that year the DFO "cannot confidently say the risk of serious harm is minimal," then the area should be closed to salmon farming, Cohen said. That should happen sooner if research confirms a link, he added.

Said Alexandra Morton, an independent salmon researcher: "Cohen states that if salmon farms have more than minimal risk of serious harm, they should cease operations. We are well past minimum risk."

Opponents argue that while much of the oversight for salmon aquaculture is managed by the federal government, the province issues sea-floor tenures for salmon farms and a number of leases are up for renewal, including 18 in the Broughton Archipelago.

A salmon jumps out of the water while feeding as sports fishermen cruise by at the mouth of Capilano River in West Vancouver, British Columbia. Salmon have been migrating up the river to spawn.

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Open pen salmon feedlot petition delivered to BC Premier, Christy Clark - 12,000 signatures and counting November 14, 2012 A day of to be remembered – Watch raw video here Thank you Wild Salmon Warriors from Wild Game Fish Conservation International

Please sign this important petition here

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

ď ś Closed containment is low tar salmon farming!

There's simply no right way to do the wrong thing...

Roddy Campbell on the Isle of Harris, Scotland

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Salmon farming comes ashore November 17, 2012 Fish grown in closed containment systems offer big environmental advantages, proponents say Editorial Comment: Twenty-three thousand Atlantic salmon smolts will arrive at the 'Namgis First Nation's salmon farm in We at Wild Game Fish Conservation January, just a fraction of the millions of similar fish International wish the 'Namgis First Nation and this project’s investors that grow to maturity each year in B.C. tremendous success with this land-based What's different about these fish is that they will never salmon feedlot facility. swim in the ocean, never come in contact with wild We remain concerned regarding: salmon and never be treated for sea lice.

'Namgis Closed Containment Salmon Farm is the first commercial-scale, land-based fish farm for Atlantic salmon in North America. It's part of a global trend of large closed-containment farms also being pursued in Denmark and in Chile.

The 'Namgis smolts will grow to maturity in just 12 to 15 months in a facility nearing completion not far from Port McNeill on Vancouver Island. The 'Namgis farm uses five 500-cubic-metre tanks capable of producing a total 500 tonnes of fish each year.

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continued reliance on over-utilized forage fish to produce fish feed.

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use of chemicals to treat diseases and to artificially color salmon flesh

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reduced Omega-3 oils as documented with feedlot-raised salmon

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cancer-causing PCB’s associated with feedlot-raised salmon

The system is the first of five identical modules to be built on the site, when the designs and systems are proven, for total capacity of 2,500 tonnes a year, about the same as a net-pen salmon farm.

Despite the extra costs associated with land-based salmon farming, the product needn't cost much more than net-pen Atlantic salmon. The carefully controlled environment in an advanced closedcontainment system allows the fish grow to maturity twice as fast, in a smaller space with less feed than net-pen salmon.

Concerns about the spread of disease and sea lice between wild and farmed salmon make a commercially viable land-based Atlantic salmon farm something of an environmental Holy Grail.

And that search has intensified since the report of the Cohen Commission found that net-pen salmon farms can and do hurt the health of B.C.'s wild sockeye salmon stocks. The report urges an immediate freeze on new net-pen farms along sockeye migration routes.

The 'Namgis project is intended to be a hothouse for innovation with the goal of advancing closedcontainment technology for Atlantic salmon to commercial viability as quickly as possible. For that purpose, 'Namgis has attracted $8.5 million from philanthropic, conservation and government sources, coordinated by the conservation foundation Tides Canada.

READ ENTIRE VANCOUVER SUN ARTICLE HERE

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Don’t be duped by story November 06, 2012 Re: “Salmon farmers put brave face on chilling report” (Mirror, Fri., Nov. 2, 2012) I hope none of your readers are actually duped by the pathetic sob story you’ve published about the poor Salmon farmers.

As the environmental movement has been maintaining for years and is now suggested by the $26 million Cohen Commission the Salmon farming industry has caused untold and likely irreversible destruction to our wild fish stocks and environment. Unfortunately, our wild salmon and environment are priceless and cannot simply be replaced with money or other wise.

Contrary to Campbell River Mayor Walter Jakeway; quoted as saying “We need this industry.” I beg your pardon Mr. Jakeway but we did just fine before the salmon farming industry came. It’s like the salmon farming industry has created a situation that we’re now dependent on. This sounds like the relationship between a drug addict and his pusher in a feeble scenario where the addict eventually dies from use of the pusher’s product. Has Mayor Walter Jakeway forgotten how vibrant a city Campbell River and many other coastal communities were before the salmon decline?

The jobs created by the salmon farming industry are but a fraction of what the commercial wild salmon industry used to provide to the economy before salmon farming appeared and began destroying it. And that’s just the commercial fishery. The sport sector and tourism is touted by B.C. as paramount and world class and contributes significantly to our economy. Why not give tourists something to boast about instead of us having to give embarrassing whining excuses about our stocks in decline?

Mayor Jakeway says, “We need to let the industry grow and if there are problems solve them.”

Editorial Comment: Marine mammals such as this magnificent orca whale rely on robust populations of wild Pacific salmon to survive. Hundreds of species within British Columbia are tied directly to the uniquely productive marine ecosystems required by wild Pacific salmon. Tens of thousands of jobs in British Columbia also rely directly on healthy, productive marine ecosystems.

Practices associated with open pen salmon feedlots in British Columbia negatively and significantly impact British Columbia’s marine ecosystems each and every day they remain operational.

Now is the time to remove open pen salmon feedlots from marine ecosystems in British Columbia and around the world.

Not doing so is absolutely irresponsible. The results of expanding the open pen salmon feedlot industry as planned will be devastating to our natural resources, wild salmon-dependent cultures and to many segments of our economy.

READ ENTIRE CAMPBELL RIVER MIRROR ARTICLE HERE

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Why I am standing with signs again - Dr. Alexandra Morton November 11, 2012

If you had evidence that a flu-like virus, known to kill salmon, was seeping into the ocean, that government was turning a blind-eye and the industry involved had hired the same strategic advisor as Exxon, the tobacco industry, China and the US government, could you quietly accept the denial and just hope everything will turn out OK? The ISA virus is a salmon flu-type virus with a nasty reputation of spreading everywhere Atlantic salmon are held in net pens. It has been known to simmer quietly for years, barely detected and easily ignored until the feedlot environment gives it enough freedom to mutate into high virulence and kill millions of salmon. This is the first time this scenario is playing out among wild Pacific salmon.

While the outcome is uncertain, we all know feedlot, influenza viruses are not a good thing to loose into the wild.

My work with ISA virus started when 100 of us got into canoes in October 2010 and paddled for 8 days down the lower Fraser River to greet the opening of the sockeye inquiry. We did this to let Justice Bruce Cohen of the Cohen Commission known how important it was to us that he release the Provincial farm salmon disease records.

Don Staniford: "These floating factory fish farms are a blight on our environment and cause pollution of the seabed, infestations of sea lice on the migratory routes of sea trout and wild salmon plus the deliberate killing of seals"

READ DR. MORTON’S ENTIRE ENTRY HERE

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

ď ś Atlantic salmon succumbing to parasite in huge numbers November 9th, 2012 Researchers have found that about 40% of Atlantic salmon are being infected and killed by the parasitic salmon louse. They say that the actual number in the wild could be as high as 55%. The parasite embeds itself just under the skin of the fish and lives off of the skin, mucus, and blood of the host.

In a study the researchers tagged and released thousands of salmon young into the wild. Half had been treated with a parasiticide and half were not.

After a year in the wild some of the fish were recovered and examined. It was then that they discovered that nearly 40% of the salmon were infected and dying from the lice.

Atlantic salmon (Public Domain Image)

Salmon Louse (Photo by Thomas Bjørkana) Although the parasiticide was able to significantly reduce the number of fish infected and increased the survival rate, a significant number were still killed.

Since salmon return to their home rivers, there is concern for the fish to spread the parasite to other population groups. This concern also extends to the smaller gene pool created by the deaths will weaken the genetic diversity of the fish, leaving them more susceptible to environmental changes.

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Parasites have big impact on salmon November 7, 2012 Title: Impact of parasites on salmon recruitment in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean Authors: Martin Krkošek, Crawford W. Revie, Patrick G. Gargan, Ove T. Skilbrei, Bengt Finstad and Christopher D. Todd Journal: Proceedings of the Royal Society B A new study published in Proceedings of the Royal society B today shows that between 18% and 55% of adult salmon in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean are lost to parasites each year.

Sea lice on an Atlantic salmon. Photo credit: Christopher Todd Scientists have long been puzzled by the fluctuating numbers of fish in the oceans. An international team of researchers, led by Martin Krkošek from the University of Otago, New Zealand, compared the survival of wild salmon that received parasite medication with those that did not. The authors conclude that parasites can have a significant impact on fisheries and conservation.

The scientists analysed data from 24 trials, which tagged 283,347 young Atlantic salmon between 1996 and 2008. Paired groups of control and anti-parasite treated salmon were released into ten areas of Ireland and Norway. All experimental fish were infection free when released and a proportion of each group were recovered as adults returning to coastal waters one or more years later.

Treatment had a significant positive effect on survival. The untreated salmon were 1.29 times more likely to die. The parasites were probably acquired during migration in areas that host large populations of domesticated salmon, which elevate local abundances of parasites. The concern is not only for a loss in salmon abundance, but also the loss of genetic variability and its associated potential for adaptation to other environmental changes.

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International Arne Roger Hansen: “Just another result off the impact the open net salmon farms has on the environment. This is a picture off wild fish feeding on pellets from under the open net salmon farms. It’s estimated that 10 tons of the wild fish in Norway gets their food from under this open net salmon farms every day.”

Robert Corlett: “Juvenile black cod (sablefish) is one of many wild fish species I have seen attracted then trapped in net pens. I recently purchased a black cod. No matter how I cook it it turns to mush. I have cooked black cod for years with no problem. I wonder if that black cod had swallowed a diseased smolt dumped in the ocean. The industry has had the blessing of the DFO and the Province to ocean dump their waste, including mortalities. Co-mingling contaminates. Do you enjoy the wait room at your Doctor’s office as much during flu season?”

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Intermediate hosts of fish parasites and vectors of fish diseases September 5, 2011 Another unfavorable impact of copepods on aquaculture facilities is that they may serve as intermediate hosts of important fish parasites such as tapeworms or nematodes.

The presence of parasites may lead to fish mortalities or adversely affect the market value of the fish or fish products when parasites are present in fish muscle.

Some important human parasites utilize copepods and fishes as intermediate hosts.

A number of parasitic diseases can affect humans, when an infected copepod is accidentally ingested with water. One of the better known and the most spectacular parasites are representatives of the genus Ligula.

They commonly occur in Europe, Asia, and North America in temperate zones. The final hosts are piscivorous birds. The first intermediate hosts are planktonic copepods of the genera Cyclops, Eucyclops, Megacyclops, Acanthocyclops, and Eudiaptomus.

The 2nd intermediate hosts for these parasites are fishes, mainly of the family Cyprinidae. This tapeworm occurs in the peritoneal cavity of fish in the form of larvae known as plerocercoids. Plerocercoids are usually between 10 cm and 1 m long (Dubinina 1966).

Infection leads to cachexia, impairment of fish growth, arrested reproduction, and death (Bryli´ nski 1972).

Claudette Bethune “I'm surprised by source giving such detail and damning details about how the copepods such as sea lice can transmit IHN and ISA to other fish, and be intermediates in human disease too: "Another unfavorable impact of copepods on aquaculture facilities is that they may serve as intermediate hosts of important fish parasites such as tapeworms or nematodes."

Bream infect themselves in their 1st years of life when they feed on plankton. The infection is fatal. All large, market-size bream are those fortunate individuals which avoided infection in their early life.

Once they grow up and change the planktonic copepods in their diet to benthic macrofauna, their chances of becoming infected with Ligula spp. decrease. Large plerocercoids can occur in the muscles of fishes (Je ewski and Karbowiak 2002).

In the US, ligulosis is a sporadic problem in fathead minnows, but given the small size of the host and the large size of the parasite, outbreaks can be quite severe. Another interesting tapeworm transmitted by planktonic copepods is Triaenophorus nodulosus (or T. crassus). Its scolex is armed with 4 characteristic anchors. The final hosts are predacious fishes such as pike.

The 1st intermediate hosts are copepods representing Cyclops, Eucyclops, Mesocyclops, Paracyclops, Acanthocyclops, Orthocyclops, Diaptomus, and Eudiaptomus. In the intestine of the final host, the adult tapeworms are no longer than 30 cm and are not pathogenic.

READ ENTIRE INFORMED FARMERS ARTICLE HERE

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Video nasty from Loch Duart - The Toxic Salmon Company!

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 All Ireland's 166 TD's Contacted by Campaigners October 23, 2012 IRELAND - All 166 of Ireland’s Teachta Dála, members of the lower chamber of Parliament, (TD's) have been contacted by Save Bantry Bay, a voluntary group campaigning to prevent the expansion of Marine Harvest’s salmon farms in the Bay. While Save Bantry Bay is a local group, they claim preventing the expansion of salmon farming in Bantry Bay is a national issue. Why? With a history of European Court rulings against Ireland when awarding salmon farm licenses, fish farming is relevant to TDs wherever they’re based. If Ireland wishes to stay out of the European Courts it is vital European legislation is adhered to.

Sadly, in the case of the proposed Marine Harvest salmon farm in Bantry Bay this has not been the case, said the Save Bantry Bay group. The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIS) completed by Marine Harvest as part of the licence application has failed to meet standards set by the EU EIA Directive.

It has for example: 1. failed to acknowledge the Dromogowlane River, only 500m away and home to protected species that will be affected 2. failed to consult a single living resident in the parish (only one was written to and he died 10 years ago) 3. deemed the majority of houses and residents in the nearby townland not to exist 4. failed to consider alternative technologies such as the non-polluting closed containment systems 5. failed to consider alternative sites 6. failed to assess the ability of the immediate area to flush waste (only last on month the Aquaculture Licences Appeals Board overturned Simon Coveney’s decision to grant a mussel farm licence in nearby Dunmanus Bay due to ‘poor flushing rate’ and large amounts of waste).

On top of this, the Save Bantry bay group has said that resident’s concerns related to a failure to adhere to the principles of the Bantry Bay Charter, further loss of fishing grounds, increased pollution, negative impact shellfish industry, the negative impact on six local salmon rivers, and the negative impact on tourism.

Instead of providing two new full time jobs, as developers claim, it seems this development may well result in a net loss of jobs in the region. It is for all these reasons – relevant both nationally and locally - that Save Bantry Bay are appealing to the all the countries TDs to get their voices heard.

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Atlantic Salmon Trust Highlight Three Key Salmon Survival Issues October 24, 2012

Melfort Campbell and Tony Andrews, the Atlantic Salmon Trust's Chairman and CEO, recently visited New Brunswick, discussing alternatives to the destructive and unsustainable open cage method of salmon farming currently used in Scotland and Canada. Details will be released soon of the outcome of their discussions.

In the meantime we can report on a conversation Tony had with Canadian local anglers and fishery owners. He was asked about the Atlantic Salmon Trust's three most important issues to ensure the survival of the Atlantic salmon. Read on to see what he said.

“I think everyone involved in salmon management recognises the importance of each river producing the maximum possible number of naturally generated smolts. Rivers as productive smolt factories are everyone’s top priority and should remain so. In the last few years our management of the freshwater environment has improved by leaps and bounds. While I wouldn’t want to crow about it, I think we are well on the way to doing the best we can to ensure our rivers are producing optimum numbers of smolts. We mustn’t be complacent, especially with the big changes in fresh water quality and availability, temperature and habitats resulting from climate change. But I think all fishery managers understand that there are problems, and that they have to stay on the case – a relentless round of measuring, recording, and taking practical steps to deal with the problems.”

Tony explained that for AST the main issue is the extraordinarily high mortality rate of salmon at sea.

“Some people say to me ‘but there’s nothing you can do about the loss of salmon at sea, so why waste precious resources chasing a problem you will never resolve?’ And I reply that there are three priorities for AST as it homes in on areas of study and action where results can be achieved.

READ ENTIRE FISH AND FLY ARTICLE HERE

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Fish Farms – Get Out of Scotland November 2012 Follow Don Staniford and other Wild Salmon Warriors on their recent “Get Out of Scotland Tour”

Nancy Walsh: “Did I hear 100,000 tons of diseased salmon off to incineration? That means that around 200,000 to 500,000 tons of prey fish were diverted from the food supply for other species, including humans. I don't know how many tons of antibiotic and other chemicals were needed, but think of all the red dye needed to give that pink colour. Wonder what the tonnage of waste is at the ocean floor. How much will it cost (us) to clean that up?”

Lamlash Bay, Isle of Arran

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Flesh-eating lice spread by fish farms kill 39 per cent of wild salmon November 6, 2012

Campaigners have claimed that farmed salmon is ravaged with disease.

SCOTTISH fish farms are spreading a deadly parasite that now kills more than a third of wild salmon in the north-east Atlantic, experts warned today.

• Farmed salmon in Scotland are ravaged with disease, say anti-aquaculture campaigners • FoI request reveals amoebic gill disease, proliferative gill inflammation and Chlamydia are ‘rife’ among stocks

READ ENTIRE SCOTSMAN ARTICLE HERE

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Underneath Scotland’s open pen salmon feedlots - Video Wild Salmon of Scotland Need Protecting - Video Salmon Farming Kills with Chemicals - Video

A salmon farm in the Shetland Isles, Scotland. Salmon farming is a large part of Scotland's fishing industry

Report from Scotland’s Environmental Protection Agency

Dead Atlantic salmon decomposing at bottom of salmon pen

Dead ocean floor under salmon pen

Healthy ocean floor away from salmon pens

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Scottish Sea Farms staff walk out over sickness October 24, 2012 AN INVESTIGATION is continuing into the cause of a sickness which saw staff in the processing plant of a west coast of Scotland fish farm walk out over fears for their health.

Staff at Scottish Sea Farms site in Connel, left their posts on October 11 after feeling ill and coughing and vomiting.

One Scottish Sea Farms employee, who did not wish to be named, said the sickness had been ongoing for ‘two to three’ weeks.

The staff member has worked at the South Shian site, which employs 37 people in the processing area, for several years and has never experienced issues like this before.

Don Staniford: “In March 2012, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) warned Scottish Sea Farms following inspection failures at the same processing plant in South Shian, Connel."Your firm’s aquaculture farmed salmon appear to be adulterated, in that the products have been prepared, packed, or held under conditions whereby they may have been rendered injurious to health," warned the FDA's Division of Enforcement.”

He said: ‘Everyone in the processing area is coughing, vomiting and feeling like their chest is tight.

Over 20 people are feeling ill on a daily basis.

‘There is usually at least seven people off per day. We tried to talk to bosses but were told it is because people smoke but some of the people getting ill don’t smoke.’

The employee, who was so worried about the situation he couldn’t sleep, feared it could be chemicals making staff ill.

He added: ‘We thought we should talk to management, we don’t want to be sick, we are all worried – we all have families and children.

‘We asked management again, they said people who have a problem can go home, people who don’t have a problem can stay.

‘Most of us left, I’d say about 98 per cent of staff left and went straight to the doctor who said it could be a public health problem.’

Argyll and Bute Council said they had been told of cases of a flu-like illness involving respiratory symptoms at the site by NHS Highland’s consultant in public health medicine.

A spokeswoman said: ‘Investigations carried out by the company, including visits from the council’s environmental health team and NHS Highland, have not identified a source.

‘Environmental health officers have examined company procedures and have not found any cause for concern.

READ ENTIRE FISH UPDATE ARTICLE HERE

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Scotland’s open pen salmon feedlot industry kills thousands of seals (video)

John Robins of Save Our Seals Fund explains why buying Scottish farmed salmon is effectively buying bullets to kill seals. Hundreds of seals are slaughtered each year by salmon farmers who are licensed to kill.

Consumers should boycott farmed salmon.

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Jefferson County commissioners hear from experts on salmon net pens October 11, 2012 Jefferson County commissioners have begun discussing what happens when native fish become infected with lethal viruses and parasites as a result of net pens, even though no pens are currently planned for the county. During an Oct. 8 workshop at the Cotton Building in Port Townsend, the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) asked state experts in fish health and husbandry how net pens might impact native salmon if introduced into county waters.

The county is working on including a conditional-use permit for net pens in an update to the Shoreline Master Program. The state Department of Ecology is requiring that some provision for aquatic net pens be included.

Dewain Emrich: “A recent example of the criminal practices by open net fish farm advocates in Washington State when using sloppy "science" to convince politicians that open net fish farms are safe (these comments are similar to the comments made by convicted earthquake scientists in Italy in that they are "banal and self-contradictory" statements, many of which were "at best scientifically useless" or, worse, "misleading.")”

Jefferson County commissioners have begun discussing what happens when native fish become infected with lethal viruses and parasites as a result of net pens, even though no pens are currently planned for the county. During an Oct. 8 workshop at the Cotton Building in Port Townsend, the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) asked state experts in fish health and husbandry how net pens might impact native salmon if introduced into county waters.

The county is working on including a conditional-use permit for net pens in an update to the Shoreline Master Program. The state Department of Ecology is requiring that some provision for aquatic net pens be included.

The experts were asked if raising Atlantic salmon in net pens increased the risk of viruses making their way into the environment.

John Kerwin, with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), said a virus known as infectious salmon anemia (ISA) was detected in Canadian waters in October 2011. He said Washington state labs have samples, but haven't fine-tuned the testing process.

Hugh Mitchell, a fish veterinarian, said wild populations are actually the ones that pass parasites and viruses onto the more vulnerable farm populations, not the other way around.

"The thing about viruses, bacteria and parasites, they are in the wild populations of fish. Usually, there's a nice balance in place ... what happens with farm populations is, a lot of time immune systems are naive.

They can be like canaries; they pick up everything.

"Every disease comes from the wild," Mitchell added. He said he has numerous private and public clients, and serves as the contract veterinarian for the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission.

"I do not believe ISA is here," Mitchell said.

Kerwin cautioned that it's difficult to predict viruses among fish populations because the diseases mutate year to year.

"We get a flu shot every year because that virus mutates," he said.

READ ENTIRE AQUATIC GEALTH ARTICLE HERE

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Fish farms, beach access controversies continue November 6, 2012

Robert Hrycenko, a Greenbank resident, speaks against farming Atlantic salmon during a hearing in Coupeville on Monday concerning Island County’s shoreline master program update. Public beach access and aquaculture were two issues discussed at the meeting.

The first of two scheduled public hearings concerning a long-range shoreline planning document update for Island County was held in Coupeville this week but how public beach access will be addressed remains unclear.

It’s been one of the most talked about issues since drafting of the shoreline master program update began in 2010 — a process required by the state every eight years — and it continued to be a point of disagreement for the public during Monday’s meeting with the Island County commissioners.

On one side, proponents lobbied for stiffer rules that would require future developments to incorporate public beach accesses, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant.

“We need those areas for public access. Period,” said Steve Erickson, legal coordinator for the Whidbey Environmental Action Network. “I don’t think it should be discretionary at all.”

Property rights advocates such as Jeff Lauderdale, a Coupeville resident and Island County commissioner candidate, maintained that regulations which force people to hand over private land to the public is nothing short of a government “taking.”

READ ENTIRE SOUTH WHIDBEY RECORD ARTICLE HERE

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Salmon issues go north November 6, 2012 A thorough investigation in British Columbia has failed to identify any single “smoking gun” that explains the collapse and erratic patterns of sockeye salmon returns to the Frasier River, but suspicion clearly centers on coastal salmon farms playing some role.

U.S. agencies and fisheries managers have taken a more conservative approach toward allowing fish farms, in which huge numbers of Atlantic salmon are corralled together in net pens in open but protected waters in coastal inlets, estuaries and channels. But dozens of such farm sites line the sockeye migration route through the Discovery Islands leading to the Frasier.

American Gold Seafood's ocean pens in Port Angeles

But for several reasons, problems on the Frasier are of more than passing interest here. For one thing, farmed Atlantic salmon raised in B.C. are sold in the U.S. and may take on even more importance in grocery stores as Oregon and Washington foolishly move toward destroying much of what is left of our domestic salmon fishing fleet.

For another, the flaws and dangers associated with farm net pens may also apply to some extent to the salmon-rearing net pens preferred by Oregon Gov. Kitzhaber as a source of supply for whatever remains of the Columbia gillnet fishery. Columbia net pens differ from those in B.C. in significant ways — most notably, they don’t keep salmon penned up all the way to adulthood — but some of the same issues of crowding, waste concentration and exposure to disease vectors are possible in net pens of any type.

Beyond net-pen issues, problems on the Frasier highlight just what a challenge it will be to keep salmon runs of any kind healthy and dependable in this changing and ever-more-crowded world. If any north Pacific river should continue to succeed as a home to salmon, it ought to be the Frasier. Its main flow has never been dammed and it is less industrialized by far than the Columbia. It used to produce enormous salmon runs regular as clockwork.

But runs have instead disappointed in most recent years. The investigation was sparked in 2009 by a return of 1.4 million, when 10 million were expected. In 2010, 35 million came back, in 2011 there were 4.5 million and in 2012 there were just 2.3 million. This has been disastrous for commercial fishing, and signals deep problems for sockeye — perhaps at several points in their lifecycle.

If this sounds familiar, it should. Led by the Columbia, U.S. rivers and salmon runs have had similar or worse results, though there have been signs of modest recovery in recent years.

Piecemeal efforts by “Lone Ranger” governors, states or even individual nations are unlikely to get to the real systemic issues confronting salmon. We need to all work together.

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Impacts of Chilean Salmon Farms On Coastal Ecosystem Discovered Accidentally ScienceDaily (June 23, 2010) — Until recently, the disastrous scale of the threat posed by salmon farms to the fauna and National Park of the Aysén region of southern Chile was entirely unknown.

The unexpected discovery was made by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization and the University of Göttingen, who were studying acoustic communication among the native whales in the region. The researchers not only discovered that the salmon industry is rapidly spreading to the hitherto largely unspoiled south of the region; they also documented the previously unknown threat to the region's native sea lions.

International environmental organisations have expressed their surprise at this accidental discovery.

The Göttingen researchers report their observations in the "Correspondence" section of the current edition of the journal Nature.

With an export volume in excess of two billion US dollars, Chile is one of the world's main producers of farmed salmon. The aquaculture, which is carried out on a massive scale, is mainly concentrated on the ramified fjords of the province of Aysén in Patagonia. While parts of the province are classified as a National Park, the protection does not extend to the surrounding sea. The salmon farms, which are entirely legal from the government's perspective, have, in part, devastating impacts on the region's entire ecosystem -- not least because Atlantic salmon is an alien species in Chile, introduces diseases and therefore poses an additional risk to already threatened native species. Moreover, the use of medication on the farms and the waste they produce also burden the ecosystem.

The ISA (infectious salmon anaemia) virus, which causes anaemia and death in salmon, has forced many aquaculture operators to close down their farms in northern Chile in recent years. "The farms, however, are now spreading further south," reports Heike Vester from the Norwegian research institute Ocean Sounds, who is currently completing her doctorate at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization and the University of Göttingen. Because the region's ramified fjords are difficult to access from land, the full scale of the impact of this development only became clear to her when she was carrying out research from the water. Vester's photographs document, among other things, the threat posed to the South American sea lion. The animals get caught in the protective nets surrounding the salmon farms when young and, even if they manage to free themselves, parts of the nets often remain stuck to the sea lions and suffocate them as they grow (Image 1).

The salmon farms also incur other negative effects on the ecosystem: large volumes of excess feed for the farmed fish and their faeces can be seen floating in the water, and the crowded conditions under which the salmon are kept necessitate the use of medication and pesticides. Measurements taken by other participants in the Göttingen researcher's expedition prove that no forms of life now exist in direct proximity to the farms. "The air there smells like bleach," says Vester.

READ ENTIRE SCIENCE ARTICLE HERE

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 United Nations summary - impact of salmon farms in different regions

Claudette Bethune: “A comprehensive summary from the United Nations outlines the current state of the oceans and the impact of farmed salmon in different regions, including East and West Canada.

The public PDF document is searchable. For example: "Other environmental concerns arise out of the expansion of mariculture in the Northeast Atlantic region.

Extensive farming exists for Atlantic salmon, which may have environmental impacts through local eutrophication.

Potential negative impacts on wild populations from salmon farming can occur through interbreeding and introduction of disease." http://www.fao.org/docrep/015/i2389e/i2389e01.pdf”

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Follow the money – Top 20 shareholders of Cermaq stock

Don Staniford: “Follow the money: here are the shareholders in the second largest salmon farming company in the world (Cermaq): the Norwegian Government and banks including Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, State Street Bank and Bank of New York”: http://www.cermaq.com/portal/wps/wcm/connect/cermaqen/home/investor/Sh are/Shareholders

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Shareholder NÆRINGS- OG HANDELSDEPARTEMENTET LANSDOWNE DEVELOPED MARKETS MASTER FOLKETRYGDFONDET JPMORGAN CHASE BANK PARETO AKSJE NORGE MONTAGUE PLACE CUSTODY SERVICES STATE STREET BANK & TRUST CO. SKAGEN VEKST PICTET & CIE BANQUIERS STATE STREET BANK AND TRUST CO LANSDOWNE UK STRATEGIC INV MASTER STATE STREET BANK AND TRUST CO. THE NORTHERN TRUST CO. DNB NOR MARKETS, AKSJEHAND/ANALYSE PARETO AKTIV BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON VERDIPAPIRFONDET DNB NORGE (IV) GOLDMAN SACHS & CO - EQUITY FONDSFINANS SPAR STATOIL PENSJON

Shares 40 271 600 5 600 580 5 287 412 3 016 445 1 549 766 1 353 847 1 256 391 1 084 045 1 078 783 1 033 316 823 257 812 324 801 889 772 020 697 163 636 742 564 758 552 934 520 000 491 962

% 43.54 6.05 5.72 3.26 1.68 1.46 1.36 1.17 1.17 1.12 0.89 0.88 0.87 0.83 0.75 0.69 0.61 0.60 0.56 0.53

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Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

Seafood consumption: Food safety and health ď ś Enjoy seasonal wild Pacific salmon dinners at these fine restaurants:

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Wild Salmon Supporters – View entire list here

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

ď ś Alexandra Morton Receives Two Academic Honours, Forces Farmed Salmon Recall October 24, 2012

Listen to Dr. Morton’s October 19 presentation here

It's been a busy couple of weeks for salmon biologist and anti-fish farm activist Alexandra Morton. In between receiving two prestigious academic honours on opposite sides of the country, she found the time to drop by a few Sobeys grocery stores in Halifax, discover clumps of sea lice on the farmed salmon they were selling and create a national media story that prompted the retailer to yank all the whole farmed salmon from their maritime stores. All in a week's work for the indefatigable defender of wild salmon.

In Halifax, Morton was honoured last week with the invitation to deliver the annual Ransom A. Myers Lecture in Science and Society - named for the late DFO scientist who predicted the collapse of the east coast cod and resigned from the department when his bosses attempted to silence him. Each year the university invites one similarly talented and independent minded scientist to speak to their issue of concern. Morton's presentation on the discovery of several catastrophic viruses in BC's farmed and wild salmon was delivered to a packed house of 400 academics and produced the only standing ovation in the history of the five year program.

Editorial Comment: We at Wild Game Fish Conservation International congratulate Dr. Alexandra Morton and Professor Rick Routledge for receiving this distinguished recognition and thank them for their dedication and commitment to better understanding the impacts of open pen salmon feedlots to wild fish and their ecosystems

Morton and her small team of research assistants made use of their trip to the east coast to meet with biologists, conservation groups and fishermen to learn about the impacts of the open net pen salmon farming industry on their marine environment. She spoke with a number of lobster fishermen, for instance, who have had to abandon their livelihoods due to the crash in their fishery which they connect to the arrival of salmon aquaculture operations. Chemicals used to treat sea lice on the farmed fish are also lethal to shellfish, while fish farm waste covers up the lobsters' vital seafloor habitat.

Morton also popped into a few Sobeys grocery stores and purchased a couple dozen fish to inspect for microscopic diseases. But it was the larger sea lice that immediately caught her attention - several fish were covered with the parasite. Soon after a colleague posted a picture of the lice on Facebook, the media caught wind of the story, prompting the grocery chain to pull all whole farmed salmon from its east coast stores.

READ ENTIRE THE CANADIAN ARTICLE HERE

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Fish Farmers defend Atlantic salmon after recall October 19, 2012

Editorial Comment: We at Wild Game Fish Conservation International and our associates around planet Earth question the points made by the Atlantic Canada Fish Farmers Association in their statement. Their points do not come close to passing the tried and true “straight face” test:  sea lice are not a risk to human health 1. Chemical treatments to control sea lice is known to impact human health 2. Sea lice are potentially harmful to those who are allergic to shellfish

 sea lice are found only on the outside of fish so it does not affect the quality of meat 1. The quality of salmon flesh is in fact reduced by sea lice. The more lice there are and the longer they are on salmon, the poorer quality the meat.

 Our salmon farmers make every effort to ensure any sea lice are removed from fish during processing 1. Quality control is lacking if two volunteers found dozens of sea lice on each of several pen-raised Atlantic salmon they purchased from local markets.

 dealing with sea lice is a top priority 1. Why is dealing with sea lice a top priority if sea lice have no human health impacts?

2. Why then were dozens of sea lice found on each of several pen-raised Atlantic salmon purchased in local markets?

The Atlantic Canada Fish Farmers Association says sea lice is not a risk to human health after it was found on whole Atlantic salmon at Sobeys.

The grocery chain pulled the fish from shelves Thursday after anti-fish farming activist Alexandra Morton posted a photo of lice on the fish on Facebook.

In response, the Fish Farmers Association issued a release touting the benefits of Atlantic salmon.

It said sea lice are found only on the outside of fish so it does not affect the quality of meat.

"Our salmon farmers make every effort to ensure any sea lice are removed from fish during processing," the release said. "However, sometimes not all can be detected."

The Association added that dealing with sea lice is a top priority.

A spokesperson from Sobeys estimated that 84 fish were taken out of its Maritime stores Thursday.

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 In her own words - Is Truth a Tactic? – Dr. Alexandra Morton October 22, 2012 This blog is dedicated to Ransom Myers, RAM 1952- 2007 On October 15, 2012, Anissa Reed and I purchased an Atlantic salmon from Sobeys supermarket in Truro, Nova Scotia, we had no idea what series of events would follow.

When we examine salmon we always count the number of sea lice, but there were so many on this fish that we began pulling them off and onto a plate to get an accurate count.

We took a picture. We were in a parking lot, working from a shopping cart and a previously purchased salmon from Superstore was on the lower level of the cart awaiting processing. That is why, as some have noted, there is an Atlantic Superstore shopping bag visible in some of the images.

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

Most of the lice were hiding under the gill flap of the Sobeys salmon, not a usual place for lice.

Many of the 28 parasitic crustaceans were gravid females full of eggs. When Anissa posted an image of the paper plate covered in lice on Facebook people began to “share” the image widely. Within 24 hours there were 270 shares, we don’t know how many “shares,” there were from other people’s Facebook pages. We have never seen anything like that before. The image had “gone viral.” The next day, we bought another farmed Atlantic from Sobeys - it had 33 sea lice.

A few days later, on October 18, when tried to purchase a farm salmon from Sobeys in St. John, New Brunswick, they told us whole Atlantic salmon had been recalled due to sea lice, and that 84 stores had pulled the product from their shelves. We went to a second Sobeys and heard the same thing, so we went to Lord's Lobster in the Saint John City Market and bought several more Atlantic salmon. The three fish had 24, 29, and approximately 100 sea lice.

READ DR. MORTON’S ENTIRE BLOG ENTRY HERE

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Sobeys pulls whole Atlantic salmon - Response from Atlantic Canada Fish Farmers Association October 19, 2012 The decision by Sobeys to pull whole farmed Atlantic salmon from its stores yesterday in the Maritimes has prompted questions about sea lice, if they have any impact on the quality of the product and how our salmon farmers manage sea lice.

Below are important facts:  Sea lice are naturally occurring in the marine environment and found on a variety of both wild and farmed fish stocks around the world. Their populations vary from area to area.  Sea lice do not pose a human health risk.  Farmed salmon enter the net pen lice free; however, because lice travel on wild fish, ocean currents and even in zooplankton they can move freely between both wild and farmed fish.  Sea lice are found only on the outside of fish and not in the flesh; therefore, they do not affect the quality of the meat.  Our salmon farmers make every effort to ensure any sea lice are removed from fish during processing; however, sometimes not all can be detected. Sea lice can also be found on wild-caught salmon. Sea lice do not pose a human health risk.

Avoiding sea lice is a top priority of Atlantic salmon farmers. They have developed a variety of management practices to reduce the likelihood of sea lice on their fish.

The fact of the matter is, Atlantic salmon is one of the most nutritious foods you can eat. One of the world’s best sources of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, Atlantic salmon is high in protein, low in saturated fat and loaded with vitamin D and E. Our region produces 30 per cent of Canada’s farmed salmon, which is sold around the world. Our farmers are proud of the industry they have built over the past 30 years and are committed to continuing to produce high quality and nutritious salmon.

Pamela Parker Executive Director Atlantic Canada Fish Farmers Association Ph: 506-755-3526 Email: p.parker@atlanticfishfarmers.com

Sabra Woodworth: “Who are the "farmers"? the owners? or the workers? Why do the workers have to sign agreements NOT TO SPEAK OF CONDITIONS on the farms? = pride of product? Not.”

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

ď ś One

in four seafood packages include illegally substituted products or are intentionally mislabeled

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 “Organic” Label on Fish Doesn’t Mean it’s Wild

Do you know the true origin of the fish you purchase? You might think you do when you see phrases like, “Enjoy our ocean-free fish!” or “No wild contaminants, completely organic!” But these are actually examples of misleading information increasingly popular with wholesalers, grocery stores and restaurants wanting to hide the origin of the fish they sell.

One-third of the fish sold today are raised in tanks and cages. This “aquaculture” is one of the fastestgrowing sectors of animal food production, and like inhumanely raised chickens, farmed fish harm the environment and our health.

Farm-raised salmon eat an unnatural diet of fish oil from limited species, soy beans, canola oil and red dye. This produces flabby, bright pink meat with less omega-3 fats (associated with decreasing inflammation), more omega-6 fats (associated with inflammation) and elevated levels of mercury.

Wild salmon get lots of exercise and enjoy a varied diet including shrimp and krill, which gives salmon its famous pinkish color.

Like any animal kept in close quarters, disease, sewage and parasites are a major problem for the fish and its surroundings. Farm-raised fish receive large doses of antibiotics to keep them alive until adulthood, the same forms used to treat human illnesses. Waste from fish pens generates high levels of mercury, nitrogen and sea lice, all of which threaten neighboring wildlife and the whole ecosystem.

Farmed fish have significantly higher levels of pollutants, including dioxins and PCB’s, which can cause reproductive failure, hormone imbalances and cancer in humans.

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Costco, Safeway & Loblaws: Please stop selling diseased farm salmon Sign the following petition here

Enough is enough – end the insanity TODAY of open pen salmon feedlots!

Informed consumers do not purchase diseased, pen-raised salmon infested with sea lice and/or worms.  Chemicals used to treat sea lice in salmon pens negatively impact marine ecosystems  Deadly salmon diseases spread from salmon feedlots to healthy wild salmon  Pen-raised salmon are responsible for human health impacts including cancer

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Sea lice in salmon poses no health risk: aquaculture expert October 19, 2012 An anti fish farming activist’s campaign that coaxed Sobeys to pull whole Atlantic salmon from its stores in response to concerns over sea lice is an unjustified scare tactic, says an expert in fish health.

Alexandra Morton launched a campaign to get salmon pulled from store shelves.

Morton started buying whole salmon at local grocery stores across the Maritimes and posting images of what she says are salmon infected with sea lice.

CBC reported that when an image was posted to Sobeys Facebook page on Wednesday, the company responded by removing all whole salmon from all 84 of its Maritime stores.

Sobeys spokeswoman Cynthia Thompson says its move was a proactive measure while Sobeys investigates.

Larry Hammell, a professor of aquaculture health management at the Atlantic Veterinary College in Charlottetown, says the action was not necessary.

“There is absolutely no human health concern associated with them (sea lice)…there is no reason scientifically to remove these salmon from the shelves,’’ said Hammell.

He says since food safety is not affected by sea lice Morton’s campaign amounts to nothing more than fear mongering.

“It’s a scare tactic,’’ he said.

Atlantic Veterinary College “I have to admit it is a pretty effective one.’’

ALEXANDRA MORTON: “Dear Dr. Hammell, Your statements above must be misquotes. I have never stated sea lice are a human health issue.

The drugs used to kill the sea lice, however, are a concern to the communities of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Both sea lice and lobster are crustaceans. It is not surprising, therefore, that lobsters appear impacted by the drugs used to kill sea lice.

Lobster fishermen feel strongly that drug treatments in salmon farms sited on their lobster grounds are killing lobster. And that, in turn, has impact on many communities.

I hope to hear from you directly so that we can clear this up. All the best. Alexandra Morton” Editorial Comment: There is little doubt that open pen salmon feedlots must be removed from our oceans to remove their negative impacts from marine life while protecting human health from the many known and unknown chemicals associated with ongoing open pen salmon feedlot industry practices around the world.

To allow this offensive industry to continue is illogical as we as a society spend billions of dollars to restore and protect these very same ecosystems.

Enough is enough!

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

Energy production and wild game fish: Oil, Coal, Hydropower Oil  Welcome to Canada: a new subsidiary of ChinaCorp November 2, 2012

Protesters demonstrate against funding for tar sands extraction in Canada (AFP/Getty)

China is very interested in Canada's vast oil resources. So interested, in fact, that it's not only buying a major Canadian oil company with large holdings in the Alberta tar sands, it's also inked a trade deal that will, in effect, blunt any efforts to restrict massive exploitation of that dirty fuel for decades to come.

If you're a Canadian, you have a lot of reasons to be unhappy about all this. And given the impact that all this will have on the planet's increasingly unstable climate, everyone else has a big stake in this, too. But there's good reason to think this is far from a done deal.

Givin' it all away China's rapid growth is fuelling a massive drive to acquire control of natural resources, especially oil.

With Canada controlling the second-largest known petroleum reserves in the world, China definitely wants a piece of that action. And Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper, a big booster of exploiting Alberta's tar sands, is eager to give it to them. So, the Harper government has signed a trade treaty with China that seems designed to make sure that the Chinese get the oil and Canadian citizens have next to no say about it.

This has taken the shape of the Canada-China Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Act (FIPPA), which basically says that if any Canadian government – federal, provincial or local – passes laws or regulations that decrease the value of Chinese investments, those companies can sue for damages. Not in an actual Canadian court, of course. No, these complaints will be heard in closeddoor hearings before panels of private arbitrators. And if those arbitrators decide the companies have been harmed, they can hand out huge monetary judgments.

Technically, Canadian officials aren't actually prohibited from taking actions to protect their constituents' health, safety or the environment.

READ ENTIRE AVAZZ ARTICLE HERE

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Alberta Tar Sands Illegal Under Treaty 8, First Nations Charge October 20, 2012

Fort Chipewyan is a small indigenous community on the edge of vast Lake Athabasca in Alberta’s remote north, accessible only by plane in summer and by snow road in winter. The town is directly downstream from the Alberta tar sands—Canada’s wildly lucrative, hotly debated, and environmentally catastrophic energy project.

Residents say that tar sands mining is not only dangerous but illegal because it violates the rights laid out in Treaty 8, an agreement signed in 1899 by Queen Victoria and various First Nations. Their legal challenge to the tar sands project could have a powerful impact on the legal role of treaties with First Nations people.

It should come as no surprise that Fort Chip’s relationship to the tar sands industry is a contentious one. Being first in line downstream means that residents are the first to feel the effects of pollution: poisoned water, air, and animals. The deformed fish with bulbous tumors that residents pull from Lake Athabasca are legendary, as are the stories of Fort Chip’s abnormally frequent cases of rare forms of cancer.

READ ENTRE NATION OF CHANGE ARTICLE HERE

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

ď ś Environment Canada Report: Tar Sands Leaching Into Snow, Harming Fish November 14, 2012 Toxic substances found in snow near Alberta tar sands is dangerous to fish eggs, a new report by Environment Canada says.

(Photo: Todd Korol / Reuters) The contaminants, including various metals such as mercury, leave the melting snow and run into lakes in an area scientists say "is four times bigger than we found," University of Alberta biologist Davis Schindler said.

The study "confirms my worst fears," Schindler told CBC News, and lends credence to a 2009 study

by Schindler that found contaminants in snow near tar sands and, later, a fish with a tumor they believed was linked to tar sands contamination. He added that the increase in toxins "seem to parallel the development of the tar sands industry.

Environment Canada was expected to present the results of its study Wednesday at a meeting of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry in Canada.

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

A team led by federal scientist Jane Kirk of Environment Canada found that snow within 50 kilometers of tar sands operations is contaminated with many "priority pollutants" including a methyl mercury, a neurotoxin that "bioaccumulates" in food webs, PostMedia reports.

Another study to be presented Wednesday found that hydrocarbons in lakes near the tar sands have risen by two to 23 times since the beginning of exploration of the tar sands 60 years ago.

The contaminants are collecting on the bottom of lakes up to 100 kilometers away, according to the report, indicating that pollution is spreading further than expected.

The sediments are "“quite distinct in all the lakes,” Derek Muir, a senior Environment Canada scientist, told PostMedia News.

Environment Canada exposed fathead minnows—which Joanne Parrot of Environment Canada described to PostMedia News as "the lab rat of the fish world— to melt water from snow, and "The larval fish didn't do well at all."

That may explain why fish numbers in the Muskeg River, a tributary of Lake Athabasca, have "plummeted" in recent decades, Schindler said, and why deformed fish are now found in a nearby lake.

Schindler continued: I think what could happen is that the few embryos that manage to survive, deformed as they are, struggle down to Lake Athabasca. While the deformed fish may not have a high load of contaminants, the fish look so horrible people won’t eat them. I think that’s fair enough, they wouldn’t sell in Safeway.

Not only fish are affected, but more than 130 species of migratory birds and other habitat.

In October, US and Canadian environmental groups including Earthjustice and Ecojustice submitted a letter to the Canadian environmental Assessment Agency asking for review of Shell Canada's proposed Jackpine Mine Expansion project because it would harm at least 130 migratory bird species.

They also pointed to data from Shell itself that indicated there would be severe impacts on wildlife habitat if tarsands operations were expanded as planned.

The Environment Canada work is part of the Joint Canada-Alberta Implementation Plan for Oilsands (tar sands) Monitoring, PostMedia reports. The federal and Alberta governments have billed it as a “transparent and accountable” system designed to improve understanding of the long-term cumulative effects of tar sands development.

But environmentalists including Chelsea Flook of the Prairies at the Sierra Club don't expect the research to get much attention, because scientists have been told to refer all questions to media liaisons.

Schindler said he would like the expansion delayed at least until the environmental impacts of existing tar sands operations are understood.

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Super Natural or Super Tanker?

August 8, 2012

We should be capitalizing on this being Super Natural British Columbia, not Super Tanker British Columbia.

Northern Resident Killer Whale R12 (male born in 1967) in Caamano Sound – part of the proposed tanker route that would carry bitumen crude along B.C.’s fragile coast. Photo by James Pilkington taken during the time he spent 3 seasons at a remote outpost documenting the biodiversity of the area for the North Coast Cetacean Society. http://www.cetacealab.org/ Last night and this afternoon concerned Northern Vancouver Islanders resolutely, passionately, creatively, eloquently and unequivocally said “NO” to the Enbridge Northern Gateway Project.

Northern Resident Killer Whale R12 (male born in 1967) in Caamano Sound Below, is the text that I used to guide my testimony to the Joint Review Panel but how I wish I could – part of the proposed tanker route that share with you a compilation of highlights of the oral statements provided by my fellow North would carry bitumen crude along B.C.’s Islanders. You can find their full testimony at this link. fragile coast. Photo by James Pilkington taken during the time he spent 3 I have never before felt such respect, gratitude and kinship for a group of people – bonded by the seasons at a remote outpost knowledge of what is at risk, the integrity to speak our truth . . . and by the salt water in our veins. documenting the biodiversity of the area for the North Coast Cetacean Society.

I walked into the hearings with a sense of deep desperation and disempowerment, thinking – why am http://www.cetacealab.org/ See end of I investing such effort when it appears that the government is only clearing the way for a runaway the blog for how you can submit a train? statement to the Joint Review Panel before August 31, 2012.

I left with a glowing sense of hope and a further intensified love for the place I have the extraordinary privilege to call my home.

Last night and this afternoon concerned Northern Vancouver _____________________________________________ Islanders resolutely, passionately, creatively, The notes that guided my testimony to the Joint Review Panel: eloquently and unequivocally My name is Jackie Hildering and I speak from the perspective of a marine who has lived in said “NO” to theeducator Enbridge this area for 13.5 years. I moved here after a 14-year international teaching career choosing B.C.’s Northern Gateway Project.

Coast specifically because of its extraordinary marine biodiversity and what I perceived to be the potential to leverage this biodiversity to motivate people to undertake positive Below, is the text environmental that I used tochange.

guide my testimony to the Joint Review Panel but how I wish I shareserving with you a 10,000 guests a I have worked as a whale watching naturalist forcould a company some of highlights of the year of which a conservative estimate is that 65%compilation come from outside British Columbia; For 8 years, I was DFO’s Education Coordinator for thisstatements area; oral provided by my I am a humpback whale researcher; and fellow North Islanders. You can I am a very avid cold-water scuba diver using my find underwater experiences andat photographs, in their full testimony this addition to the marine mammal engagers, in my education and conservation efforts. link.

In my years here: • • • • •

I am the 2010 recipient of the Vancouver Aquarium’s Murray A. Newman Award for Excellence in Aquatic Conservation and have received written commendation for my work from DFO’s I have never before felt such Director of Oceans, Habitat and Enhancement.

respect, gratitude and kinship for a group of people – bonded by the knowledge of what is at

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

I share this depth of personal background with you to fortify my testimony: • • •

On how extraordinary the marine biodiversity of this area is; The value of the resources being put at risk; and That this risk is simply too great to allow the marine transport of bitumen in the proposed area.

It is an inescapable conclusion that the transport of bitumen crude along our Coast constitutes a massive gamble where human ingenuity is being pitted against the resilience of Nature and our dependence on it.

I can testify that this marine ecosystem is extraordinary on a global scale. I have photographed invertebrates that were previously unknown to science, and have participated in documenting rare organisms such a corals and glass sponge reefs at depths much shallower than what had been previously documented.

I acknowledge however, that when there is such absence of knowledge, it is more difficult to make the case for how the life hidden below the surface may be impacted by this Project.

Therefore, I will use the marine mammals and what we do know about them as ambassadors for the fragility of the other life below the surface.

The marine mammals that have been acknowledged to be at risk in the area are the: Species of Special Concern – the harbour porpoise, gray whale, Steller sea lion, and sea otter; Species recognized as being Threatened – humpback whale, fin whale, northern resident, and transient killer whales; and The Endangered southern resident killer whales and potentially, blue whales and sei whales.

In fact, bitumen transport would take place through what has been acknowledged by government to be critical habitat for humpback whales, and what is candidate critical habitat for northern resident killer whales and fin whales.

The marine mammals, to varying degrees, have survived culling and whaling but continue to experience the treats of reduced prey availability, bioaccumulation of toxins, ocean acidification and further impacts of climate change, noise, vessel strike, entanglement, and more.

The anthropogenic impacts on these species’ survival would indisputably be amplified further by this Project due to chronic noise and increased risk of ship strike.

As a humpback researcher, I can attest to how oblivious this species can be to boats. I have watched them surface directly in front of motorized vessels after previously having been 400 plus meters away. When one considers the size of the tankers, how narrow the inlets are, the difficulty in adjusting the course of these large vessels, the density of humpback whales, and the potential weather conditions – vessel strike of humpbacks is a very real risk and one that cannot be mitigated by the presence of marine mammal observers. The humpbacks are going to be there. Then what? _____________________________________________

READ ENTIRE MARINE DETECTIVE ARTICLE HERE

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Defend our coast – Eddie Gardner (Video) October 22, 2012

The Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred in Prince William Sound, Alaska, on March 24, 1989, when Exxon Valdez, an oil tanker bound for Long Beach, California struck Prince William Sound's Bligh Reef and spilled 260,000 to 750,000 barrels (41,000 to 119,000 m3) of crude oil.

The Prince William Sound region is a habitat for salmon, sea otters, seals and seabirds. The oil, originally extracted at the Prudhoe Bay oil field, eventually covered 1,300 miles (2,100 km) of coastline,[5] and 11,000 square miles (28,000 km2) of ocean.

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Thousands gather in Victoria to protest oil pipeline October 22, 2012 About 1,500 people have gathered in Victoria at what is expected to be a raucous protest against the Northern Gateway pipeline project.

Reporting from the B.C. legislature on Monday afternoon, CTV British Columbia's Stephen Andrew said more people were arriving by the minute, with a total of 2,500 to 3,000 people expected to attend.

As a result, police are on high alert and the legislature was under lockdown due to the potential threat.

"I talked to one of the organizers about half an hour ago and certainly they are going to participate in some kind of civil disobedience to provoke police, though they won't say what that is," Andrew said.

"There is a heavy police presence here, they've locked down the legislature,” he added. “Even our passes that normally allow us to get in don't work today and I can tell you I've seen several undercover police officers on the grounds mingling with protesters."

The protest was organized by Defend Our Coast, a group fighting against the contentious pipeline that would provide a more direct line between Alberta's oilsands and the Pacific Coast, where it can be shipped to markets in Asia.

Roughly 300 people had attended a day-long training session Sunday in Victoria, where they were instructed on the dos and don'ts of civil disobedience, including which actions would be likely to result in arrest and what to do once in police custody.

While short on details about what protestors planned to do, it was suggested that Monday's protest would be similar to one held in Ottawa last year, where about 100 people were arrested after approaching the barricade set up by a police line.

B.C. Premier Kristy Clark has taken a stance against the Northern Gateway pipeline, saying B.C. is taking the majority of the environmental risk while receiving only a small percentage of the profits. As a result, Andrew said the protests are more aimed at raising awareness of the anti-pipeline campaign, rather than changing the government's mind.

Andrew said that he spoke with B.C. Environment Minister Terry Lake earlier Monday in Victoria.

"They set down five criteria they need the pipeline to meet and unless they're met, B.C. is not going to support it, so really it seems this protest is going to be for the protesters, maybe not for the government.”

On Sunday night, protesters shone lights on the B.C. legislature showing messages including "Respect Indigenous Rights," "No Pipeline," and "No Tankers."

When guards asked that the light be taken down, organizers complied without problem.

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Big Ideas: Jeff Rubin and Andrew Nikiforuk on the Future of Oil - Video

Alberta’s Tar Sands – Negatively impacting world’s respect for Canada

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

ď ś Battle lines drawn on Canadian tar sands coming to the EU November 9, 2012

Environmental concerns about Canadian tar sands and EU discussions on its Fuel Quality Directive mean there is a fight ahead for the fossil fuel industry – writes campaigner The Canadian tar sands industry has been criticised for its widespread deforestation, high levels of greenhouse gas emissions, use of huge amounts of water and natural gas, and the resultant toxic pollution that has disproportionate impacts on local indigenous communities. The European Union Fuel Quality Directive, legislation that will cut emissions from transport fuels by 6 per cent before 2020, could discourage tar sands imports to the EU. To be effective, the legislation must specifically label fuel from tar sands as highly polluting, but this point has been the subject of intense lobbying by the fossil fuels industry and Canadian government.

As a result - the document currently hangs in limbo, awaiting a member state vote in 2013.

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International The county of Pembrokeshire in west Wales has a long history of accommodating the fossil fuel industry. For many years, a refinery was owned by Chevron and then a year ago was purchased by Valero, a United States company that refines tar sands oil and has alluded to plans to use Pembroke as a gateway for importing oil originating from the tar sands.

Within the last 12 months, the local branch of Friends of the Earth - FoE Cymru - stimulated by the work and support of the United Kingdom Tar Sands Network has mobilised volunteers to gather information about Alberta tar sands extraction, processing, export and progress on the FQD; in order to promote an awareness-raising campaign locally.

This involved talking to Valero staff at the local refinery and with our local MEP, Jill Evans, and contacting the Department of Transport for briefing material. Our growing realisation is that the European Fuel Quality Directive is a key battleground in the attempt to avoid tar sands coming into the EU and the Pembroke refinery in particular.

Our work resulted in a UK Tar Sands Network and Corporate Watch report being launched on October 30, in Narberth. It was called Tar Sands Coming to Town. This launch event was managed

by Pembrokeshire FoE with the support of the local network for environmental groups and attended by many environmental campaigners, county councillors and experts. While Valero were invited to attend, they declined, but their comments on the report – which did not deny the claim that they could bring increasing amounts of tar sands-derived fuel to the UK - were made available and discussed.

The meeting recognised the immense lobbying power of Valero and the Canadian Government and of the ability of the UK government to delay and dilute the FQD in order to ensure that oil originating from the tar sands might be able to supply the European market for diesel. While the EU may be receptive to direct lobbying and governments are expert in delay and prevarication, it is cause for hope that the European Parliament and the European Commission - through Connie Hedegaard, the Commissioner for Climate Change - have consistently insisted that tar sands must be specifically recognised as highly polluting in the FQD. The battle lines are drawn and it is for European citizens to lobby their MEPs in order to enable them to ensure that European policy reflects a public opinion, which is morally outraged by the extraction and export of this dirty, high-carbon emissions fuel. In this regard, Pembrokeshire and Wales is in a unique position - which is hugely encouraging for our campaign. The devolved administration for Wales has been committed to sustainable development since 1999, when it was written into its constitution. More recently, the sustainable development scheme for Wales 'One Wales One Planet' has a commitment to the nation living within its environmental limits. In other words, a far lower ecological footprint.

Now, in 2012, the principles of sustainable development are about to be embedded in a Sustainable Development Bill which, once passed into legislation in 2013, will place a duty on all organisations delivering public services in Wales to adopt sustainable development as it 'central organising principle'. This fundamental principle defines a new development path for the nation and is consistent with our campaign objectives and the view of the European commissioner.

The imports of tar sands, which will prop up one of the most polluting industries abroad, are clearly contrary to sustainable development principles and to the principled position being adopted by the Welsh Government. Therefore, we will take steps to lobby not just our MEPs but also our MPs, our assembly members and our county councillors; to encourage them to make it clear to the British government that Wales is united in favour of the FQD - which the European Commission is advocating.

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 ‘Unprecedented’ top Fisheries job puts focus on Northern Gateway November 9, 2012 Leaked email reveals senior liaison position for pipeline megaproject across B.C.

OTTAWA — Enbridge Inc.’s proposed Northern Gateway pipeline project is getting special attention from the federal Fisheries department, according to an internal email obtained by The Vancouver Sun. In what critics call an unprecedented step, the department has listed a “Northern Gateway Liaison” at a top level of its organizational chart, under a reorganization prompted by the 2012 budget’s sweeping Fisheries Act amendments.

The position will report directly to the executive director of the National Ecosystems Management Branch at the department’s headquarters.

“This suggests an unprecedented level of access and engagement for a specific project,” said Green party leader Elizabeth May, who in the 1980s was a senior adviser to a federal environment minister.

“This is the reality of a government that has told the bureaucracy, ‘be prepared to make sure this project goes through.’”

B.C. NDP MP Fin Donnelly, his party’s deputy fisheries critic, said he’s never heard of a company getting such special treatment. “This clearly exposes the Harper Conservative oil pipeline agenda.

They are putting the oil industry ahead of fishing, tourism and all other industries.”

But the press secretary for acting Fisheries Minister Gail Shea said the organizational chart included in the email, sent in late October to employees, and signed by deputy minister Claire Dansereau, “mischaracterized” the position.

The Northern Gateway liaison won’t deal exclusively with the Enbridge project, said Erin Filliter. “In fact, it will involve liaison on several other complex issues,” she said in an email.

Enbridge spokesman Todd Nogier said the company is unaware of a special liaison position for its proposed $6.5-billion project, designed to carry oilsands bitumen from Alberta to the port of Kitimat for tanker shipment to Asia.

The department reorganization goes into effect on Jan, 2, according to the email, leaked to The Sun. The reorganization coincides with big cuts the department’s team of fisheries biologists and support staff, which is responsible for analyzing potential threats to fish and their habitat.

The B.C. branch of the Fisheries Protection Program will lose a third of its staff, dropping to 60 people, and operations will be mostly consolidated in Vancouver, Nanaimo, Kamloops.

That means the closure of several offices, including those in Prince George, Williams Lake and Smithers that are close to controversial projects, including Northern Gateway and the New Prosperity gold and copper mine.

READ ENTIRE VANCOUVER SUN ARTICLE HERE

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Earthquake zones & Tar Sands pipelines – a very dangerous combination October 27, 2012

A Accccoorrddiinngg ttoo tthhee C Caannaaddiiaann P Prreessss,, tthhee ccoom mppaannyy ((E Ennbbrriiddggee)) ccoonncceeddeedd tthhaatt tthheerree w wiillll aallw waayyss bbee ssoom mee rriisskk tthhaatt aa nnaattuurraall ddiissaasstteerr aalloonngg aa ppiippeelliinnee rroouuttee ccoouulldd ccaauussee aa sseerriioouuss rruuppttuurree..

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International ď ś Supertankers, Earthquakes, and Tsunamis, Oh My: Enbridge Has No Spill-Response Plan for Northern Gateway Pipeline October 30, 2012

Video: These are those waters

Earlier this month British Columbians were surprised to hear that Enbridge, the main proponent of the proposed Northern Gateway Pipeline, was unable to explain how the company's worldclass spill prevention and clean up practices were either world -class or preventative.

At a public hearing in Prince George, Enbridge failed to instill confidence in the audience, admitting the company had no land-based spill prevention plan at all. During cross-examination the company admitted they will not have a spill-response plan until six months before the proposed pipeline would begin operation.

The company was unable to explain how they would respond to land-based spills from a pipeline designed to cover 1,172 km, crossing more than 770 of British Columbia's pristine watercourses.

BC Environment Minister Terry Lake said "the responses that Enbridge/Northern Gateway representatives are giving our legal counsel are long on promises, but short on solid evidence and action to date," adding, "the company needs to show British Columbians that they have practical solutions to the environmental risks and concerns that have been raised. So far, they have not done that."

Enbridge will be cross-examined regarding maritime spill prevention in Prince Rupert on November 22, less than one month after the town was on high emergency alert after the second largest earthquake in Canada's history threatened coastal towns with tsunami warnings.

The 7.7 magnitude quake put the entire Pacific Northwest on tusnami alert, with late -night sirens prompting regional evacuations from Alaska to Hawaii.

The October 27 earthquake is a poignant reminder of the unique maritime challenges posed by British Columbia's untamed west coast, a region of rugged terrain, narrow passages, and rocky shores overlying one of the most temperamental fault lines in the world.

The quake struck off the coast of Haida Gwaii (formerly the Queen Charlotte islands) about 17.5 km underwater.

READ ENTIRE DESMOGBLOG POST HERE

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

ď ś Tar sands oil project bad for our natural resources October 31, 2012

Letter to the Editor

As a student at Colby (College) and a lifelong New Englander, I have a passion for the outdoors. Maine has some of the most unique, beautiful wilderness in New England.

I have developed so much from my time in Maine's wilderness -- as have so many people for generations past and hopefully for generations to come.

It's no surprise then that I'm so upset about the possibility of oil companies pumping tar sands oil through the Sebago Lake watershed.

The pipeline, built in 1950, comes within 1,000 feet of the lake. It passes numerous other lakes, rivers and streams before ending in Casco Bay. Tar sands oil is a sticky, peanut butter-like substance that's diluted with benzene and other chemicals. It's more corrosive to pipelines than conventional oil.

Sebago Lake watershed

These factors, and others, increase the risk of spills.

And because tar sands are heavier and more toxic, these spills are more destructive and harder to clean up.

I urge lawmakers at every level of government in Maine to do everything in their power to stop this reckless project.

Casey Ballin Waterville Lake Sebago

Presumpscot River

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

Coal  Chinese villagers clash with police in protests over environmental issues October 22, 2012 BEIJING — An environmental protest in a small fishing town in southern China has turned into a protracted, violent nine-day clash between villagers and police, with stones thrown, tear gas deployed, and dozens injured and arrested, witnesses said Monday.

The confrontation is just the latest in recent years, as citizens have become increasingly incensed at the environmental toll brought on by three decades of unbridled and often rapacious economic and industrial growth.

In recent months, at least two other large-scale environmental protests have forced local authorities to back down and, at least temporarily, suspend planned projects. But as the country’s ruling Communist Party approaches a sensitive and rare transition of leadership, officials are increasingly worried about such mass demonstrations.

The most recent incident began with a plan by local officials to build a coal-fueled power plant and a harbor for receiving the shipped coal in the village of Yinggehai, on Hainan island at the southern tip of China.

Fearing that such a plant could devastate the environment, residents, who mostly depend on fishing as their livelihood, began to protest the project Oct. 13. On that first day, it was mostly older women demonstrating in front of the local government’s fishery department, according to one witness, who owns a fishing business and like others spoke on the condition of anonymity because of an ongoing crackdown by authorities. Town officials did not return calls seeking comment.

The women decided to confiscate as evidence of local officials’ lies and ill intent a sign for the harbor project that referred to it as a “fishing harbor” rather than a “coal-shipping harbor,” said the business owner.

When armed police tried to snatch back the sign, one of the women was hurt, which touched off widespread anger among the village’s men. That night, men turned out by the thousands and began throwing stones and bricks at police, who, in return, fired tear gas.

For days afterward, the protest followed a pattern of women protesting by day in front of the armed police and men clashing with authorities at night, when it is more difficult to photograph and identify violent protesters.

The Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy, based in Hong Kong, said in a statement that it estimates more than 10,000 villagers and 3,000 armed police have been involved in the clashes, with more than 100 injured and 50 arrested.

The bulk of the arrests were made Sunday after authorities, in an attempt to stop the protests, according to one villager, announced on television a long list of citizens wanted by police. A second most-wanted list has been announced, and it seemed to be working Monday.

“Almost every night, you could hear the glass being broken, the shouting and fighting, said the villager. “But since yesterday, the town has been quiet.”

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Negatives of Mid-Valley coal trains outweigh positives October 19, 2012 Perhaps the biggest challenge in setting public policy is that every decision results in winners and losers.

There is no issue that will benefit all people equally and not cause harm to any one group. The emerging debate over plans to mine coal in Wyoming and Montana and ship that coal through Washington and Oregon for transport to Asia is no exception.

The obvious benefit from this plan is that jobs will be created. Supporters estimate that up to 900 jobs will be created. However, the majority of the jobs would be temporary construction jobs of export terminals in Coos Bay and at four terminals in Washington. Moreover, the estimate includes secondary jobs expected to result from any increased port usage and are not specific to the coal trains.

This would be great for the economies of those areas. But what about the Willamette Valley?

To get the coal to Coos Bay, it would have to pass through Salem in coal trains that will be more than one mile long. On one hand, it is easy to shrug off a few more trains per day passing through the city.

However, the trains will create pollution, slow traffic at the railroad crossings, reduce property values near the tracks and cause potential health problems for those living nearby.

Coal trains are vastly different than the Amtrak and freight trains to which we are accustomed. Coal travels in uncovered bins and, as a result, coal dust blows off the trains, landing in the surrounding areas. The industry acknowledges that even if the best method were used to prevent the release of coal dust, this would only effectively reduce 80 percent of the typical amount of coal dust that is released. As a result, it is estimated that for every mile the train travels, 10 pounds of coal dust will blow off onto the surrounding areas.

In a recent report, the National Wildlife Federation noted, “In an irony lost on no one, the cheapest and fastest route from the western coal fields of the Powder River Basin goes straight through the Pacific Northwest — a region that is probably the most environmentally conscious in the country.”

To really consider the job growth issue, one must consider the importance of the Northwest’s environment to its economic growth. Wine tourism, outdoor recreation industry and agriculture all contribute greatly to our economy. How would the presence of coal trains affect these industries?

As a secondary factor, one should consider how the beauty of the Willamette Valley attracts retirees and others looking to relocate, which then spurs construction and the creation of secondary job markets.

Portland passed a resolution opposing coal trains until the Army Corps of Engineers fully evaluates the impacts. Bellingham, Wash., and about two dozen other cities, counties and ports have raised concerns too. The Salem City Council should consider joining these other municipalities.

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 NW coal port traffic raises worry about huge marine spill October 24, 2012 While other areas worry about train traffic and climate change, San Juan Islanders also fear a shipping disaster that could harm whales, salmon, and beaches For the 15,000 residents and the tens of thousands of visitors, the San Juan Islands are about as good as it gets: clean air and water, recreation, wooded hillsides, and small towns with great theater, artists, and eateries. No wonder San Juan County has the highest per-capita income in the state and is ranked as the healthiest and one of the best educated.

Yet, there is fear in the island air that much of this could be washed away by what ecologists call a “low probability, high risk” event: an oil spill from an accident to just one of the thousands of oil tankers, container ships, and coal ships transiting the two narrow passages that define the Islands, Haro Strait, and Rosario Strait.

“We are the Achilles Heel for coal exports,” says Stephanie Buffum, executive director of Friends of the San Juans, who is helping organize opposition to the proposed Gateway Pacific Terminal at nearby Cherry Point north of Bellingham, a project that would add nearly 1,000 transits each year of coal ships, some of them the largest cargo ships on earth.

San Juan County and The Islands Trust went on record nearly two years ago expressing their concerns. County Council Chair Richard Fralick noted, “The health and well-being of our islanders is inextricably tied to the health of the marine waters around us. Because of the geography and marine conditions here, experts tell us more than 85 percent of the oil from a major spill would probably escape containment. A spill anywhere in the Salish Sea could be devastating.”

San Juan residents are already expressing themselves online as testimony begins for the scoping process that will determine what issues an environmental review of the export terminal will cover.

Buffum and her neighbors fear damage to the marine environment. And just the added mega-ship traffic itself could jeopardize the Islands’ appeal to tourists and retirees, the core of the local economy as well as livability, they say.

READ ENTIRE CROSSCUT ARTICLE HERE

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

Hydropower

 Put a stake in the heart of the Chehalis River dam proposal November 3, 2012 Jim Wilcox, WGFCI Wild Game Fish Conservation International founders, Bruce Treichler and I, have attended the vast majority of Chehalis River Basin Flood Authority meetings since 2009. We have reached out to several communities within the Chehalis River basin to discuss potential impacts of proposed capital projects to “control flooding”.

Our messages have been simple and consistent: •

Projects shall be cost effective

•

Projects shall effectively reduce flood related property damage and loss of life

•

Projects shall have minimal negative impacts on Chehalis River basin fish and wildlife.

We’ve recommended during Flood Authority meetings, via press releases, letters to the editors and letters to our elected representatives that: •

There be an immediate and permanent moratorium on floodplain development within the Chehalis River basin

•

There be an immediate and permanent moratorium on steep slope clear cut logging within the Chehalis River basin

•

That taxpayer-funded studies regarding Chehalis River flood damage reduction be peer reviewed via the University of Washington or Washington State University.

To date, after nearly five years and millions of taxpayer dollars to produce largely unusable reports with incomplete and inaccurate results, there still are no projects identified that will yield basinwide reduction of flood related damage. Part of the reason for this is that much of the time and money has been spent exploring options associated with one or more dams on the Chehalis River.

As my comment (below) that was recently published in the Lewis County Chronicle recommends, it’s time to put a stake in the heart of the proposed Chehalis River dam and focus on effective solutions to reduce Chehalis River basin flood damage.

“What began as a one-year effort to recommend solutions to reduce damage associated with Chehalis River basin flooding, has blossomed into what seems to be a never ending money pit with no effective, basinwide solutions identified, let alone funded.

The current effort by the Chehalis River Basin Flood Authority to provide Governor Gregoire with list of funding requests to be considered in the next budget is almost laughable.

Much of the work associated with the proposed Chehalis River dam has already been bought and paid for. The problem is that the earlier studies were so poorly done that an independent contractor recommended to the Office of Financial Management that their results not be incorporated into a Chehalis River fish study.

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International As we now know, the OFM disregarded the recommendation and approved a $900,000 study that has since been deemed by many to be woefully lacking to the point it has no benefit.

At this point, if you can believe it, this new list of recommendations includes a feasibility study to see if the upper Chehalis River dam is even feasible - again, we're starting from square one.

One benefit from all of this is the longer these talks and studies continue, the less likely this dam will ever be constructed.

With or without the dam, Chehalis River basin residents and business owners will face the real possibility of increased flood related damage each and every year.

I say put a stake in the heart of the Chehalis River dam proposal. Instead focus on modifying landuse practices including floodplain development and steep slope clear cut logging in order to reduce risks to property and lives within the flood way known as the Chehalis River basin.�

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Quinault Indian Nation opposes dams in Chehalis River basin February 25, 2011

The Quinault Indian Nation opposes the construction of two dams proposed for the Chehalis River basin and has requested government-to-government consultation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to discuss potential environmental impacts. “We fear that constructing the dams would add to the sad legacy of problems caused by decades of neglect and damage to ecological processes that are vital to the salmon resources protected by our treaty with the United States,” QIN President Fawn Sharp said today.

“We have a duty to protect the fish, wildlife and other natural resources that have sustained our culture and economy for countless generations,” Sharp said. “We want to work collaboratively with state and local governments, private organizations and others to meet our collective needs to the extent possible. It’s time for everyone to work together to sustain an environment that’s healthy for fish as well as ourselves.”

QIN Chairman Fawn Sharp

Tribal scientists question the dams’ ability to prevent flooding in the river system and are concerned that the structures would impede salmon passage, inundate important spawning habitat and harm natural river functions necessary both for flood control and fish habitat.

“We’ve learned from the lessons of the Columbia and Elwha rivers that dams kill salmon,” said Quinault Fisheries Policy Spokesperson Ed Johnstone. “The dams would cost the public millions of dollars to construct and operate. That’s just the start of the bleeding.

“While the financial costs of building the proposed dams are high, the costs to the natural resources of the Chehalis River basin are even greater,” Johnstone said. “Nearly every aspect of the river’s function and the many species that depend on the river for their survival will be harmed. Once dams are in place, we can expect it to cost millions upon millions of dollars to contend with the aftermath and try to protect the health and productivity of the salmon resource and the ecosystem. It’s simply not a risk we’re willing to accept.”

“It’s time that we stand up for the fish,” Johnstone said. “The evidence is clear that dams can be among the worst environmental insults to fish and wildlife. There are many less expensive and damaging solutions to flood control on the Chehalis, including further restricting development in the river’s floodplain.

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 B.C. urged to block planned run-of-river project in globally significant inland rainforest Alberta’s TransAlta considers run-of-river installation on the upper Incomappleux River November 13, 2012

TransAlta’s proposed run-of-river power project in the upper Incomappleux River near Revelstoke is raising concerns for at-risk bull trout and other species in the biologically diverse watershed. Courtesy Craig Pettitt

An Alberta company is proposing to build a run-of-river power facility in a globally significant interior temperate rainforest near Revelstoke renowned for its grizzly bears, ancient trees and rich biodiversity including rare lichens and at-risk bull trout.

Environmentalists fought logging plans in the upper Incomappleux River several years ago and are now asking the B.C. government to stop TransAlta’s hydro proposal in its tracks and declare the area a park to complement adjoining Glacier National Park to the north.

“The very proposal … in this area suggests that either TransAlta is a corporation with no environmental conscience that cares for nothing but its profits, or else it hasn’t seen the area,” charged Craig Pettitt, a director of the Valhalla Wilderness Society.

A B.C. forests ministry report in 2004 confirmed the upper Incomappleux as a “biodiversity hotspot” and a “rare forest type of global significance.” Since then, there has been no logging, even though the area does not enjoy formal protection.

Calgary-based TransAlta is seeking an investigative licence in an area of about 17,000 hectares in the upper Incomappleux to further its proposal for a 45-megawatt run-of-river hydro power plant.

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International TransAlta describes itself as Canada’s largest publicly traded power generator and marketer of electricity and renewable energy.

TransAlta spokeswoman Stacey Hatcher said the company would be speaking with “stakeholders” soon and would not comment until then.

Only hydro projects exceeding 50 megawatts require a formal assessment by the province’s Environmental Assessment Office. That leaves TransAlta’s application process to the province’s Integrated Land Management Bureau (ILMB).

The company’s application states that the project’s intake would be located about 37 kilometres above Upper Arrow Lake and would divert water some 8.8 kilometres to a powerhouse. Up to 75 kilometres of 69-kilovolt transmission line would connect with the BC Hydro grid.

In a letter to the Land Management Bureau, lichenologist Toby Spribille, with the Institute of Plant Sciences at the University of Graz in Austria, describes the Incomappleux as “one of the last intact virgin forests in inland B.C. below 700 metres (altitude)” The area between the proposed water intake and powerhouse “has yielded no fewer than seven new species of lichens for science,” he added, including one species “still known worldwide only from a single locality in the proposed transmission corridor.”

As a result of scientific studies in the Incomappleux since 2002, the area has achieved a “reputation that reaches far beyond British Columbia,” he said, noting that scientific specimens “are distributed amongst scientists all over the world and are still under study.”

Spribille said that the future of Incomappleux’s rare species “would be directly threatened by development activities” such as the proposed power facility.

The Incomappleux River flows into Upper Arrow Lake about 42 kilometres east of Revelstoke.

Anne Sherrod of the Valhalla Wilderness Society said she is concerned about the effect of the power plant’s infrastructure, including transmission lines, on the biological integrity of the forest and its waters, including cedar trees estimated at 1,800 years old, as well as at-risk bull trout.

Other run-of-river power projects, including those on Ashlu Creek and the lower Mamquam River near Squamish, have resulted in fish kills.

In his submission to the Land Management Bureau, Pettitt states: “The discovery of a truly virgin forest with an unexpected level of biodiversity, and a concentration of rare species, catapulted the Incomappleux into recognition in international scientific circles.”

He criticized TransAlta for even thinking of putting a power facility “within the very heart of a remnant of a rare forest type, antique inland temperate rainforest.”

A total of 10 environmental groups are asking that the Incomappleux be part of a proposed 156,461hectare park in the central Selkirk Mountains. Such a park would connect with Goat Range Provincial Park and Glacier National Park and help to protect threatened mountain caribou herds that rely on lichen for food.

Almost 5,000 people have also signed a petition seeking declaration of the park.

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

ď ś Now open after 100 years: the White Salmon River November 9, 2012 PacifiCorp announced this week it has lifted all access restrictions on the White Salmon River, after having fully completed its removal of Condit Dam and its restoration of the area.

White Salmon river, looking upstream toward former Condit Dam site.

The restoration got under way just more than a year ago, when the utility detonated a hole in the bottom of the dam. The reservoir drained within hours. Since then, the utility has been removing the dam.

The last remnants of the structure are gone, and access to the river is open, with all restrictions lifted, but for a few riverbank locations recently replanted with native vegetation.

Revegetation work is still underway, and the equipment and work zones for the job are being demobilized. But the river is already back. So are the fish.

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

Steelhead jumping at BZ Falls, upstream of breached Condit Condit was the third-largest dam removal ever, after Elwha and Glines Canyon Dams on the Elwha River. The 125-foot high, 471-foot long dam was built 3.3 miles upstream from the Columbia River and lacked fish passage. Taking it down opens 33 miles of new spawning and rearing grounds for steelhead, and 14 miles for salmon in the White Salmon River basin.

In the summer of 2011 fish biologists moved more than 500 salmon upstream of the dam, which spawned in their new habitat that fall. Outmigrating juveniles, and returning adults already have been seen utilizing the new habitat.

Whitewater paddlers will be next: "The restoration of a free-flowing river is an exciting event for the whitewater boating community," said Thomas O'Keefe, Pacific Northwest stewardship director for American Whitewater. "Paddling the restored reach will be a treasured, yet challenging experience."

See what their excitement is about on this video. Thanks Tom O'Keefe, for providing.

Dam removal on the White Salmon was the work of many people, through a settlement agreement undertaken instead of seeking to re-license the dam. The settlement agreement was signed in 1999, and involved a diverse group, from long time volunteers in the local community to the Yakama Indian Nation, recreational and wildlife and conservation and fisheries groups, and state and federal agencies.

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

Mining and wild game fish  Pebble can't dismiss sport fishing: Bristol Bay lodges and guides are important for our lifestyle, economy October 28, 2012 Earlier this month, experts gathered to review Pebble Partnership’s baseline studies in the Pebble Keystone Dialogues. On Oct. 11, experts critiqued Pebble for downplaying the importance of sport fishing and recreation to the Bristol Bay economy Moreover, John Shively, Pebble Limited Partnership’s CEO, brushed off a question about assessing the larger recreational experience anglers are seeking by essentially saying that the experience of sportsmen in Bristol Bay is not worth considering because these are trips taken by rich corporate people to use as a tax write off.

As a Bristol Bay recreation business owner, Alaskan and sportsman, I have to say that I respectfully disagree with Mr. Shively.

While certainly some trips to Bristol Bay are business trips, he fails to recognize that many people save their whole life for this kind of experience — they come as a family, or with their fishing buddies. And regardless of how the trip is funded, Shively is discounting the value of the experience for the Bristol Bay angler.

Those of us who hunt and fish know that a trip is about much more than the cost of the trip, the number of fish you catch or the size of the trophy. It’s about being with family and friends, it’s about getting away from the craziness of your daily schedule, it’s about being able to take advantage of the bountiful resources and fantastic landscape our great state offers, or teaching a son, daughter or grandkid about the great outdoors.

Pebble, thus far, has failed to take into account the recreational experience anglers to Bristol Bay are seeking when evaluating the mine’s impact on the region.

Additionally, the sport-fishing industry in Bristol Bay directly generates more than $60 million dollars each year — and that doesn’t include the more ancillary expenditures. Although there haven’t been in-depth studies to figure out where this money is spent, I can personally attest that 60 percent to 80 percent of my yearly business expenditures are spent either locally (fuel, air transport, etc.) or elsewhere in Alaska (food, supplies).

With more than 70 lodges and guiding operations in Bristol Bay, that adds up.

Shively’s statement and Pebble’s flawed recreation baseline data make it more even more clear that the Environmental Protection Agency’s review of the region and Pebble’s potential impacts is essential to making sure this important Alaska resource is protected. The EPA was invited by tribes and Alaska commercial fishermen and sportsmen to be involved; we commend them for their thorough scientific assessment and urge them to move forward to protect the recreational values of Bristol Bay and its contributions to the state’s economy.

Chuck Ash moved to Alaska in 1972 as young Vietnam War veteran. He has guided Bristol Bay fishing since 1979, including countless trips in the Nushagak and Mulchatna drainages, into which water from the proposed Pebble project site would flow.

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 America’s Fish Basket Could Be Destroyed By Mining Written by: Carter Roberts

Alaska’s Bristol Bay--the source of most of the salmon you so love--is being targeted for use by oil and mining companies. What will that do to the fishing industry?

The place felt cold and damp, but ran like clockwork. Walls flashed with numbers, and a conveyer belt carried thousands of fish, delivering them to the hundreds of trained craftsmen who sliced filets.

They encased the fish in vacuum-sealed packets with blue stamped letters conveying the name of the fisherman and the date and time of each catch, and then deposited them in custom refrigerated containers to take them to Europe and beyond.

I stood in the Leader Creek processing factory on the mouth of the Naknek River in Alaska’s Bristol Bay. Tucked above the Aleutian Island Chain on the Western coast of Alaska, Bristol Bay claims title to being "America’s fish basket" because it is the epicenter of a Bering Sea fishery that provides nearly half of the seafood in the United States. Most of our country’s wild sockeye salmon, pollock, and red king crab come from this region. And it could all be destroyed by mining. This vast body of water also serves as habitat for nearly two dozen types of marine mammals-- including endangered North Pacific right whales, Steller sea lions and Pacific walrus--as well as one of the world’s largest concentrations of seabirds. As a source of life-sustaining protein and a place of unique biological diversity, the value of Bristol Bay is staggering.

READ ENTIRE FAST COEXIST ARTICLE HERE

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Alaska's Clash Over Salmon and Gold Goes National November 16, 2012

The South Fork of the Koktuli River flows near the site of Alaska's proposed Pebble mine.

Mostly roadless and undeveloped, the Bristol Bay watershed doesn't look like a battlefield, yet it has become the Gettysburg of natural resource conflict in Alaska.

Located some 250 miles (400 kilometers) southwest of Anchorage, the 40,000-square-mile (104,000square-kilometer) region is home to the largest population of wild salmon in the world. Every summer, 30 to 40 million adult sockeye salmon return to the bay, then swim upstream to complete an ancient cycle of renewal. And that's where two vastly different interests have clashed, because located in the upper reaches of the spawning grounds, a few miles north of Iliamna Lake (map), is a world-class ore deposit containing about 80 billion pounds (36 billion kilograms) of copper and 110 million ounces (3 million kilograms) of gold.

On one side of the conflict are two companies—Northern Dynasty Minerals, of British Columbia, and Anglo American, an international behemoth headquartered in London. Called the Pebble Partnership, after the name of the mine they have proposed, Northern Dynasty and Anglo insist that a large-scale industrial enterprise—including a pit mine up to 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) wide and 1,700 feet (520 meters) deep, a comparable underground operation, a mill to crush and separate metals, and tailings ponds that likely will dwarf the mines—would pose no serious threat to habitat and wildlife. (Video: Pebble mine would pit gold against salmon.)

READ ENTIRE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC ARTICLE HERE

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Save Bristol Bay campaign – 38,000 and growing

About Save Bristol Bay is a project of Trout Unlimited. With staff in Juneau, Anchorage and the Lower 48, we work to protect one of the world’s most productive salmon fisheries.

Learn more at http://SaveBristolBay.org/ Twitter @SaveBristolBay

Paul Shibley: “Arctic char caught in the Ugashik narrows.

Keep the Bristol Bay's waters clean and pure enough for the salmon, char and trout.”

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

Wild game fish management  Tribal hatchery transports first fish of fall to Elwha tributaries November 12, 2012 OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — A number of salmon are getting a helping hand to two of the larger tributaries of the Elwha River from the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe Fish Hatchery, where fish are taking refuge from increased sediment loads coursing down the river in the wake of dam removal.

Some 300 coho and a handful of chum already have made their way to the tribal hatchery and the state rearing channel — enough to preserve this year’s run, according to the park’s blog at http://tinyurl.com/8st2klp.

Elwha River, Olympic National Forest

Larry Ward, tribal fish hatchery manager, said Saturday that hatchery crews last week took between 60 and 70 salmon to Indian Creek above the former Elwha Dam and Lake Aldwell and Little River, which is just below the Glines Canyon Dam. The tribal hatchery is keeping safe steelhead trout and coho, chum, pink and chinook salmon while the pulses of sediment caused by the removals of the Elwha River and Glines Canyon dams die down, Ward said.

Dam removal on the Elwha River

“We’re providing a refuge for those stocks of fish,” Ward said.

Once the hatchery reaches its required number of a given species, fish can be transported by truck-mounted water tank to predetermined locations in Indian Creek and Little River upstream, Ward explained.

“We’re moving adults upstream so they can spawn naturally, hopefully out of harm’s way of those areas of high sediment transport and deposit,” Ward said.

A coho salmon is measured before it is transported upriver of the Elwha Dam on the Elwha River. This coho will be one of the first to be re-introduced to the upper watershed in almost 100 years

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

Olympic National Park officials estimate that between 5,000 coho and 200 chum salmon will return to the Elwha during the November/December spawning season.

Removal of the Glines Canyon and Elwha dams were the cornerstones of a $325 million federal project to restore the Elwha River and its legendary salmon runs.

Lake Mills, the man-made reservoir formed by the 210-foot Glines Canyon Dam when it was built in 1927, now is gone, with the river flowing over the top of the remaining 60 feet of the edifice.

Some 20 million cubic yards of sediment remains behind what’s left of Glines Canyon Dam. The river’s turbidity has spiked seven-fold since summer, and experts expect sediment to remain high in the river west of Port Angeles for a couple of years, Robert Elofson, river restoration director for the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe, has said.

Last week, the river’s turbidity — the measure of water cloudiness caused by suspended particles and measured in formazin nephelometric units — topped out at 1,500 fnu, or roughly 2,000 fnu [Formazin Nephelometric Units] down from a peak of 3,500 fnu the previous week, said Rainey McKenna, Olympic National Park spokeswoman.

The lower levels of turbidity from the past week are not surprising, McKenna said, since the previous week saw the fall and winter seasons’ first big rain falls and a corresponding spike in sediment loads.

The Elwha Dam, which was built without fish ladders 5 miles from the river mouth, was dismantled in fewer than six months from September 2011 to early March.

Plants are sprouting in what used to be Lake Aldwell, the reservoir formed by the Elwha Dam when it was completed in 1913.

Nine miles upstream, removal of Glines Canyon Dam is more than a year ahead of schedule.

Barnard Construction of Bozeman, Mont., expects to be finished by summer, at which time 70 miles of pristine habitat within the national park will be available for migrating salmon.

Right now, crews are working only on taking down the remains of the intake tower, McKenna said.

They halted blasting work on the once-210-foot Glines Canyon dam last week to comply with a twomonth “fish window” to keep even more sediment from cascading down the Elwha and protecting migrating and spawning fish.

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Austerity measures threaten to sink salmon biologist jobs October 26, 2012

Don Fowler: • “Problem: Government scientists speaking out against governmental policies.

• Solution: Get rid of the scientists.

Canada should be a world leader environmental leadership and protection. “

in

DFO biologists, who work at the front line of B.C. salmon resource, may soon find themselves out of work.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada is considering significant cuts to the ranks of the workers who protect fish habitat on the Pacific Coast, according to internal federal documents obtained by The Globe and Mail.

These biologists are the front-line protectors of the province’s salmon resource. They study the fish for signs they are suffering from disease, pollution or overfishing and monitor their habitats.

The cutbacks come as the federal public service struggles to implement the government’s deficitfighting austerity program, which is forcing managers to rethink long-established programs in an attempt to do more with less.

In the department of Fisheries and Oceans, employees have been told that “a national staffing process” – which will lead to staff reductions and office closings – will begin on Nov. 16 and is to be fully operational by January.

While the nationwide details aren’t yet clear, a Pacific region organization chart for DFO approved on Oct. 19 by deputy minister Claire Dansereau shows the fisheries protection branch in British Columbia will be reduced to 60 positions from 90.

READ ENTIRE GLOBE AND MAIL ARTICLE HERE

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

ď ś Adams River salmon run low in 2012 (audio interview) October 30, 2012

Neither fish nor tourists are appearing at the Adams River in significant numbers this year. Celia Nord, the program co-ordinator for the Adams River Salmon Society explains why that might be.

Listen to the discussion

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Salmon Stocks Declining October 26, 2012 The “King of Fish” has virtually disappeared from a river where it once flourished. The number of Wild Atlantic Salmon could be counted on one hand this year with just one finger.

Jonathan Carr visits the St. George Fish Ladder every day. The ladder provides an accurate count of Wild Salmon swimming up the Magadavic River. He says this year the pen where salmon are temporarily held has been empty every day but one.

"One fish. It can't get much worse than that," says Carr.

It is the lowest return ever seen on this river. Generations ago, thousands of wild salmon would return annually. Even more recently salmon flourished here.

"This is the sixth largest river in New Brunswick and historically back in the 1980's, it wouldn't be uncommon to see a thousand fish returning to the river, one thousand wild Atlantic salmon," reports Carr.

The Atlantic Salmon Federation believes the disappearance is linked to factors including aquaculture, global warming, pesticide run off, and predators like seals.

"The decline of the Wild Atlantic Salmon has been well documented, especially in rivers that flow into the Bay of Fundy, but this year, there are also signs of decline in normally strong rivers," says Federation President Bill Taylor.

Salmon returns on the St. John and Nashwaak rivers also fell to historic lows and a reduced return was experienced on the Miramichi. The health of salmon stocks varies from region to region, even river to river.

“The Bay of Fundy rivers in Nova Scotia are suffering the same declines as the Bay of Fundy rivers in New Brunswick. Generally speaking, rivers in Cape Breton like the Margaree, Cheticamp, Middle River, the Northumberland Strait rivers around Antigonish and New Glasgow are pretty healthy," states Taylor.

In some rivers, the species is barely hanging on. In the meantime, many hope re-stocking the Magadavic will prevent the “King of Fish” from disappearing for good.

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

ď ś Atlantic salmon, cod and sea trout on conservation list October 24, 2012

Atlantic salmon are also on the recommended list Fish such as cod, Atlantic salmon, mackerel and lamprey have been recommended for inclusion on a list of priority Scottish marine species.

Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) is identifying wildlife and habitats that require conservation action.

Cold-water coral reefs and horse mussel beds are also listed.

SNH expects the list to be put out for public consultation before being considered for adoption by the Scottish government.

It contains 36 habitats and 46 species drawn from an original list of 324 species and 151 habitat types.

Other creatures listed for the Priority Marine Features project include sea trout, anglerfish, ling, whiting, common skate, sand goby and basking shark.

Selecting species went through a process of four stages, which included assessments by scientists and experts at National Museums Scotland.

A report commissioned by SNH said fish species formed "a significant proportion of the recommended list".

The reported added: "However, the decisions as to which species to include were not straightforward, particularly in relation to commercial fish species considered to be threatened or to have suffered severe decline.

"The recommended list took into account decisions made at a joint workshop with scientists from Marine Scotland Science."

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

Special Recognition Editorial Comment: Wild Game Fish Conservation International and our associates around planet earth applaud the prestigious recognition of Dr. Morton and Professor Routledge for their courageous and dedicated research to identify and better understand the relationships between open pen salmon feedlots and declining populations of wild Pacific salmon.

Sterling Prize winners Richard Routledge and Alexandra Morton

 Fish researchers net Sterling prize October 25, 2012 SFU fish statistician Rick Routledge and independent biologist Alexandra Morton have won the university’s Nora and Ted Sterling Prize in Support of Controversy for their research documenting potential threats to B.C.’s wild salmon from coastal fish farms.

The pair received their prize during an evening ceremony Oct. 24 at SFU’s Morris J Wosk Centre for Dialogue before delivering their Sterling lecture, Salmon Farms and Disease: The Importance of Both Academic Freedom and Community-Engaged Research.

The Sterling award honours work that provokes and/or contributes to the understanding of controversy, but the two researchers say the recognition does nothing to mitigate the damage caused by the debate surrounding fish farms.

“The controversy has been very counterproductive,” says Routledge, who coastal fish farmers have labeled an activist.

“It has delayed vitally important regulatory changes that are needed if we are to reduce the currently unacceptable risks to the preservation of abundant runs of wild Pacific salmon.”

Morton agrees, but notes government and industry ridicule of their research has had an ironic impact on public support.

“What they don’t understand is the more we get attacked the higher our credibility rises,” says Morton.

“I simply remain dedicated to using science to measure and define the impact of farm-salmon pathogens on wild salmon. My observations suggest the impact is very serious and government is afraid to do anything about it.”

The duo have been alternately vilified, lauded and dismissed since they first teamed up in the early 2000s when they linked sea-lice infested Broughton Archipelago fish farms to passing juvenile wild salmon deaths and declining salmon runs.

Since then other researchers have corroborated their research and extended their findings.

Most recently, Routledge and Morton incurred fish farmers’ wrath when they announced they’d discovered infectious salmon anemia, a viral disease affecting farm-raised Atlantic salmon, in wild salmon in Rivers Inlet.

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

ď ś Shout out to the brave men and women of the US Coast Guard

Recreational fishermen along US coastlines appreciate that the US Coast Guard is willing and able to assist and even rescue us if ever needed - thank God most of us will never need their uniquelyspecialized skills - great insurance to have these men and women and their life saving equipment available in the event of a potentially life-threatening emergency.

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 “Pants on Fire” Recognition: Hugh Mitchell, MS, DVM – Fish Health Manager / Owner at AquaTactics Fish Health

Wild game fish conservationists around planet earth believe that some things we hear and read from corporate representatives, natural resources agency professionals and elected officials might not reflect reality. In fact, some associate these “leaders” with those who wear burning pants.

The December 2012 recipient of the coveted Wild Game Fish Conservation International “Pants on Fire” honor is: Hugh Mitchell Fish Health Manager / Owner at AquaTactics Fish Health.

According to Dr. Mitchell:

•

“wild populations are actually the ones that pass parasites and viruses onto the more vulnerable farm populations, not the other way around”

• •

“I do not believe ISA is here “ within six months of moving a net pen, there's usually no sign it was at the previous location.”

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

Local Conservation Projects  Volunteer groups count thousands of salmon coming up Eel River November 5, 2012 Chinook salmon are moving up the Eel River in unusually large numbers this fall, according to a series of counts undertaken in September and October by volunteer divers from the Eel River Recovery Project (ERRP) and Humboldt Redwoods Company (HRC).

ERRP volunteers counted a total of approximately 5,000 Chinook salmon, hundreds of steelhead, and over a dozen Coho salmon in the lower reaches of the main stem Eel River on three dives taken on Sept. 28, Oct. 13, and Oct. 27.

On Monday, Oct. 29, a volunteer team organized by HRC counted a total of 2,500 adult Chinook and 500 jacks (immature males) in a deep pool at Holmes, near Redcrest, and at least 400 adult Chinook at the confluence with the South Fork Eel at Scotia.

But it’s still early in the fall run, with November usually the month of "the Charge of the Light Brigade" -- the highest numbers of migrating Chinook -- according to Pat Higgins, consulting fisheries biologist and volunteer coordinator of ERRP.

Intrepid divers, volunteers with the Eel River Recovery Project, prepare to take to the water to count and photograph migrating Chinook salmon at Riverwalk in Fortuna on Saturday, Oct. 27. Above photo courtesy of EEL RIVER RECOVERY PROJECT

Chinook and steelhead migration should still be strong in December, and some Chinook are usually seen in January as well, Higgins said.

With this in mind, Higgins estimates a total run of Chinook as high as 50,000.

This large run is occurring in a year in which water levels in the Eel River system are unusually -- and somewhat puzzlingly -- low.

Eel River near Weott

In spite of nearly normal rainfall in the 2011/2012 season the U.S. Geological Survey gauge at Scotia showed the Eel flowing at only 63 cubic feet per second on Sept. 28, the day of ERRP’s first dive. This is only half the long-term average flow for this time of year.

READ ENTIRE REDWOOD TIMES ARTICLE HERE

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Fish hide from heavy sediment flow in newly freed Elwha River November 3, 2012 OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — A rain-swollen Elwha River is now flowing freely for the first time in a century, triggering the first big release of some of the 20 million cubic yards of sediment stuck behind what’s left of Glines Canyon Dam. While scientists are giddy over the longanticipated and well-planned flush of Lake Mills sediment, coho and chum salmon are ducking for cover since the river’s turbidity has spiked seven-fold since summer.

“They’re headed to the closest clean water they can get to,” said Robert Elofson, river restoration director for the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe.

“They’re having trouble, but that was expected to happen. That’s why we have the hatchery and rearing channel.”

Elofson said the water is still too murky to tell whether the sediment is killing fish.

Olympic National Park spokeswoman Rainey McKenna said the river’s turbidity — the water cloudiness caused by suspended particles which is measured in formazin nephelometric units — peaked at 3,500 fnu last week compared with readings that stayed below 500 fnu in the summer.

“This is something that we’ve planned for,” McKenna said.

“It’s going to be a short-term impact [on fish].”

Crews halted blasting at Glines Canyon Dam on Thursday for a two-month “fish window” intended to keep sediment from reaching toxic levels for migrating fish.

Lake Mills, the man-made reservoir formed by the 210-foot Glines Canyon Dam when it was built in 1927, now is gone.

The river flows freely through the former lake bed and over the top of the remaining 60 feet of the broken-down edifice.

Scientists knew that once the dam was below the bottom of the lake bed the major release of sediment would commence.

“We did expect high sediment levels for a couple of years,” Elofson said.

“I think we were predicting two to three years after dam removal. I’m hoping it goes a little bit quicker.”

READ ENTIRE PENNINSULA DAILY NEWS ARTICLE HERE

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

Youth Conservation:  Engaging Students in Wetland Science Northwest Indian College students on the Tulalip campus are getting field experience monitoring water quality in their own backyard.

A few years ago, the Tulalip Tribes’ natural resources department constructed a wetland adjacent to the parking lot that serves the college as well as the Boys and Girls Club. Engineered wetlands contain highly organic soil and vegetation to absorb and break down pollutants carried by stormwater, including copper from brake pads, which is harmful to salmon.

To monitor the effectiveness of the wetland, native environmental studies students are sampling water in two catch basins following a rainstorm. The first catch basin collects water that runs off the parking lot. After the stormwater has time to filter through the system, the students will sample water from a second catch basin where the water drains from the horseshoe-shaped wetland.

“This constructed wetland was a demonstration project,” said Valerie Streeter, stormwater planner for the tribe. “I hoped to get students interested in the wetland, and I was very impressed with how engaged they were.”

Monitoring the wetland is part of a service component of Ben Lubbers’ class on biology and the natural history of the Salish Sea. “Hands-on learning is important,” Lubbers said. “In class, we learn about water quality and stewardship. What better place to expand on that than right outside the classroom?”

Nicole Rasmussen, water quality biologist for the Quileute Tribe, prepares to install a water temperature monitoring device in a tributary to the Dickey River.

The device will monitor water temperature continuously and the data will be downloaded regularly into a computer

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 No means No – Stop salmon feedlots

Molina Dawson of the Dzawada'enuxw - Kingcome Inlet, British Columbia

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Artist Response Team

Featuring music video: ““U Upp yyoouurr w waatteerrsshheedd””

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 2013 Northwest Youth Conservation and Fly Fishing Academy

2013 Northwest Youth Conservation & Fly Fishing Academy 2013 Academy Dates: Sun., June 23 - Sat., June 29.

Supported by the Washington Council Trout Unlimited and the Washington State Federation of Fly Fishers. Hosted by Olympia Chapter TU, South Sound Fly Fishers and Puget Sound Fly Fishers. Held on Hicks Lake, Lacey, WA. .

ACADEMY FEATURES       

Co-educational, ages 12 – 16.

Curriculum focuses on conservation, natural resource stewardship, and fly fishing essentials.

Fly fishing classes include fly casting, fly tying, knot tying, reading water, and water safety.

Morning and evening fly fishing activities on Nisqually Pond and Deschutes River.

On-the-water aquatic macro invertebrate sampling activity.

Career discovery opportunities.

Faculty and staff include wildlife resource professionals, northwest fly fishing and fly tying professionals and enthusiasts, and local fishing club volunteers.

Fishing a Local Pond

Cost, including food and lodging: $275 Application deadline: April 15, 2013

Fly Casting Instructions

For additional information:

Macro Invertebrate Sampling Activity

Please visit website: www.nwycffa.com Email: nwycffa@comcast.net Telephone: Mike Clancy (360) 753-1259 Jim Brosio (360) 943-9947

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

Academy Application

APPLICATION Name: _________________________________________________________ Date of Birth: ___________________Age as of June 23, 2013_____________ Address: ________________________________________________________ City: _____________________________State: _________ Zip: ___________ Telephone: Res:_____________________ Cell:_______________________ E-mail: _____________________________________ T-shirt Size: _________

Applicants must also provide the following: • A written essay on why you would like to attend the Academy and what you expect to learn from it.

• A brief letter of recommendation from your school science teacher or counselor including an address and telephone number.

Application and recommendation may be sent via postal mail or e-mail.

The Academy is limited to 24 qualified youths, ages 12 through 16. Applicants must not have reached their 17th birthday by April 15, 2013. A committee shall make selections based upon a candidate’s written essay and recommendation from science teacher or counselor. Tuition fee, including food and lodging is $275. Candidates should not send tuition until notified of selection.

Notifications will be sent out by May 10, 2013. ACADEMY DATES: JUNE 23-29, 2013

Application must be received by April 15, 2013 Editorial Comment: Print this application page, complete, and send to: Northwest Youth Conservation & Fly Fishing Academy C/O Mike Clancy 2531 Simon Lane N.E. Olympia, WA 98506 Or e-mail with all required information to: nwycffa@comcast.net For additional information e-mail to the above address or contact either: Mike Clancy: (home) 360-753-1259, (cell) 253-278-0061; or Jim Brosio: (home) 360- 943-9947

Wild Game Fish Conservation International is proud to endorse the 2013 Northwest Youth Conservation & Fly Fishing Academy – a truly unique opportunity for maturing girls and boys to learn more about natural resources stewardship while learning the science and art of fly fishing from local and regional experts.

2013 NORTHWEST YOUTH CONSERVATION & FLY FISHING ACADEMY

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

Conservation-minded businesses:  Brightwater Alaska

Brightwater Alaska

Fly fishing float trips on Alaska's Bristol Bay waters Since 1975 briteh2o@alaska.net

“These trips are designed to give you a quality experience from start to finish. The rivers I float are in the famed Bristol Bay watershed, heart of Alaska's sportfishing country. They are all remote, accessible only by floatplane, and flow through some of the finest wilderness left in North America. The trips are timed to coincide with the best seasonal fishing Alaska has to offer. “

Chuck Ash

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Jim Teeny Fly Lines For the past three decades, tens of thousands of us have had the pleasure of learning the fine art and science of fly fishing from Mr. Jim Teeny. Jim and his wife Donna have always willingly shared their passion for enjoying our natural resources and for promoting the conservation of these precious gifts for future generations to enjoy and appreciate. Watch for Jim’s next scheduled seminar here.

TEENY FLYLINE UPDATE! “It has always been our goal to design and offer the best casting and fishing lines in the world. With our new HPC coating and advanced tapers we feel we have achieved the highest level of flylines to date. We will continue to explore and improve where we feel it is needed to help our fishing friends cast better and hook more fish.

Flylines are such an important part of fishing, while it is not necessary to own every line, it is important to address the fisheries that you pursue. We have you covered from "Top to Bottom", all important at times.

Our Professional's have designed specialty lines to fit their needs, which have generated new styles and tapers to add to our already popular Teeny lines.

In addition we now offer different center cores for warm water and cold water fisheries. Whatever the weather or fishing conditions may be you can now fish with a Teeny line that is perfect for your special trip.

I started the Teeny Nymph Company on July 1, 1971 in hopes of entering into the Fly Fishing Tackle World. Thirty Years later we are still here and growing. Our product line may not be large in numbers, but what we have to offer serves a definite need and purpose. The Teeny Fly selection will catch just about anything that swims. Twenty Five IGFA world records, that we are aware of, say something about the pattern.

With all the products that we offer none has had a greater impact on the Fly Fishing industry than our sinking fly lines.

From the Mini-Tip to the T-Series and Saltwater Series, these fly lines have become the most popular and most used sinking fly lines in the world today. Equally effective in both Fresh and Saltwater situations these lines handle and cast like a dream because they are designed to be perfectly balanced.

Our fly line selection does not end with our sinking lines. The Professional Series offers a wide range of floating and specialty fly lines designed by some of the most respected fly fisherman in the industry today; Kelly Galloup, Pat Ehlers, Billy Pate, Gary LaFontaine, Dave Whitlock, Flip Pallot and Lefty Kreh. As with all of our fly lines these are formulated to give you superior results wherever you decide to "wet a line".

In 1998, the Teeny Nymph Company changed its name to Jim Teeny Inc. You will still be able to find us at www.teeny-nymph.com or our new domain name, www.jimteeny.com.

For all of the supporters of our products, I want to thank you for your trust in me. We will continue to design and develop new products to help make your fishing time more productive and enjoyable.

In closing I would like to ask everyone to take a special interest in our younger generation so that they may be able to enjoy all of our outdoor resources for years to come. Let’s do the best we can to keep our sport alive and growing for everyone to enjoy.”

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

Attention Conservation-minded Business Owners Many businesses around planet earth rely in part on sustained populations of wild game fish. This is true for fishing guide/charter services, resort and hotel owners, fishing tackle and boat retail stores, clothing stores, eco/photo tours, grocery stores, gas stations and many more. In fact, wild game fish are the backbone of a multi-billion dollar per year industry on a global scale.

This is why we at Wild Game Fish Conservation International offer complimentary space in each issue of “LEGACY” for business owners who rely on sustained wild game fish populations to sustain your business. An article with one or more photos about your business and how it relies on wild game fish may be submitted for publication to LEGACY PUBLISHER. Please include your business website and contact information to be published with your business article. Selected submissions will be published each month.

Sustained wild game fish populations provide family wage jobs and balanced ecosystems while ensuring cultural values. They also provide a unique, natural resourcesbased lifestyle for those fortunate to have these magnificent creatures in our lives.

Conservationists working together with the business community can effectively protect and restore planet earth’s wild game fish for this and future generations to enjoy and appreciate. This will be our LEGACY. WGFCI endorsed conservation organizations:

 American Rivers  Global Alliance Against Industrial Aquaculture  LightHawk  Salmon Are Sacred  Salmon and Trout Restoration Association of Conception Bay Central, Inc  Save Our Salmon  Sierra Club – Cascade Chapter  Sportsman’s Alliance For Alaska  Steelhead Society of British Columbia  Trout Unlimited  Wild Salmon First

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

Featured Artist:  Cohen Taylor Hart (7 years old) - Quadra Island, British Columbia, Canada.

"Learning the life cycle of the salmon and how important they are to this world"

Leanne Hodges: “Behold a beautiful fish drawing for me by Cohen Taylor Hart! evolving talent from Quadra Island.”

A young

Alli Pulford Taylor: “Cohen and his family live on Quadra Island British Columbia. He was introduced to the life of salmon at his school where they have a live tank to study the stages of salmon life.”

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 The Elders are Watching – David Bouchard and Roy Henry Vickers video

The Elders are Watching Over the past decade, The Elders are Watching has sold over 300,000 copies.

About a decade ago, my friend/artist partner Roy Henry Vickers created a short promotional video. In it, he reads our book in the voice of Chief Dan George.

David Bouchard

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

ď ś Art for an Oil-free Coast

Oil-Free Coast Art Exhibition begins - Event schedules now available Dates have now been released for the first four Art Exhibition shows including the book release and the film REFLECTIONS: Art for an oil-free coast. Please pre-register for the Opening Night events in Vancouver, Victoria, Salt Spring and Nanaimo. We look forward to seeing you.

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

Featured Fishing Photos:  Fishing for trophy striped bass

Jess Widman (10 years old) Photo courtesy of Jess’s dad, Paul Widman Paul Widman’s Guide Service – Chico, California

Thank you for sharing this photo, Paul – Tight Lines and Screaming Reels!

Take a kid fishing…it’s awesome!

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Chehalis River fall chinook Photo courtesy of Denny Clemons

Editorial Comment: Note the extraordinary care that Denny takes prior to, and while releasing this magnificent chinook salmon to ensure that she is healthy and ready to return to her natal spawning gravels.

Thank you for sharing this photo, Denny….Tight Lines and Screaming Reels!

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

ď ś Primo steelhead trout Photo courtesy of Darren Bisson (Guide, Steelhead Heaven, Kitimat, British Columbia)

Editorial Comment: Steelhead Heaven is booking for 2013

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Gorgeous rainbow trout caught by Vlasta Štefanič while fishing the Soca River in Slovenia Photo courtesy of Vlasta Štefanič

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 King among the Chinooks.......

Photo courtesy of Curtis Palmer Owner – Operator: RIVER SECRETS GUIDE SERVICE – Roseburg, Oregon

Whether your choice is Salmon or Steelhead Fish, River Secrets Guide Service can fulfill your needs. Curtis Palmer is your Guided Fishing Trip host for a relaxing, yet exhilarating fishing vacation. With his 30 years experience on Oregon rivers, he will make your fishing trip safe, enjoyable and Full of memories. Contact Curtis Palmer and book your trip now.

Thank you for sharing this photo, Curtis – Tight Lines and Screaming Reels!

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

ď ś West Virginia Golden (Rainbow) Trout - Pipestem State Park Photo courtesy of Curtis Fleming

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Playing the biggest Danubian Salmon that was caught while fishing the Sava Bohinjka River in Slovenia last year.

Photo courtesy of Branko Bačelič (CEO, Nature Freakz)

Branko Bačelič : “With 114cm, it’s the biggest (Danubian Salmon) ever caught on the fly rod in this part of Europe (known). It took a streamer on 4/5 rod and line 0,16. The battle was epic!” – Here’s the video

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Peacock bass caught by David Maynard while fishing in the Amazon River – smiles all around!

Photo courtesy of David Maynard

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

 Pennsylvania Steelheading … “Combat Fishing” (video)

Walnut Creek – Erie, Pennsylvania

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

ď ś Not all fishermen have two legs

Why many conservationists around our planet strive to protect and restore wild game fish – others rely on these magnificent creatures for their very lives!

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

Community Outreach:  Float fishing for steelhead OLYMPIA CHAPTER OF TROUT UNLIMITED November 28, 2012, 7:00PM NORTH OLYMPIA FIRE STATION 5046 BOSTON HARBOR ROAD NE

FLOAT FISHING FOR STEELHEAD

Winter Steelhead

Program:

Floats

Float Fishing for Steelhead

The public is invited to the November 28th meeting of the Olympia Chapter of Trout Unlimited for a presentation by Terry Wiest on float fishing for steelhead, refreshments, and fishing equipment raffle. His one hour presentation will cover the when, where, why and how’s of this extremely effective technique. Learn float fishing tactics for steelhead from one of the leaders in the industry. If this method is new to you, or you would like to be more successful using it, come to the meeting and get all your questions answered.

Bio:

Terry Wiest

Terry Wiest has over 37 years of experience fishing for salmon and steelhead and has the natural ability to teach people how to catch more fish, whether it be in writing or speaking at seminars. Terry has published numerous magazine articles, mostly on salmon and steelhead, but also on his many adventures around the Pacific Northwest, Canada, and Alaska. He has also contributed to the book “Pro Tactics for Salmon and Steelhead”. Terry writes a bimonthly column, “Westside”, for Northwest Sportsman Magazine, and a featured writer for Salmon, Trout, Steelheader. Since 2008, Terry has been the Webmaster and Chief Instructor for Salmon University, the largest salmon fishing website on the West Coast. Terry also hosts and serves as Chief Instructor for Steelhead University. Terry’s first book—“Steelhead University: Your Guide to Salmon and Steelhead Success is due out late 2012.

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

Conservation Video Library – “Why we’re involved” Tar Sands Oil Extraction: The Dirty Truth (11:39) Salmon Wars: Salmon Farms, Wild Fish and the Future of Communities (6:07) Tar Sands: Oil Industry Above the Law? (1:42) SPOIL – Protecting BC’s Great Bear Rainforest from oil tanker spills (44:00) The Facts on Fish Farms (60:00+) Undamming Elwha (26:46) Is your favorite seafood toxic? (6:06) “Algae culture fish farm” (6:40) Pebble Mine: “No Means No” (1:15) Salmon Wars- Aquaculture, Wild Fish & The Future of Communities (6:25) Vegetarian Fish? A New Solution for Aquaculture (7:32) Everyone Loves Wild Salmon – Don’t They? - Alexandra Morton (2:53) The End of the Line (1:08) Sacred Headwaters - British Columbia, Canada (16:14) Atlantic salmon feedlots - impacts to Pacific salmon (13:53) Salmon: Running the Gauntlet - Snake River dams (50:08) Farmed Salmon Exposed (22:59) Salmon farm diseases and sockeye (13:53) Shame Below the Waves (12:37) Locals Oppose Proposed Pebble Mine (7:23) Occupy Vancouver, BC - Dr. Alexandra Morton (6:18) Farming the Seas (Steve Cowen) (55:53) Farming the Seas (PBS) (26:45) Cohen Commission – Introduction (9:52) Deadly virus found in wild Pacific salmon (1:57) A tribute by Dr. Alexandra Morton (5:35) Green Interview with Dr. Alexandra Morton (6:06) Closed containment salmon farms (8:15) Don Staniford on 'Secrets of Salmon Farming' (7:50) H2oil - A documentary about the Canadian tar sand oil (3:20) From Tar Sands to Tankers – the Battle to Stop Enbridge (14:58) Risking it All - Oil on our Coast (13:16) To The Last Drop: Canada’s Dirty Oil (22:31) Greed of Feed: what’s feeding our cheap farmed salmon (10:37) Land-based, Closed-containment Aquaculture (3:14)

Legacy – December 2012 Wild Game Fish Conservation International

The Size of the Fish Doesn’t Determine the Size of the Memory