Legacy - May 2013 by Jim Wilcox

Issue 19

May 2013

Legacy © Wild Game Fish Conservation International

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

Wild Game Fish Conservation International R – mature subject matter

Read my lips… No compromise in wild game fish conservation! Not now – Not ever

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

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 – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

Contents Commentary ______________________________________________________________________________________ 9 Where Legacy is being read? _____________________________________________________________________ 10 Community Activism, Education and Outreach: ____________________________________________________ 11  Leave this world better than when you found it _________________________________________________________ 11  Wild Pacific Salmon Need You – Salmon Are Sacred ____________________________________________________ 12  NO politician nor open-net salmon feedlot industrialist is safe from the ire of wild salmon people. _________ 13

Action Alerts_____________________________________________________________________________________ 14  Official Comment request: Lower Snake River Dredging Report _________________________________________ 14  Petition: Salmon Feedlot Boycott ______________________________________________________________________ 14  Petition: Washington State Gov. Jay Inslee: Ban Open Net-Pen Atlantic Salmon Aquaculture in Washington's Inland Waters __________________________________________________________________________  Petition: Restore wild salmon, Ban salmon feedlots in BC _______________________________________________  Action Request: Save Bristol Bay _____________________________________________________________________  Petition: Reject genetically engineered salmon – aka Frankenfish________________________________________  Petition: Premier Christy Clark: Do not renew salmon farm leases _______________________________________  Petition: Coal is not clean energy______________________________________________________________________  Urgent Action: Tell Senators not to fast track coal exports ______________________________________________  Time is running out for wild salmon – The race is not over ‘til it’s over ___________________________________

14 14 14 14 15 15 15 15

 Salmon Confidential—How a Canadian Government Cover-Up Threatens Your Health, and the Entire Ecosystem __________________________________________________________________________________________ 16  Why Enbridge is afraid of Ta'Kaiya Blaney – Watch video here __________________________________________ 17

Fundraising: Wild Game Fish Conservation ________________________________________________________ 18  Wild Salmon Forever – Spirit of Wild Salmon Gala ______________________________________________________ 18  The Spirit of Wild Salmon Gala Fundraising Dinner _____________________________________________________ 19  Cermaq - see you in court (again)! _____________________________________________________________________ 20

Seafood consumption: Food safety and health _____________________________________________________ 21     

Food for thought _____________________________________________________________________________________ Enjoy seasonal wild Pacific salmon dinners at these fine restaurants:____________________________________ PROUD TO SUPPORT WILD SALMON – Original art by Leanne Hodges __________________________________ Two Chilliwack restaurants boycott farmed salmon _____________________________________________________ Wild Salmon Supporters – View entire list here _________________________________________________________

21 22 23 24 25

 Dead Humpback Whale Found in B.C. Salmon Farm – Another Reason Not to Consume These Farm Raised Fish __________________________________________________________________________________________ 26  Expanded Health Hazard Alert - Certain Central-Epicure brand smoked salmon products may contain Listeria monocytogenes ______________________________________________________________________________ 27  You want to cook farmed salmon in my kitchen? _______________________________________________________ 29  Think you're eating tuna? Think again _________________________________________________________________ 30  Food Safety Review of Genetically Engineered Salmon _________________________________________________ 31  Grocery stores pledge not to sell Frankenfish __________________________________________________________ 32  Bay Area grocery stores pledge not to sell genetically modified fish _____________________________________ 33

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon! Impacts of open pen salmon feedlots ______________________________________________________________ 36  Dr. Alexandra Morton Talks: Video series ______________________________________________________________ 36  Dr. Alexandra Morton – We can do this, We must _______________________________________________________ 37  Salmon Farming is Deadly ____________________________________________________________________________ 39  Norway’s open pen salmon feedlots and their heart, skeletal, and muscle inflammation (hsmi)outbreaks _____________________________________________________________________________________ 40  Impact of Salmon Farms on Wild Salmon and Sea Trout Stocks _________________________________________ 41  ISA virus detection threatens Chilean salmon markets __________________________________________________ 42  ISA discovered at Multiexport farm ____________________________________________________________________ 43  Eight Species of Wild Fish Have Been Detected in Aquaculture Feed _____________________________________ 45  Salmon farms near Campbell River capped for 7 years __________________________________________________ 46  Fish farmers have no trouble with site freeze ___________________________________________________________ 48  Diseased farmed Atlanic salmon released into coastal waterways _______________________________________ 49  Another load of problematic Marine Harvest Atlantic salmon ____________________________________________ 50  Clayoquot’s controversial new salmon farm starts up Mainstream’s Plover Point stocks Atlantic salmon ______________________________________________________________________________________________ 51  Why Chilliwack has a chapter of the Salmon Feedlot Boycott campaign __________________________________ 52  Enough of the scary salmon tales _____________________________________________________________________ 53  Gardner's work has been heroic _______________________________________________________________________ 54  “If you come onto Mainstream property it will be considered trespass and the police will be called” – Laurie Jensen, Mainstream Canada ____________________________________________________________________  Sea lice from salmon feedlots suck the life out of wild salmon __________________________________________  Cry to the Nordic Council (translated via google translate) ______________________________________________  The real ISA "situation in BC" for Mainstream Canada __________________________________________________  About the ISA virus - according to Marine Harvest ______________________________________________________  Humpback whale found dead at B.C. salmon farm ______________________________________________________  Aquaculture 2013 – Can you say Frankenfish? _________________________________________________________  TRANSGENIC ATLANTIC SALMON: ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS AND RISK MANAGEMENT __________________  World’s first sockeye raised in land-based fish farm ready for market ____________________________________

55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63

Climate Change and wild game fish _______________________________________________________________ 64  Pumping groundwater raises sea level _________________________________________________________________ 64  Mr. President… support science, address the realities of global warming… American Fisheries Society ____ 66

Energy production and wild game fish: Oil, Coal, Hydropower, Wind, Natural Gas ____________________ 68 Ocean Acidification: From Knowledge to Action __________________________________________________________ 69 Oil – Drilled, Fracked, Tar Sands _________________________________________________________________________ 70    

Northern Gateway Attack Ads Recall Exxon Valdez Spill (VIDEO) ________________________________________ Video: Coastal Tarsands Intro _________________________________________________________________________ First Nations say they will fight oilsands, pipeline ______________________________________________________ Joint Review Panel releases "potential conditions" for Northern Gateway to proceed _____________________

70 71 72 73

 Activist Climbs Flagpole Outside Refinery Office, Hangs Banner Denouncing Investment in Keystone XL __________________________________________________________________________________________________ 74  Five Oil Spills in One Week: 'Accidents' or Business as Usual? __________________________________________ 76

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!  Port grants lease option for oil shipping company ______________________________________________________ 77  Gulf Seafood Deformities Alarm Scientists _____________________________________________________________ 78  Government still plans to close Vancouver Coast Guard marine communications station __________________ 79 Coal ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ 81  Watershed Concerns Surface _________________________________________________________________________ 81  Coal Power Study Finds Health Impacts Very Dangerous ________________________________________________ 82  TransAlta Involved in Legal Battle Over Coal Dust ______________________________________________________ 83  Pacific Northwest Coal Exports: Washington And Oregon Governors Call For Greenhouse Gas Study ______ 85  Coos Bay Coal Export Project Derailed ________________________________________________________________ 86 Hydropower ____________________________________________________________________________________________ 87  Fish Ladders and Elevators Not Working_______________________________________________________________ 87  Alarm raised over lack of process in run-of-river project ________________________________________________ 89  Monster earthquake would devastate Pacific Northwest, leaving thousands dead. ________________________ 91    

BC Hydro’s Site C dam proposal puts Peace River at top of endangered rivers list ________________________ Corps assesses danger from big quake at 20 NW dams _________________________________________________ Flood Authority Discusses Quinault Opposition to State Funding ________________________________________ Inslee Budget Allocates $28.2 Million to Flood Relief in the Chehalis Basin _______________________________

93 94 95 97

 Our Views: Inslee Makes Right Call in Flood Relief ______________________________________________________ 98 Natural Gas ___________________________________________________________________________________________ 100  Four more LNG export projects proposed for B.C. _____________________________________________________ 100

Forest management and wild game fish___________________________________________________________ 102  Group to keep pressing EPA on logging roads ________________________________________________________ 102  Herrera Beutler Applauds Supreme Court Ruling on Forest Roads ______________________________________ 104

Government action/inaction and wild game fish ___________________________________________________ 105     

Aboriginal leaders urge total ban on Fraser River early chinook fishery _________________________________ Environmental “watchdog” office closed in midst of controversial coal terminal application ______________ Harper government touts Northern Gateway benefits while announcing trade mission ___________________ Genetically engineered salmon should not be approved for human consumption ________________________ Harper Government Takes Muzzling Scientists to New Extreme _________________________________________

106 107 108 110 112

 Muzzling’ of Canadian government scientists sent before Information Commissioner Suzanne Legault ____ 114  Ottawa withholding reports on B.C. wild salmon _______________________________________________________ 116  Lawsuit filed alleging WDFW violated Public Disclosure Law ___________________________________________ 117  Center for Food Safety applauds passage of the Begich amendment in Senate Budget Resolution ________ 118  Will Fisheries minister act in response to the Cohen Commission? _____________________________________ 119  Let’s act NOW to protect our wild salmon _____________________________________________________________ 121       

B.C. agrees to freeze on new salmon farms in critical zone _____________________________________________ Aquaculture Management: Ensuring Sustainable Fisheries In British Columbia __________________________ Money for aquaculture, but not wild salmon, critics note _______________________________________________ Jefferson County moving ahead with conditional net-pen permits, ’with some misgivings ________________ Fisheries Act (Canada) ______________________________________________________________________________ Legal Backgrounder – Fisheries Act - Ecojustice (Updated February 2013) ______________________________ B.C. fish-farm foes fear being “shouted down” by new committee ______________________________________

122 124 125 127 128 130 131

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!  Wild Salmon is the First and Foremost Priority ________________________________________________________ 132  B.C. village’s ocean fertilization experiment probed ____________________________________________________ 133  Judge orders state to fix culverts blocking salmon ____________________________________________________ 136

Mining and wild game fish _______________________________________________________________________ 137  Senator Cantwell Calls For SEC To Investigate Northern Dynasty Minerals ______________________________ 137

Pesticides, pollution and wild game fish __________________________________________________________ 138  Fish lose sense of smell in polluted waters____________________________________________________________ 138

Wild game fish management _____________________________________________________________________ 141  Panel approves ecosystem plan for West Coast fisheries ______________________________________________ 141  'Pacific salmon' named B.C.'s official fish _____________________________________________________________ 143  Officers seize 242 trout, arrest suspected poachers ____________________________________________________ 145  Dead salmon found along silt-choked Elwha River after hatchery release ________________________________ 146  Overfished and under-protected: Oceans on the brink of catastrophic collapse __________________________ 147  China and many countries are greatly underreporting how much they take from Earth’s oceans __________ 148

Local Conservation Projects _____________________________________________________________________ 150  Documentary: “Salmon Confidential” – two decades in the making _____________________________________ 150  Local scientists featured in film on salmon ____________________________________________________________ 151  Documentary takes aim at salmon farming ____________________________________________________________ 152  Adult Salmon Monitoring 2010-2012 - Community Salmon Investigation (CSI): Highline Miller and Walker Creeks Stewardship __________________________________________________________________________ 153  Removal of culverts creates fish habitats _____________________________________________________________ 155

Conservation-minded businesses – please support these fine businesses __________________________ 156       

Fly Fishing Fine Art _________________________________________________________________________________ Cabela’s – World’s Foremost Outfitter ________________________________________________________________ ADG Titanium Fly Rods ______________________________________________________________________________ Dorado Lodge – Patagonia, Argentina Video: Angling for Gold _______________________________________ STS Guiding Service, Vancouver, BC, Canada _________________________________________________________ RiverQuest Charters - Michigan ______________________________________________________________________ Guiding Sportfishing - Gašper Konkolič - Slovenia _____________________________________________________

156 157 158 159 160 161 162

 Ruca Chalhuafe Lodge - Chile ________________________________________________________________________ 163  ZERO Blends –$2.00 to protect wild Canadian salmon with each online order ____________________________ 164

Attention Conservation-minded Business Owners _________________________________________________ 166 WGFCI endorsed conservation organizations: _____________________________________________________ 166 Featured Artists: ________________________________________________________________________________ 167  Diane Michelin: “Lee and Hardy” _____________________________________________________________________ 167

Recommended Reading _________________________________________________________________________ 168  Flyfishing for Sea-Run Cutthroat – Chester Allen ______________________________________________________ 168  Elwha A River Reborn – Lynda V. Mapes ______________________________________________________________ 169  Badges, Bears, and Eagles – Steven T. Callan _________________________________________________________ 170

Featured Fishing Photos and Fishing/Conservation Trips: _________________________________________ 171  Fraser River White Sturgeon – Alec Efonoff – Surrey, BC, Canada ______________________________________ 171  These Pacific Northwest giants ARE Important – Boycott Feedlot Salmon _______________________________ 173

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!  Video: Spring Steelhead Fishing with XXL Chrome Chasing – Michigan _________________________________ 174  Homeward Bound - Sockeye salmon: Paul Woods _____________________________________________________ 175  Video: Hooked UK - New Episode “River Tay Spring Salmon” __________________________________________ 176  Another successful ling cod and black rockfish trip on “Slammer”______________________________________ 177  SPRING CHINOOK FISHING ON THE CHEHALIS AMD COWLITZ RIVERS ________________________________ 180

Video Library – conservation of wild game fish ____________________________________________________ 181 Final Thoughts: Great Inspiring video ____________________________________________________________ 182

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

Legacy Forward The May 2013 issue of Legacy marks nineteen consecutive months of our web-based publication, the watchdog journal published by Wild Game Fish Conservation International. No holds are barred in this issue where we feature the benefits and risks of seafood consumption. 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. Legacy is also utilized to promote the many benefits of healthy populations of wild game fish. Please share this uniquely comprehensive publication with others far and wide as it includes something of interest and importance for everyone. Our hope is that those who read Legacy will come to understand that what is good for 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 others 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 for safekeeping to our generation.

Bruce Treichler

James E. Wilcox Wild Game Fish Conservation International

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

Commentary Jim Wilcox, publisher

What a month!

Legacy is published to communicate the diverse benefits of our planet’s wild game fish and to expose issues that negatively impact them and their ecosystems. As recreational fishermen, we at WGFCI have conservation-based biases developed over the past fifty plus years. We do, however, include articles and quotes in Legacy from corporations and elected officials that may not agree with our positions. The May issue of Legacy features several ongoing actions by community-based advocacy organizations and concerned citizens. Included are petitions that you can sign TODAY and actions that that you can support TODAY – just a few minutes of your time to make a real difference in the lives of future generations. You and our planet’s wild game fish will benefit by your involvement in wild fish conservation efforts however and whenever you are able – Wouldn’t you rather be part of the solution instead of part of the problem? No time like the present for you to take a stand for wild game fish… Other diverse topics that we explored while preparing the May issue of Legacy include: • Seafood consumption – health benefits and risks • Impacts of open pen salmon feedlots – Be sure to watch Salmon Confidential • Energy production – oil, coal, hydropower, natural gas, wind • Forest practices • Mining • Wild game fish management Each issue of Legacy also features: • Local conservation projects • Conservation-minded businesses • Conservation organizations • Wildlife artists • Fishing photographs • Conservation videos • Final thoughts

4,800+ follow Wild Game Fish Conservation International via Facebook – we’re a mouse click away We sincerely hope that after reading this issue of Legacy you: 1. grasp the importance of these topics 2. share this issue of Legacy with others who care about our planet and its wild game fish. 3. support the conservation projects, artists and organizations and businesses featured in it 4. share your comments regarding this issue of Legacy with me at wilcoxj@katewwdb.com Thank you for doing what you can to conserve wild game fish for this and future generations.

Jim

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

Where Legacy is being read?

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

Community Activism, Education and Outreach:  Leave this world better than when you found it

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Wild Pacific Salmon Need You – Salmon Are Sacred

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 NO politician nor open-net salmon feedlot industrialist is safe from the ire of wild salmon people.

The time for change is NOW!

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

Action Alerts

 Official

Comment request: Lower Snake River

 Petition: Salmon Feedlot Boycott

Dredging Report

 Petition: Washington State Gov. Jay Inslee: Ban  Petition: Open Net-Pen Atlantic Salmon Aquaculture in

Restore wild salmon, Ban salmon

feedlots in BC

Washington's Inland Waters

Multiply Your Impact For decades, large quantities of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), a non-native species, have been artificially propagated in open net-pen facilities in the Puget Sound region with little or no benefit to the Washington State public, and at the expense of the marine environment. The State of Washington has continued to allow these operations to thrive despite they clearly pose a threat to the marine ecosystem and to wild salmon stocks.

 Action Request: Save Bristol Bay

 Petition:

Reject

genetically

salmon – aka Frankenfish

engineered

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Petition:

Premier Christy Clark: Do not renew

 Petition: Coal is not clean energy

salmon farm leases

 Urgent

Action: Tell Senators not to fast track

coal exports

 Time is running out for wild salmon – The race is not over ‘til it’s over

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Salmon Confidential—How a Canadian Government Cover-Up Threatens Your Health, and the Entire Ecosystem April 13, 2013 By Dr. Mercola

http://vimeo.com/61301410

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pla yer_embedded&v=zc5CixELh90

Many environmental experts have warned about the unsustainability of fish farms for a decade now, and we have documented those objections in many previous articles. Unfortunately nothing has yet been done to improve the system. As usual, government agencies and environmental organizations around the world turned a blind eye to what was predicted to become an absolute disaster, and now the ramifications can be seen across the globe, including in British Columbia, Canada. Salmon Confidential is a fascinating documentary that draws back the curtain to reveal how the Canadian government is covering up the cause behind British Columbia’s rapidly dwindling wild salmon population. A summary of the film reads:1 “When biologist Alexandra Morton discovers BC’s wild salmon are testing positive for dangerous European salmon viruses associated with salmon farming worldwide, a chain of events is set off by government to suppress the findings. Tracking viruses, Morton moves from courtrooms, into British Columbia’s most remote rivers, Vancouver grocery stores and sushi restaurants. The film documents Morton’s journey as she attempts to overcome government and industry roadblocks thrown in her path and works to bring critical information to the public in time to save BC’s wild salmon.”

READ ENTIRE MERCOLA.COM ARTICLE HERE

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Why Enbridge is afraid of Ta'Kaiya Blaney – Watch video here March 24, 2013 Open Letter to Canadian Members of Parliament, My name is Ta'Kaiya Blaney. I am 10-yearsold. I live in North Vancouver and am from the Sliammon Nation. My name means "special water." I am writing to you because the Enbridge Corporation is planning to build a pipeline from the tar sands of Alberta to Kitimat, BC. I thought it would be very risky for our coast so I wrote a song, called “Shallow Waters” about an oil spill happening in the shallow waters. You will be debating Bill C-606 soon, if an election is not triggered, which would ban oil tankers from our northwest coast. I am sharing my song’s music video and a personal message to encourage you to vote in favour of the bill.

Today is the anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska. Even today, 22 years later, oil still remains a few inches under the surface of the water. With this song, I hope to encourage government officials, people of British Columbia, and people across the world will realize the dangers of oil pollution, replace jobs that destroy the environment with jobs that help the environment. I ask government and corporate officials such as yourselves change your plans stop oil tanker traffic on BC's coast and in waters around the world. Please feel free to share my letter and video with others. All my relations, Ta’Kaiya Blaney

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

Fundraising: Wild Game Fish Conservation

 Wild Salmon Forever – Spirit of Wild Salmon Gala

W ild Game Fish Conservation International and our associates around planet Earth welcome Wild Salmon Forever to the growing wild game fish conservation community. We wish you tremendous success now and in the years to come.

The Spirit of Wild Salmon ~ Gala Fundraising Dinner EDDIE GARDNER, of the Chilliwack Chapter of the National Salmon Feedlot Boycott, in partnership with Salmon are Sacred, is hosting The Spirit of Wild Salmon ~ Gala Fundraising Dinner on Saturday, June 1st, 2013, at the Ch’iyaqtel Community Center, 45855 Promontory Road, Chilliwack. The proceeds will go towards supporting the Boycott and creating greater awareness of the danger of wild salmon extinction due to pollution, sea lice amplification and deadly European viruses, all stemming from open net feedlots. All food retailers are being encouraged to remove Atlantic farmed fish from their shelves and menus. Consumer power makes a difference… choose WILD salmon …and support sustainable wild fisheries for the benefit of your health, and that of marine and river ecosystems. We all have a sacred trust to save Fraser River wild salmon from vanishing… extinction is forever and we cannot let that happen! Get Involved + Make a Difference Your involvement and support through sponsoring this gala event would be most meaningful and make a valuable contribution towards preventing the extinction of wild salmon from happening. If you wish to be the event partner or a sponsor at a level to suits you and reflects your commitment to make a difference, please download The Spirit of Wild Salmon ~ Gala Fundraising Dinner: Sponsorship Opportunities 2013, and complete the form then email it to Eddie Gardner. For further information, contact Eddie Gardner at 604.792.0867 or by email.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 The Spirit of Wild Salmon Gala Fundraising Dinner Details including sponsorship levels

The Spirit of Wild Salmon Gala Fundraising Dinner

EDDIE GARDNER, of the Chilliwack Chapter of the National Salmon Feedlot Boycott, in partnership with Salmon are Sacred, is hosting The Spirit of Wild Salmon Gala Fundraising Dinner on Saturday, June 1st, 2013, at Ch’iyaqtel Community Hall, 45855 Promontory Rd, Chilliwack. The proceeds will go towards supporting the Boycott and creating greater awareness of the danger of wild salmon extinction due to pollution, sea lice amplification and deadly European viruses, all stemming from open net feedlots. All food retailers are encouraged to remove Atlantic farmed fish from their shelves and menus. Consumer power makes a difference: Choose wild salmon; support sustainable wild fisheries for the benefit of your health and that of marine and river ecosystems. We all have a sacred trust to save Fraser River wild salmon from vanishing. Your sponsorship would be most meaningful and would make a valuable contribution towards preventing this from happening.

Sponsorship Levels Event Partner - $5,000; only one available 

Opportunity for opening remarks at the event; stage signage; exhibit space; twelve (12) complimentary tickets; full page add in event program; full acknowledgement in publicity of event, including thank-you ads post Gala Dinner

Gold Sponsor - $3,000 (Two (2) Gold Sponsorships available) 

Stage signage; exhibit space; complimentary tickets for five (5)



Gold sponsor acknowledgement in promotional materials (tickets, posters, press releases, flyers and thankyou ad post Gala Dinner)



Half page ad in the event program

Silver Sponsor - $1,500 (Four (4) Silver Sponsorships available) 

Listing on event sponsor signage ; complimentary tickets for three (3)



Acknowledgement as a silver sponsor in promotional materials (posters, press releases, flyers thank-you ads post Gala dinner)



Quarter page ad in the event program

Bronze Sponsor (No limit) $500 

Listing on event sponsor signage ; one (1) complimentary ticket



Acknowledgement as a bronze sponsor in promotional materials (posters, press releases, flyers thank you ads post Gala Dinner)



Acknowledgement in the event program

Supporter $250 

Announced as supporter at the event; included in post thank-you ads

For further information, contact Eddie Gardner at 604-792-0867 or by email at singingbear@shaw.ca. If you wish to be a sponsor, please complete the following sponsorship form and email it to singingbear@shaw.ca

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Cermaq - see you in court (again)! April 6, 2013 The appeal hearing for the ongoing 'Salmon Farming Kills' lawsuit is set for 28th May 2013 in the British Columbia Court of Appeal in Vancouver.

"You cannot appeal the truth," said The Defendant, Don Staniford. "The fact is that salmon farming kills all around the world and, like cigarettes, should carry a global health warning. Cermaq should stop fighting a losing legal battle and start relocating disease-ridden salmon farms away from wild salmon. For the sake of our global ocean, our children's health and the health of our environment, we should stub out salmon farming from the face of the blue planet." Don Staniford: "The Norwegian Government's shameless attempts to suppress freedom of speech must be fought at all costs," continued Staniford who has raised over $100,000 for the legal battle including over $50,000 via Go Fund Me. "Sadly, the defence of free speech is not cheap and the legal fees are racking up. Please help support the legal fight and send the message to Cermaq that bullies don't always win!"

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

Seafood consumption: Food safety and health

 Food for thought

Consuming Feedlot Salmon is...

Gambling with YOUR Health What Happens in Norway Should…

Stay in Norway

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Enjoy seasonal wild Pacific salmon dinners at these fine restaurants:

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 PROUD TO SUPPORT WILD SALMON – Original art by Leanne Hodges

Editorial Comment: When making your next dining reservations for yourself, you and your loved one or a party, please be sure to look first at the restaurants that do not offer open pen feedlot salmon on their menu. This is a simple way that we can thank these businesses for their significant dedication and commitment to our iconic wild Pacific salmon.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Two Chilliwack restaurants boycott farmed salmon March 20, 2013

http://www.jacksonssteakandgrill.com/

http://www.bravorestaurant.ca/

Jacksons Steak and Grill House is the second restaurant in Chilliwack to join the growing movement to save Pacific wild salmon from extinction. “We are proud to join Bravo Restaurant & Lounge in choosing not to serve open net feedlot salmon. Instead, we want to support wild salmon that swims past our city in regular, natural cycles,” said owner Brad Read. The open net feedlot industry exposes Fraser River wild salmon to lethal viruses and parasite transference and harms the ocean ecosystem with toxic pollution. “We are very encouraged by the willingness of fine dining establishments to support environmental sustainability and help protect wild salmon from the harmful practices of the aquaculture industry,” said Eddie Gardner, Chair of the Chilliwack Chapter of the National Salmon Feedlot Boycott (SalmonFeedlotBoycott.com). He added, “When considering dining options, we encourage people to choose Jacksons and Bravo where they can enjoy healthy food knowing that these restaurants care about serving only wild salmon or seafood that has been sustainably produced.” On March 21, Eddie Gardner will present a certificate and window decal to Brad Read, owner of Jacksons Steak and Grill House, in recognition of Jacksons’ business leadership in supporting environmental sustainability and wild salmon. Anissa Reed, who initiated a national Salmon Feedlot Boycott, commented, “Bravo and Jacksons are great examples of restaurants that thrive without selling farmed salmon. There are more out there that can enjoy such success without supporting an unethical and destructive aquaculture industry.” “Sockeye salmon swim past our beautiful city every year, why wouldn’t we want to support this generous, renewable resource?” added Brad Read. “We are proud to join Bravo Restaurant & Lounge in supporting the National Salmon Feedlot Boycott,” he concluded. Overwaitea Food Group (a Jim Pattison company) also decided to red-list open net farmed fish in favour of stocking shelves with wild salmon or salmon from land-based closed containment feedlots. Overwaitea Food Group is Canada’s largest western-based food store chain and includes PriceSmart, Save On Foods, Overwaitea Foods, Cooper’s Foods, Urban Fare and Bulkley Valley Wholesale serving communities in BC and Alberta.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Wild Salmon Supporters – View entire list here

Eddie Gardner: BAD CHOICE! So called “Fresh Farmed Atlantic Salmon Steak Tip" is very fatty and this absorbs high concentrations of PCBs. For your health and for the well being of the marine habitat, do not purchase this product.

Nikki Lamarre: They couldn't pay me to eat that!

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Dead Humpback Whale Found in B.C. Salmon Farm – Another Reason Not to Consume These Farm Raised Fish

Three great reasons to avoid farm raised Atlantic salmon; it is an unhealthy food choice, the farming practices trash the environment, and the nets kill marine mammals and birds. According to The Globe and Mail, a humpback whale was found dead inside a British Columbia, Canada fish farm and so far no one knows how it got there. Some are claiming that the whale died at sea, but that seems unlikely. “There is no visible trauma. It hasn’t been shot, thank goodness, it hasn’t been hit by a boat,” [Larry Paike, Director of Conservation and Protection] said Thursday. “So there are a number of possible scenarios. One it dies of natural causes, drifts into a hole in the predator net and once it bloats comes up underneath. That is kind of like trying to shoot a hockey puck from centre ice into a golf cup holder. “A more likely scenario is it was feeding, became disoriented, confused … and somehow became encumbered with the ropes from the predator net, or the predator net itself, and then subsequently drowned.” Mr. Paike said a necropsy would be done Friday to determine cause of death.

READ ENTIRE SEATTLE PI ARTICLE HERE

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Expanded

Health Hazard Alert - Certain Central-Epicure brand smoked salmon products may contain Listeria monocytogenes

Advisory details Ottawa, April 4, 2013 - The public warning issued on March 22, 2013 has been expanded to include additional products because they may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. Previously identified products included in this recall can be found on the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) website at http://www.inspection.gc.ca/recalls. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Central-Epicure Food Products Ltd. are warning the public not to consume the Central-Epicure brand Smoked Salmon products described below because they may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. There have been no reported illnesses associated with the consumption of these products. The manufacturer, Central-Epicure Food Products Ltd., Toronto, Ontario, is voluntarily recalling the affected products from the marketplace. The CFIA is monitoring the effectiveness of the recall. Affected products Brand Name

Common Name

Size

UPC

Central-Epicure

Additional Info

Fresh Sliced Smoked Salmon with Vodka

100 g

0 61279 21210 5

Best Before Date 13AL04

Smoked Atlantic Salmon Pastrami Seasoned

100 g

0 61279 21220 4

Best Before Date 13AL05

More information For more information, consumers and industry can contact: Central-Epicure Food Products Ltd. at foodsafety@centralepicure.com CFIA at 1-800-442-2342 / TTY 1-800-465-7735 (8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern time, Monday to Friday).

Legacy â&#x20AC;&#x201C; May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Year of the Wild Salmon!

Food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes may not look or smell spoiled. Consumption of food contaminated with this bacteria may cause listeriosis, a foodborne illness. Listeriosis can cause high fever, severe headache, neck stiffness and nausea. Pregnant women, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems are particularly at risk. Infected pregnant women may experience only a mild, flu-like illness, however, infections during pregnancy can lead to premature delivery, infection of the newborn, or even stillbirth. Fact Sheet: Listeria monocytogenes - A cause of food poisoning Product photos:

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 You want to cook farmed salmon in my kitchen?

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Think you're eating tuna? Think again April 8, 2013

The latest study of U.S. fish samples, commissioned by the ocean conservation group Oceana, found inferior farmed fish are often substituted for more expensive species. For instance, pangasius is often sold as grouper, sole and cod; tilapia as red snapper; and Atlantic farmed salmon as wild or king salmon. Dirk Steinke, BIO's director of education and outreach who conducted the 2011 study and helped interpret the results of the latest U.S. sample tests, said he was "a little amused" by Canadian consumers' lukewarm response. "Of course the Americans were very shocked. I saw a few reactions from close by in B.C., where people said in Canada that won't be the case. Knowing that in Vancouver we found the same rate [of mislabeling], I'm a little surprised to hear that," he said. Among the recent study’s key findings: - Red snapper and tuna are the most frequently mislabelled species (87 and 59 per cent, respectively). - Only seven of the 120 red snapper samples tested correctly. - 84 per cent of white tuna samples were actually escolar, which can cause digestive issues for some people. Mike Nagy, a sustainable food systems consultant in Ontario, said that consumers seldom tolerate fraudulent labelling of land-based food like beef, but there is less diligence when it comes to seafood. “Somehow in our psyche, especially in Central Canada where we are not tied to the coast, seafood is sort of off our radar,” he told CBC Radio’s The Current.

READ ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Food Safety Review of Genetically Engineered Salmon

March 23, 2013 The Center for Food Safety (CFS) has published a review on the safety of genetically engineered salmon. Scientists are currently experimenting on more than 35 species of fish. They are using genes from other fish, coral, mice, bacteria, and people to produce new breeds of transgenic fish that grow faster, are resistant to disease, and tolerate wide temperature ranges. The FDA is currently considering GE salmon produced by AquaBounty for approval. The Atlantic salmon has growth hormone from the Chinook salmon and anti-freeze DNA from an Arctic eelpout spliced into its DNA. The fish may grow up to twice as fast as conventionally raised Atlantic salmon. CFS says that the problems with the altered fish start with how government assesses risks. They use old laws and a low level of analysis. When these new animals are developed, companies file a New Animal Drug Application (NADA), which is reviewed to see if the “drug” works and if claims are accurate. No environmental risks resulting from GE animals are included in this statutory process. Moreover, this process is not transparent, because the approval process is confidential. Labeling isn’t required, and the FDA doesn’t announce which NADAs are pending. Every year, two million farmed salmon escape from open-water net pens into the sea, and outcompete wild populations for strained resources. Research on this topic published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences states that a release of 60 GE salmon into a wild population of 60,000 would lead to extinction of the wild fish in 40 generations. While AquaBounty claims the GE fish are sterile, FDA’s draft Environmental Assessment estimates that 5% of the fish could be fertile. AquaBounty says they plan to farm the fish in land-based facilities, but CFS says that those facilities are not economically viable. Farm raised salmon is farmed in open-water net pens. AquaBounty is also planning to market the eggs; once that happens, they will not be able to control where the eggs are raised. The FDA has not consulted with the Fish and Wildlife Services and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on these issues. Farmed salmon is raised with antibiotics, raising the issue of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Allergenicity is also an issue; GE fish are likely to cause heightened allergic responses. In addition, AquaBounty’s Prince Edward Island facility was contaminated in 2009 with a new strain of Infectious Salmon Anemia, a deadly fish flu. Scientists are also concerned that the fish have a higher tolerance to environmental toxins, which could accumulate in the fish. FDA’s 2010 data release showed that GE salmon have 40% higher levels of the growth hormone IGF-1, which increases the risk of cancer. And finally, wild salmon has 189% higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids than GE salmon can produce. CFS concludes by saying that restoring wild salmon populations and their ecosystems is the answer to declining populations, not engineering new salmon with unknown risks. You can sign a petition against GE salmon at the Center for Food Safety web site.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Grocery stores pledge not to sell Frankenfish

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Bay Area grocery stores pledge not to sell genetically modified fish March 20, 2013

In a dramatic sign of the growing wariness about genetically modified food, some of the nation's largest grocers, including Trader Joe's and Whole Foods, will announce Wednesday they will not sell a type of salmon engineered by a biotech firm. The announcement comes as the Food and Drug Administration is expected in the coming months to give the go-ahead to the modified salmon, the first such animal approved for widespread human consumption. The announcement is likely to add momentum to the national movement to label or even eliminate genetically modified foods. "Stores see the writing on the wall -- Americans don't want to touch this fish," said Eric Hoffman, food and technology policy campaigner at Friends of the Earth, the environmental organization collecting the grocery store pledges. "The tipping point is coming soon."

Legacy â&#x20AC;&#x201C; May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Year of the Wild Salmon! Home to a cuisine culture that pioneered the organic food movement, along with a strong environmental consciousness, the Bay Area has been a key hub for much of the debate over genetically modified foods. Proposition 37, which proposed labeling genetically modified foods and which received a majority of the vote in most Bay Area counties, ignited the discussion and, despite its failure in the November election, inspired similar proposals in other states. But with the exception of Whole Foods, which this month announced it would label all GMO foods by 2018, grocers have up till now been mostly silent on the issue. This announcement could bring enough awareness to the issues, said Hoffman, to force legislative action. "There's more energy now than there has been in a long time," he said. The fish, a cross of Atlantic and Pacific salmon, is safe to eat and "indistinguishable" from other salmon, according to AquaBounty, the Massachusetts biotech company that is developing it. In December, the FDA concluded that the salmon would not have a significant impact on the environment. Still, several customers outside the Coleman Avenue Trader Joe's in San Jose on Tuesday said they were happy to hear the fish would stay out of store freezers. "It definitely makes me want to shop here," said Linda Terra of San Jose as her husband, Rod, loaded up their groceries. The couple tries to eat seafood, especially salmon, at least twice a week. "I wish everybody would label everything," Rod Terra said. "What could it hurt?" Other grocers, like Bi-Rite Market in San Francisco and discount grocery chain Aldi, which plans to open stores in California this year, have also pledged not to sell the fish. The fish has been under review for years and federal approval is expected. But critics say the idea of eating such a GMO animal concerns consumers far more than the common genetically modified foods, such as corn and soybeans. Michael Hansen, a senior scientist at Consumers Union, said consumers have reason to be concerned. The fish poses numerous health and environmental problems, he said, from creating new seafood allergies in people to endangering other salmon if they mix with the wild population. He said they are more sickly than other fish and offer about one-third the nutritional value of wild salmon. AquaBounty says the fish, called AquAdvantage Salmon, can grow to market size in half the time of conventional salmon, meaning it can hit stores and turn profits more quickly. The FDA has not yet announced whether the salmon would be labeled, but many believe it would not and would be indistinguishable from wild and farm-raised salmon. The fish would probably be sold only as filets, not whole. "That's something that we don't feel comfortable about," said Kirsten Bourne, marketing director of BiRite Market in San Francisco. "People need to know and trust where their food is coming from."

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

Impacts of open pen salmon feedlots  Dr. Alexandra Morton Talks: Video series

Dr. Alexandra Morton Marine Biologist

Alex Talks 1

Alex Talks 2

Alex Talks 4

Alex Talks 3

Alex Talks 5

Watch “Salmon Confidential” Here It’s important that YOU share this video with others http://salmonconfidential.ca/

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Dr. Alexandra Morton – We can do this, We must Alexandra Morton

Today Rob Flemming said the NDP will look at banning open net fish farms along key salmon migration routes!( CBC Radio 7:30, 10:00). The BC Green Party has said "we will work towards removing salmon feedlots from British Columbia's wild salmon migration routes" The Liberals said they won't issue new fish farm leases off Campbell River for 7 years. Thanks to all of you this is an election issue now, your voice has a chance to be heard, the great democracy of Canada has a heartbeat. Please stay with this, encourage politicians to offer transition packages to the few workers in the industry, to watch salmonconfidential.ca so they can decide if they want to be part of this scandal or not and lets FINALLY get to work on restoring wild salmon. We CAN do this, we must so we can look our children in the eye and say we held ground to give you a future!

Still work to do

Legacy â&#x20AC;&#x201C; May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Year of the Wild Salmon!

Clean Up Salmon Farming Open-pen salmon feedlots are breeding grounds for diseases like the Infectious Salmon Anemia Virus (ISAv). Once infected, ISAv can spread quickly to other farmed salmon and can infect wild salmon and other species such as cod and herring swimming near the farms. The salmon farming industry has destroyed more than 10 million diseased fish in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Southern Newfoundland, while being compensated by taxpayers for more than $100 million. Can you afford the cost? CleanUpSalmonFarming.com

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Salmon Farming is Deadly

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Norway’s

open pen salmon feedlots and their heart, skeletal, and muscle inflammation (hsmi)outbreaks

Alexandra Morton: “Canada has strong regulations that would have prevented Marine Harvest from putting infected salmon into BC waters - but they hold a federal licence that allows their own vet to override the laws if he/she decides the risk is low. See this map of Norway how the disease caused by this virus has spread from 1 farm in ten years. The scientists studying this virus in Norway warn that it must be contained or wild fish will be affected. Canada you no longer meet world standards in food production.”

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Impact of Salmon Farms on Wild Salmon and Sea Trout Stocks Read Inland Fisheries Ireland report here

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 ISA virus detection threatens Chilean salmon markets Salmon producers hold their breath after virus-detection causes drop in stocks. April 12, 2013 Chile’s salmon industry has once again detected evidence of the Infectious Salmon Anaemia virus (ISA), causing a drop in the share prices of salmon producer Multiexport Foods. The company’s share price fell 4.54 percent on the Santiago Stock Exchange on Thursday afternoon, along with those of other salmon producers.

The Chilean salmon industry faces another ISA outbreak. The virus was discovered in a fish farm cage containing .12 percent of Multiexport Foods’ Atlantic salmon stock. The ISA virus has delivered serious blows to Chile’s salmon industry in recent years. In 2007 the disease decimated the industry, which once provided more than 30 percent of the world’s salmon and trout. That outbreak led to a 65 percent decline in stock. "ISA is spreading like a malignant cancer all over the globe," said Don Staniford of the Global Alliance Against Industrial Aquaculture. "Chile lost US$2 billion and more than 25,000 jobs during the last ISA crisis in 2008 and the current 'Fish Farmageddon' could be even worse.” Despite the sharp decline in production, the industry still employs more than 19,000 people according to an industry report by SalmonChile. Though the ISA virus has no proven health risks to humans, many major supermarkets banned Chilean salmon from their shelves.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 ISA discovered at Multiexport farm April 11, 2013

Editorial Comment: Open pen salmon feedlot industry - Guilty as charged - Murder in the first degree! Many of the salmon feedlot murders are quick - a single shot to the heads of thousands of otters, seals and sea lions each year, countless tones of forage fish to nourish feedlot salmon – other murders are slow death, but just as premeditated like the recent downing of a young whale caught in salmon feedlot cages, seals and sea lions that drown in salmon feedlot nets, wild salmon that die from deadly diseases and parasites, entire ecosystems, cultures, communities and economies - all premeditated and intentionally murdered by the open pen salmon feedlot industry, no matter where in the world this industry sets up shop. How much longer will these murders go unpunished?

Chilean salmon farming company Multiexport detected infectious salmon anemia (ISA) at its farm in Chile’s Aysen region on April 10.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

The news adds to the growing fervor over the prospect of another ISA crisis that began on April 5 with the confirmation of ISA at a farm operated by Agrosuper subsidiary Los Fiordos. The developments have prompted Chile’s National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service (Sernapesca) to activate a set of control and prevention measures based on the control and surveillance programs dictated by Sernapesca in Articles 7a and 18a of the Aquaculture Health Regulations (RESA). The Multiexport detection remains under the status “indeterminately confirmed,” but Sernapesca said the detection “will be confirmed shortly”. Diego Valderrama Villarroel, who works for Sernapesca, told Undercurrent News the final result is expected on April 12, and it is very uncommon for initial detections to go unconfirmed. This is the first result Sernapesca has gathered as it begins to take samples of other farms in the Aysen region, according to Villaroel. Multiexport’s farm is located in district 20, while the Los Fiordos detection was in district 18D — both within the Aysen region. Both detections are in an area where production is not concentrated, he said. The Multiexport cage in question contains 24,700 Atlantic salmon with an average weight of 3.12, Multiexport said. This represents 12% of the total amount of Atlantic salmon and trout Multiexport has in its farms. The company’s shares dived 12.47% during the course of April 10, closing at CLP 115.10. Multiexport did not return Undercurrent’s request for comment, but the company did issue a formal statement. “We are confident today that we have the necessary regulatory framework that allows us to face these new cases of ISA virus,” Multiexport said. “Once it appears in the country, it is not possible to control and eradicate it, but you have to live with it, such as in Norway where each year has averaged seven cases per year in the past five years.” In regard to Sernapesca’s approach to the situation, Villaroel said: “They are taking all the measures very fast because we don’t want to set the alarm in the industry or in the community because the situation isn’t bad right now.” Sernapesca added it plans to carry out its measures in a timely and effective manner, according to national director, Ana Maria Urrutia. She said this “set of tools” will address the health status detected in the area in recent days. One of the measures Sernapesca plans to carry out is for all salmon in zone 18D to be harvested in 30 days. German Iglesias, the deputy director of aquaculture, said: “for an adequate control and prevention of disease ISA, the timely detection of the disease or of the agent and its rapid elimination is fundamental, as well as the protection of the centers.”

Legacy â&#x20AC;&#x201C; May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Year of the Wild Salmon!

ď ś Eight Species of Wild Fish Have Been Detected in Aquaculture Feed April 25, 2012 Researchers from the University of Oviedo have for the first time analysed a DNA fragment from commercial feed for aquarium cichlids, aquaculture of salmon and marine fish in aquariums. The results show that in order to manufacture this feed, eight species of high trophic level fish have been used, some of them coming directly from extractive fisheries. Aquaculture initially came as an ecological initiative to reduce pressure from fishing and to cover human food needs. However, a problem has emerged: consumers prefer carnivore species, like salmon and cod that require tons of high quality protein for their quick, optimum development. "If these proteins are obtained from extractive fisheries, aquaculture stops being an alternative to over-fishing and starts contributing to it, turning it into a risk for natural marine ecosystems" Alba Ardura, lead author of the study published in 'Fisheries Research' and researcher in the department of Functional Biology at the University of Oviedo said. The research team analysed a DNA fragment from commercial feed made for aquarium cichlids, aquaculture of salmon and marine fish in aquariums. After removing oil and fat from the feed, DNA sequences were obtained and compared with public databases to identify the species found. From fish feed samples, supplied by manufacturers and bought in animal shops, researchers identified eight species of wild marine fish that were from high trophic levels in the food chain. Industrial waste from processing and commercialisation for human consumption of Peruvian anchoveta (Engraulis ringens), European sprat (Sprattus sprattus), Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus), whiting (Merlangius merlangus), Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus), Pacific sandlance (Ammodytes personatus), jack mackerel (Trachurus symmetricus), and blue mackerel (Scomber australasicus), allow fish meal for aquaculture fish to be made. Nonetheless, according to the researcher "some of the species found in this feed are commercialised fresh without being processed and they suspect that they came to the feed directly from extractive fisheries." This is the case with herring and Pacific sandlance. The research suggests that aquaculture is partly maintained by fisheries, and aquaculture fishes are fed by wild fish sold "whole" (without being processed) and fresh directly from fishing vessels. Vegetable proteins, an alternative "If species from extractive fishing are used to feed farm fish, aquaculture does not help minimize over-fishing" warns the expert who suggests "urgently" revising the composition of aquaculture feed to replace them with other proteins. The aim is to reduce the exploitation of natural fish populations. Ardura proposes increasing efforts to gain high quality proteins from other sources, such as vegetable proteins, which supplement farmed fish's nutritional needs. This way they will be able to "minimize the impact of aquaculture on wild populations."

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Salmon farms near Campbell River capped for 7 years Province agrees with intent of eight recommendations from the Cohen Commission March 23, 2013

Ten million sockeye were predicted, but only about 1.5 million entered the Fraser River in 2009. Six months after the release of the Cohen Commission's final report on the decline of Fraser River sockeye salmon, the B.C. government says it accepts the intent of a number of the report's recommendations, including putting a cap on future open-net fish farms along a critical migration route. In October, Justice Bruce Cohen suggested a freeze on new open-net salmon farms in the Discovery Islands, near Campbell River, until September 2020. Discovery Islands, B.C. Cohen said dozens of salmon farms along the sockeye migration route have the potential to introduce exotic diseases and to aggravate diseases endemic to the wild fish. Cohen's 1,000-page report said a string of cumulative factors likely played a role into why nearly 10 million salmon failed to return to spawn in 2009. He laid out 75 recommendations regarding the policies and practices for both the federal and provincial governments.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon! On Friday, the B.C. government said it would accept, or at least accept the intent, of eight recommendations — including a cap on the open-net farms — from the Cohen Commission that fell under provincial jurisdiction. The government said it has "no intention of issuing any further or expanded tenures for net-pen salmon farms in the Discovery Islands until at least September 30, 2020." But it will continue to consider applications to amend existing boundaries of current open-net salmon farms for reasons other than increasing production, it said. B.C. Agriculture Minister Norm Letnick says he agrees with the Cohen's finding that a moratorium on new fish farms in the Discovery Islands will help determine whether fish farms are impacting wild salmon. "He basically says we should use the precautionary principle and what we're doing today as a government is agreeing with him," Letnick said. But NDP environment critic Rob Fleming said he was disappointed with Friday's news. "They've been missing in action on this file for so long," Fleming said. "To say on a Friday afternoon, six months after Justice Cohen delivered his report, that they deign to agree with his recommendations, just shows that they have not paid considerable attention to this."

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Fish farmers have no trouble with site freeze March 26, 2013 Fish farm opponents are applauding Friday’s announcement that puts a freeze on any new farms in the Discovery Islands until 2020, but an industry spokesperson says the move will have little impact on current operations. “We support more research in Discovery Islands area and are confident it will only continue to prove what we’ve seen to date – no impact of our farms on wild salmon,” said Mary Ellen Walling, executive director of the BC Salmon Farmers Association. Walling said salmon farmers support the recommendations set out by the Cohen Commission into the Decline of Fraser River Sockeye, and did so last November. Friday’s announcement to halt any new farms in the Discovery Islands, located northeast of Campbell River, just reinforces Cohen’s recommendations, she added. “We recognize the importance of working to resolve any outstanding questions,” said Walling. “We are participating in research being done by Genome BC and other research projects to further understand wild and aquaculture fish health. “Our fish have been shown to be very healthy and as Justice Cohen recognized we have excellent data to support this.” The largest operator of fish farms in the Discovery Islands group is Marine Harvest Canada. According to site maps on the association’s website, Marine Harvest has 18 fish farm leases scattered through the Islands while Mainstream Canada has three. Fish farm opponents such as Alexander Morton and the Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform are applauding the government’s announcement, but say it doesn’t go far enough. “Although we applaud the decision to cease issuing new tenures in this important area, the wild salmon remain at risk from the farms that are currently operating there,” said John Werring of the David Suzuki Foundation. “We continue to call on the province to rescind these tenures and support the transition of these farms to land-based closed containment facilities which would eliminate the remaining risk of disease and pathogens.” Walling pointed out that all farmed fish (typically Atlantic salmon) are disease-free when they enter ocean pens and are treated by a veterinarian in the event of a sea lice or disease outbreak. The Cohen report could find no single cause for the reasons for the collapse of the 2009 Fraser River sockeye run. Walling is steadfast that fish farms are not the issue and instead pointed to a warming ocean as the “elephant in the room.” Walling added that the “more interesting” recent news for the industry was the federal government’s budget announcement to spend $57.5 million to develop and streamline industry regulations. Fisheries and Oceans Canada is now responsible for regulating the aquaculture industry while the province grants tenures for all sites. And while the feds are earmarking funds for fish farming, it is also slashing the Fisheries budget by $300 million.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Diseased farmed Atlanic salmon released into coastal waterways My name is Leanne Hodges and I am a concerned citizen, and former Fisheries and Oceans Canada, contract guardian. For over twenty years I remain alarmed and appalled by the continuous, willful and negligent act of allowing a wide variety of deleterious substances to be released into coastal waterways harming habitat in support of open net, salmon farms . Especially the continuous act of placing diseased, farmed salmon smolts and adult farmed Atlantic salmon in wild PACIFIC salmon and herring habitat. Any other stakeholder is held accountable with onerous regulatory laws and fines, such as the commercial fishing industry, forestry or shipping industries in and around wild salmon or herring habitat and heavily scrutinized and monitored for their impacts. The hypocritical and substandard monitoring around open net salmon farming is reprehensible and in my mind a criminal act. There is no justification for the impacts I have personally witnessed and reported to no avail. Without hesitation I understand the multiple factors and obstacles wild pacific salmon and herring face in their amazing life cycles, so why impede and harm with an industry that must immediately transition to land? Why is this violation of the Fisheries Act being allowed to take place? Who is monitoring this industry? Are these reports accessible to the public? If not, why not? What is the current state of the FOC Charter Patrol Program and Aboriginal Patrol Program and who are their contacts? Too much is at stake to continue to waste such a critically important iconic, flagship and keystone species as our wild pacific salmon and herring. FOC is mandated to protect and conserve fin fish habitat and marine mammals. The very act of allowing open net salmon farming to exist on both the east and west coast is in contravention of those national responsibilities. Putting into jeopardy endangered species, like the Southern Resident Orca's , as well as, dishonoring the United Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is equally, reckless, as wild fin fish are vitally important to their health and well being. Canadians and our sovereign waters, natural resources and wild fishery economies deserve better. Another tragedy of the commons, reminiscent of the FOC mismanagement of the eastern cod stocks. Shame. With great urgency, I look forward to your response, as DR Kristie Miller's research will not mitigate what is happening right now. Marine Harvest Canada is knowingly placing 500,000 PRV diseased, Atlantic Smolts in BC’s Coastal waters, as wild salmon smolts out migrate and herring spawn. Why is this being allowed at this time? PRV quite likely the precursor to HSMI and possibly the smoking gun virus that has contributed to the prespawn mortality of our national treasure, the Fraser River Sockeye. If this becomes a direct finding of DR Kristie Millers research then I suggest criminal charges be laid under the Fisheries Act. Finally after over two years and over $26 million of hearings under Cohen Commission and impacts beyond minimal continue to be obvious impact on wild salmon and their habitat. DFO appears to be ignoring the final recommendations of that Commission. In fact many things DFO is doing such as the near elimination of habitat and law has contradicted what Cohen has recommended? Where does this government sit in terms of implementing the recommendations of the Cohen Commission?

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Another load of problematic Marine Harvest Atlantic salmon These smolts will join millions of others in open pen salmon feedlots sited in wild salmon migration routes where they will be chemically treated to modify their flesh color, fight parasites such as salmon lice and will be treated with cocktail mixes of antibiotics to fight multiple, deadly, Norwegian-origin salmon diseases – they will be mechanically and manually a mixture comprised of important wild forage fish, animal (pigs, chicken, etc.) waste products and plants – during this time, these fish will be kept safe by killing hundreds of marine mammals when they get too close to the pens – also, during this time, excess feed, fish feces, chemicals, diseases and parasites will negatively impact wild salmon and their precious ecosystems – and then there are escapes of feedlot salmon to aggressively compete with wild salmon. Consumers must put a stop to this insanity!

Alexandra Morton: “Today (3/19/2013), the Orca Chief loaded up Atlantic salmon smolts at Sayward and headed north again. We have no idea what the disease history of these fish is, even though Atlantic salmon are federal fish, and

all their waste will flow into public waters ”

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Clayoquot’s controversial new salmon farm starts up Mainstream’s Plover Point stocks Atlantic salmon

HOLDING THE LINE SINCE '79

Media Release

For immediate release — 26 March 2013 Tofino BC — Mainstream Canada, a subsidiary of Norwegian-owned Cermaq, has begun farming Atlantic salmon at its controversial new feedlot in Clayoquot Sound. The Plover Point open net-cage feedlot is located close along the shore of Meares Island Tribal Park, in the Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The feedlot was approved last fall, although it is opposed by Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation, who declared Meares Island a Tribal Park in 1984, by Tofino municipal council and Chamber of Commerce, and by numerous environmental groups and citizens. Plover Point was the only site exempted from the moratorium on salmon farm expansion in BC while the Cohen Commission (2009-2012) examined the decline of Fraser River wild sockeye salmon. Mainstream has proudly announced that 2 of the 12 cages are made of copper alloy, as part of a 2-year comparative trial between the new copper mesh and the usual nylon nets. "Tinkering with open net-cages misses the point,” stated Eileen Floody, a director of Friends of Clayoquot Sound. “What’s needed is to get salmon feedlots out of the ocean and into closed containment tanks on land. For example, the Namgis First Nation has just opened a land-based salmon farm on the east coast of Vancouver Island near Port McNeill.” The disease and parasite risks that open net-cage salmon farms pose to wild salmon, and their other detrimental effects on the ocean environment are well known in BC and globally and have prompted numerous inquiries, legislative committees and moratoria. Wild salmon are in decline everywhere that open net-cage salmon farms operate around the world (Ford and Myers 2008). In Clayoquot Sound, where there are 21 feedlot sites, wild salmon are in serious decline despite having relatively pristine freshwater spawning habitat. Meanwhile, parasites such as sea lice and diseases such as IHN (Infectious Hematopoietic Necrosis) are being documented at salmon feedlots in the Sound. “Friends of Clayoquot Sound continues to educate the public about the harmful effects of open net-cage salmon farming. We advise consumers not to buy salmon farmed in net-cages and to make wiser food choices instead,” said Floody. For more information contact: Eileen Floody, director, 250-726-6883 cell / eileen@focs.ca

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Why Chilliwack has a chapter of the Salmon Feedlot Boycott campaign March 28, 2013 I am often asked, “Eddie what’s the big deal with farmed Atlantic salmon and why are you promoting a boycott of farmed salmon here in Chilliwack?” The answer is simple: the Norwegian Aquaculture industry, better known as the “aquavirus industry,” must be exposed. Just watch Salmon Confidential, a shocking exposure of how the Norwegian Aquaculture industry (Cermaq, Marine Harvest and Grieg’s), with full support of federal and provincial governments, has damaged the ocean ecosystem and threatens the very survival of Fraser River sockeye salmon. It is a story of pollution, transference of sea lice and importation of deadly European salmon viruses. It is a story of cover-ups, denials and lies.

Eddie Gardner

Here in BC, tons of non-native Atlantic farmed salmon are trapped and grown in feedlots of open net cages. The feedlot salmon are fed food pellets laced with antibiotics to fight a losing battle with mutating European viruses. What goes in must come out. Through the force of gravity, huge amounts of feces settle to the ocean floor beneath and in addition, uneaten pellets are added to this. Atlanticfarmed salmon, with little room to move around are much fatter than wild salmon and absorb large amounts of PCBs that are bad for your health. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) on Canada’s East Coast recently gave the green light for farmed salmon with the European Infectious Salmon Anemia virus to be sold in Canadian supermarkets. The CFIA’s argument is that it does not harm humans, but can spread to wild fish and kill them. How ethical is that? This is all pretty new, and I am not as confident as the CFIA that it is a good thing to send sick, drugged fish with the mutating virus to our supermarkets and say it is safe for human consumption. The DFO is in a conflict of interest, having the constitutional responsibility to protect the Oceans and Wild Fisheries as well as the adopted mandate to promote, and financially support Norwegian-owned companies to operate fish farms on the coastal waters. It is a conflict of interest of great concern as expressed by Justice Bruce Cohen because the fish farms have great potential to do irreversible harm to Fraser River sockeye salmon along its migration routes along the coastal waters. This is why people in BC are asking the province to exercise the precautionary principle, and use its jurisdiction and authority to revoke fish farm leases and have them removed. The Christy Clark government is unwilling to do this. Since federal and provincial governments have clearly abdicated their responsibility to exercise the precautionary principle to remove the open net feedlots, consumers are using their own precautions by not buying Atlantic farmed salmon. Here in Chilliwack, we are lucky because the following places will not have Atlantic farmed salmon on their shelves or menus: BC’s own Save On Foods, Coopers, Price Smart Foods, as well as Jackson’s Steak and Grill House and Bravo Restaurant and Lounge. We expect more to follow this kind of environmental concern and leadership. The Chilliwack Chapter of the National Salmon Feedlot Boycott will continue to educate consumers so they can strategically support Fraser River Sockeye salmon. Boycott Atlantic farmed salmon wherever it is sold! Remember: Vote Wild Salmon in the spring provincial election! Together, we can save wild salmon! Eddie Gardner Chilliwack Chapter of National Salmon Feedlot Boycott singingbear@shaw.ca 604-792-0867

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Enough of the scary salmon tales April 2, 2013 Editor: Re: Be Our Guest column "Why Chilliwack has a chapter of the Salmon Feedlot Boycott" in the March 28 edition of the Chilliwack Times. Our farmers are tired of being accused of cover-ups, denials and lies. We have gone above and beyond most other food producers in Canada when it comes to how much information we provide to the public, how open we are about our operations and how hard we work to have civil conversations with our critics. We are proud of our farmed salmon, which are healthy, nutritious, safe and have a very small environmental footprint. We are proud of our farmers, who work in some of the worst weather imaginable to take care of our fish, and who spend their days off making the coastal communities where they live better places for everyone. Yet people like Eddie Gardner continue to throw false accusations at them and tell scary fairy tales about salmon farms.

Anissa Reed: “And this is just another reason why Grant Warkentin is banned forever from our Facebook page. They are not farms. They are feedlots.. with NO barriers to protect wild fisheries.. and unlike other feedlots the waste from these open net feedlots flows out into the marine environment along with any diseases and parasites. Show Eddie your support and attend the next event in Chilliwack.” Editorial Comment: Unlike he open pen salmon feedlot industry, beef, dairy and vegetable farmers are strictly regulated and substantially fined if they pollute lakes, streams or rivers. Salmon feedlots are sited in marine environments to take advantage of free waste disposal – at the expense of wildlife.

As far as I know, Eddie has never made any attempt to come see a salmon farm for himself, or come talk with our farmers. How can he claim to speak with such authority about things he's never seen, and pass such damning judgment on people he's never met? It's cynical and hypocritical, and shows Eddie is not really interested in presenting people with the full picture, but in selling his view of the world to bolster his status as a minor local celebrity. If people want to believe the silly conspiracy theories and junk science Eddie parrots, that's their right. But if people want to have a civil conversation, ask us questions and see how salmon farms actually operate, we are always eager to talk. I hope people in Chilliwack, which is a true-blooded farming community, make more of an effort to learn about salmon farming and actually talk to salmon farmers, rather than listen to scary salmon tales. Grant Warkentin Mainstream Canada communications officer.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Gardner's work has been heroic April 9, 2013 Editor: Re: Grant Warkentin's "Enough of the scary salmon tales," Chilliwack Times, April 2: The work that Eddie Gardner is doing to educate individuals, organizations and businesses regarding the impacts of open pen salmon feedlots on wild Pacific salmon, their ecosystems and the cultures, communities and economies that rely on these magnificent creations is nothing short of heroic. Mr. Gardner's unmatched community outreach and education efforts are re-enforced by his lifetime of experience, emerging science and his undying passion for British Columbia's iconic wild Pacific salmon. Mr. Warkentin's detrimental comments toward Mr. Gardner were absolutely unwarranted and irresponsible, as is often the case with comments from salmon feedlot industry representatives. This industry is in deep trouble financially on a global scale, largely because of the associated human health and environmental risks it introduces wherever it is permitted. Jim Wilcox Wild Game Fish Conservation International

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 “If you come onto Mainstream property it will be considered trespass and the police will be called” – Laurie Jensen, Mainstream Canada

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Sea lice from salmon feedlots suck the life out of

wild salmon

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Cry to the Nordic Council (translated via google translate) March 30, 2013 Red wild salmon has just sent an open letter to the Nordic Council. The letter tells of Østersølaksens and Atlantic salmon threats on river barrages - and the consequences Norwegian farming industry has on nature, the environment and the world's original wild strains of Atlantic salmon. (Salmon Parasites that kill wild salmon, genetic pollution, diseases, etc.) If the Norwegian fish farming industry is allowed to continue, as now, without interference from the authorities, the consequences both in the Nordic region and globally be great and irreparable. Norway will, in all probability, lose its last original strains of wild salmon - trout and Atlantic salmon. But it is also likely that the Norwegian salmon farming will affect, threaten or at worst destroy, wild salmon originates in Denmark, Canada, Ireland, Scotland and other places that have populations of wild Atlantic salmon. - Salmon tribes that are unique and can never be recreated.

One of the consequences of the Norwegian fish farming industry is a strong growth and spread of the parasite, lice that kill wild brown trout and salmon.

There is no doubt that the urgency of an intervention. Not least because there has recently been an increasing number of political opinions that if wild salmon are an obstacle to the development of the farming industry, priority will be given rearing over the environment and wild salmon. It is our hope that the Nordic Council will take up the matter. Nature devastation must end and the original wild strains of Atlantic salmon and Baltic salmon ensure a future. - It is Scandinavia's responsibility. The letter, which was written by Hans Aarre Pedersen and Nils Svalebøg is for information is also sent to europapalamentariker, Dan Jørgensen EU, the Danish Environment Minister Ida Auken, President of the Danish Anglers' Association Verner Hansen and President of the Danish Society for Nature Conservation, Ella Maria Bisschop-Larsen . Read the letter to the Nordic Council: Open letter to the Nordic Council

Legacy â&#x20AC;&#x201C; May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Year of the Wild Salmon!

ď ś The real ISA "situation in BC" for Mainstream Canada Mainstream Canada Newsletter Recently some of our internal meeting minutes from a routine monthly meeting were accidentally posted online on Mainstream Canada's website. Since then, some individuals have taken them out of context and misrepresented them. The meeting referenced in the minutes was a teleconference between our company's divisions in Norway, Chile and Canada, whose representatives talk regularly to provide each other with updates on activities in their countries. The topics in the minutes are nothing the public has not already been made aware of through news reports about our company and interviews with our representatives in the past year. However, since several individuals have been using the minutes to make unfounded claims about salmon farming and take things out of context, we want to take the opportunity to address this issue. The minutes included the following paragraph: Staniford has been twittering about Siri Vike and the article on the ISA virus and how it originated from Norway. After a lengthy process with complaints that the research was not ethically valid, the result was out last week, and deemed not unethical. As this is very sensitive in BC we have to be careful what is commented upon in public in the time to come. We should avoid speculations about the situation in BC. Siri's presentation will be in English and sent to MS Canada An important message from us should be that we are proud of this research, we initiated and financed it because we want to build knowledge and seek improvement. We take measures based upon knowledge. Most importantly, the research mentioned has to do with Chile and Norway, and nothing to do with Canada. However, salmon farming opponents are trying to see a conspiracy in the statement in the minutes that "We should avoid speculations about the situation in BC." That statement means exactly what it says. Speculation - expressing an opinion based on incomplete evidence - should be avoided. We should make statements based on good information and facts, not hearsay and speculative opinions. In our monthly meetings we discuss how we can learn and improve from unfortunate situations, such as the ISA outbreak in Chile which devastated the industry there two years ago. As the paragraph above from our meeting minutes states, we are proud of research we recently funded and initiated which gives us new insight into the ISA virus. This research showed it is possible that ISA could have been transported from Norway to Chile through salmon eggs. This research prompted a scientific disagreement and questions were raised about the quality of research and the ethics of the researchers. The complainant asked for an investigation which was done thoroughly by the National Commission for the Investigation of Scientific Misconduct in Norway. The commission found the researchers had not acted unethically and were not guilty of scientific misconduct. The Mainstream group is proud of this research because we want to build knowledge and seek improvement in how we farm salmon so we can make good fact-based decisions and avoid speculation. This research can help us improve our operations around the world, including in B.C.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 About the ISA virus - according to Marine Harvest In the Atlantic Ocean, a virus exists naturally called Infectious Salmon Anemia (ISA). It is present naturally in Norway and on the east coast of Canada, and has a distinct European strain and a distinct North American strain. The virus is lethal to farmed Atlantic salmon and an outbreak devastated the Chilean salmon farming industry in 2007 and 2008.

Editorial Comment: What a boat load of 100% Pure, Bovine Excrement! Of course Infectious Salmon Anemia virus: • Is deadly to wild Pacific salmon

The virus has never been detected in B.C. but all salmon farming companies and government regulators check for it regularly. It is important to keep it out of B.C. because the virus would be devastating to our fish and our business.

• Has been verified in British Columbia’s Iconic wild Pacific salmon by world-class scientists

Scientific laboratory studies have shown that the virus is not lethal to wild Pacific salmon.

• Spreads rapidly in crowded environments

• Mutate to survive

However, several individuals opposed to salmon farming are trying to speculate that the virus is already in B.C. waters and could be putting wild salmon at risk. They are actively seeking media attention for this theory. We want to avoid speculation about the situation in B.C. because no matter what we say about this issue these individuals will take it as evidence to support their pre-conceived opinions. However, as we have said several times before in the press, in B.C. we test regularly for the virus, and would be the first to notice its presence because it is lethal to farmed Atlantic salmon. If it was here, we would know because our fish would be dying. And since this is something we obviously want to avoid, we take many steps to make sure the virus does not come to B.C. An important part of preventing viruses and diseases is our broodstock program. Our fish come from our own stock and animal husbandry programs here in B.C. We have special fish we use to produce the salmon eggs we send to our hatcheries, where they are grown to smolt size and then transferred to ocean pens to grow to harvest size. These fish produce hundreds of millions of eggs and are carefully chosen for their health. It's critical that we keep these fish healthy and disease-free. There is no ISA present in our broodstock. In the past, before our broodstock programs were fully established, we sometimes imported eggs to supplement our hatcheries. However, these imports have been infrequent and in small numbers, and have been strictly monitored by authorities in the country of origin before they are exported, and by the federal fisheries ministry here to make sure they entered Canada free of diseases and viruses. As well, our fish health is constantly monitored from egg to harvest. If there were signs of exotic diseases such as ISA we would notice. Because ISA could have such a huge negative impact on our fish and business, we take many steps to monitor for its presence. Mainstream Canada is the second-largest grower of farmed salmon in British Columbia. Our 27 farm sites are located on the west and east coasts of Vancouver Island, where we grow Atlantic salmon under some of the strictest environmental regulations in the world. Our focus is sustainable aquaculture. Our goal is to balance environmental, social and economic impacts with a long-term commitment to continual improvement. Please contact Grant Warkentin, communications officer, with any further questions at grant.warkentin@mainstreamcanada.com or 250-286-0022 ext 247.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Humpback whale found dead at B.C. salmon farm Related video: The Sealion Story

Regulatory Compliance Columbia’s Marine Aquaculture - 2008 (p.51)

British Finfish

A second incident was referred to COS after a report that a whale breached a net cage and caused the escape of 35,000 Atlantic salmon. The whale was released unharmed. COS determined that due to the circumstances beyond human control that no further investigation would be conducted. TOFINO, B.C. — Researchers, federal fisheries officials and employees of a Vancouver Island salmon farm are trying to figure out what caused the death of a humpback whale found floating near some of the company's nets. The whale was discovered by workers before first light Wednesday morning at Mainstream Canada's Ross Point farm, located northwest of Tofino and on the Island's west coast, said company spokeswoman Laurie Jensen. Although the exact cause of death is unknown, Jensen said the company believes the whale has been dead for time because divers inspected the farm's nets only two days earlier and found nothing unusual. "It was a very unusual incident, none of our staff, and some of them have been working in that area for 20 years or more, and they've never experienced anything like that," said Jensen. "It was a bit of a shock and quite a surprise."

ed. See above highlighted excerpt from 2008 report

After all, no whales have been spotted in the area recently, although some orcas were spotted near a farm in early December, said Jensen. She said the company believes the dead whale drifted into the farm site and as it decomposed, gases floated the animal to the surface. While the whale damaged some predator nets, it did not damage any nets containing Atlantic salmon smolts and as a result none of the fish were harmed and none escaped, said Jensen. She said the whale has been towed to and tied up at a nearby beach. Jensen said employees of Fisheries and Oceans Canada and local whale researchers have taken over the investigation and a necropsy will likely be performed Friday. The age of the whale is unknown, but Jensen said local researchers believe the whale is female and is at least 7.5 metres long. "We really want to see what happened to it and how it died," she said.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Aquaculture 2013 – Can you say Frankenfish?

Friday, February 22, 2013 08:30 -10:00 11:00 -12:30 11:00 -11:30 11:00 -12:30 11:00 -12:30 11:00 -12:30 11:00 -15:00 11:00 -15:30 11:00 -17:30 11:00 -17:30 11:00 -17:30 11:00 -17:30 11:00 -17:30 11:00 -17:30 11:00 -17:30 13:30 -15:30 13:30 -15:30 13:30 -15:30 13:30 -17:30 13:30 -17:30 13:30 -17:30 03:30 -17:30 03:30 -17:30 15:30 -17:30 15:30 -17:30 15:30 -17:30

Opening & Plenary Feeds and Feeding for Sustainable Hatchery Production Student Spotlight Presentations: Highlighting Award Winning Students Sturgeon Integrating Molecular and Cellular Approaches to the Improvement of Aquaculture Species Algae: Macro and Micro Down on the Farm: Improving Shellfish Aquaculture Production Invasives Shrimp Nutrition Zebrafish Husbandry Workshop Stock Enhancement IMTA / Integrated Aquaculture Baitfish Innovations in Secondary and Postsecondary Aquaculture Teaching, Tools and Programs for the Next Generation Workforce Finfish Health & Disease Advances in Pond Fertilization and Liming Federal Interagency-Stakeholder Forum: The Future of US Aquaculture Lipids in Aquaculture Nutrition and Physiology Shrimp Genetics and Breeding Paddlefish in Aquaculture: Current and Future Directions Sustainable Shellfish Aquaculture in Developing Countries Meeting Production Goals with Limited Resources Aquaculture Without Frontiers Town Hall Engagement With Federal Aquaculture Programs Effluent Waste Management Strategies Functional Aquafeed Ingredients – Prebiotics, Probiotics, and Nutriceuticals

READ ENTIRE AQUACULTURE 2013 CONFERENCE SCHEDULE HERE

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

Aquaculture 2013 - Meeting Abstract

 TRANSGENIC

ATLANTIC SALMON: ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS AND RISK

MANAGEMENT No genetically modified animal intended for use as food by humans has received regulatory approval. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration may approve land-based grow-out and sale of growth hormone (GH)-transgenic Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), which could prove a threshold event in the commercialization of genetically engineered animals. Empirical observations of the transgenic Atlantic salmon have shown altered oxygen uptake, energy metabolism, feeding behavior, smoltification, and cardiorespiratory function. Recent results showed no difference between transgenics and controls regarding oxygen consumption rate as fry, developmental rate, survival until emergence from gravel, fry agonistic behavior, or growth and survival in artificial stream. Following stress due to starvation, low dissolved oxygen, or handling, wildtype fish maintained homeostasis more effectively than transgenic fish. These results collectively suggest that GH-transgenic fish are less fit than the wild type under a range of ecological conditions. In terms of reproductive fitness, transgenics matured as parr less frequently than non-transgenics, and were inferior competitors relative to wild-type parr in terms of nest fidelity, spawn participation, and fertilization success. While knowledge of reproductive fitness of GH-transgenic Atlantic salmon is limited to laboratory replication of natural spawning environments, risk may generally be low, but it is non-zero. Ecological risk would be minimized by culturing transgenic fish under strict confinement, suggesting grow-out in land-based culture units combined with reproductive confinement and effective operations management. The effectiveness and economic viability of aquaculture production under such confinement conditions has yet to be assessed. Noting the recent destruction of the Enviropig, whose phytase expression would lead to lower excretion of phosphorous, it becomes clear that regulatory uncertainty is stifling the development of genetically modified animals.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 World’s first sockeye raised in land-based fish farm ready for market March 28, 2013 VANCOUVER – With three giant, aluminum pools brimming with thousands of sockeye salmon, a Surrey, B.C., company has become the first in the world to successfully raise the quintessential west coast species in a landbased fish farm — a methodology heralded as one solution to a host of problems associated with the salmon farming industry. Willowfield Enterprises spent the past 15 years perfecting the farming technology and raising the brood, but will gut, scale, package and sell its first batch of sockeye next week, according to Don Read, the company’s owner. The salmon will be sold in Choices Markets under the brand West Creek Farms, the same label the company’s farmed trout carries. The majority of B.C.’s salmon farms employ plastic and metal netting to create pens in the province’s many fjords and channels. But industry critics say fish feed, excrement and antibiotics filter down to the ocean floor, contaminating the ecosystem. Sea lice contamination and escapee-salmon are also problems. Land-based fish farms circumvent these concerns, but the solution has been slow to catch on because of higher costs associated with infrastructure and maintenance. But Read said his company has managed to limit those costs by keeping his operation “low key.” “Ours are not contained indoors so we didn’t have to build infrastructure to surround it,” Read said. “We don’t have a lot of usage of power in the whole process. It’s very low key and low maintenance,” he said, adding that his sockeye are all raised without antibiotics and have earned the Oceanwise certification. The farm utilizes a flow-though method that draws water from a well and funnels it into a series of above-ground salmon pools. From there, the water — along with the fish waste — flows into a series of more natural, open trout ponds where native aqua-plants scrub out the waste. “Instead of having a closed environment you have a natural environment. Then what you have is natural filters. You have the plants absorbing the nitrogen, the phosphorus — the fish waste basically,” Read said. The final stage of the gravity-fed system is a clean pond filled with natural plants. When the water filters into nearby West Creek, the brand’s namesake, it is certified to be clean and pollutant-free, Read said. Read’s team scoops the excess feed and fish excrement off the bottom of the tanks on a regular basis and turn the all-natural waste into fertilizer — a product he hopes to start selling commercially.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

Climate Change and wild game fish

 Pumping groundwater raises sea level Two new studies flag an underreported factor in global ocean change May 21, 2012 Pumping groundwater, some 70 percent of it to irrigate crops, has recently become a potent force in global sea-level rise, two new studies conclude. It sounds obvious: Once brought to the surface, water will eventually run into the seas, says hydrologist Yoshihide Wada of Utrecht University in the Netherlands. But until now, most major assessments of factors affecting sea-level rise — such as those reported by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change — ignored the role of groundwater extraction, he says. For instance, the IPCC has assumed that groundwater

extraction

would

largely

balanced by river water impounded by dams.

For many crops around the world, farmers must supplement rainfall with irrigation — and much of this added water comes from underground reservoirs. Globally, extraction rates now greatly exceed that of groundwater recharge, and have begun raising sea levels.

Such an assumption was probably accurate until about 1980, says Yadu Pokhrel of Rutgers University in Piscataway, N.J. Since then, the balance has shifted, he says, and groundwater extraction is now developing into a growing force behind sea-level rise. In recent years, sea level has been rising around 3.1 millimeters each year. Besides groundwater depletion, other major contributors include the melting of glaciers and polar ice fields, and the expansion of ocean water as it heats up. By 2003, groundwater removal was responsible for about 34 percent of that sea-level rise, Pokhrel and his colleagues report online May 20 in Nature Geoscience. They added all human water-use components to a computer program that projects climate impacts, assuming that any water demands not met by surface water came from groundwater sources. Wada’s team also found groundwater pumping to be a bigger contributor than thought. By 2000, these researchers report online May 8 in Geophysical Research Letters, global groundwater depletion was causing sea levels to rise some 0.57 millimeters each year —

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

around 18 percent of current annual sea-level increases and an amount of water roughly equivalent to twice as much as dams were holding back. This analysis, unlike Pokhrel’s, used globally recorded data on groundwater extraction. This imbalance stands to only grow, Wada notes. His team adapted computer programs to, for the first time, project how humans’ water use would affect sea level through 2050. By then, the scientists calculate, reservoir impoundment would prevent about 0.1 millimeters rise in sea level, while groundwater depletion would increase sea level by more than eight times that amount. The new studies confirm groundwater extraction as an important and growing factor in sea-level rise, says Leonard Konikow of the U.S. Geological Survey in Reston, Va. But he challenges the magnitude reported by the new studies. His own analysis, published last September in Geophysical Research Letters, pegged groundwater extraction’s impacts at only 13 percent of the recent increase. Konikow notes that groundwater depletion must be estimated indirectly, such as by adding regional measurements of groundwater and pumping to larger-scale satellite and other data. He charges that the potentially more-simplistic techniques employed in the new papers overestimate groundwater pumping — and hence its sea level impacts. That’s true, Pokhrel acknowledges. His and Wada’s approaches assume, for the sake of calculations, that groundwater reservoirs are infinite and affordable. Obviously, he says, that’s not true. Wada agrees: “There are no data on global groundwater levels. So we assume in the future that there will be [sufficient] groundwater — which may not be true, in some cases, if groundwater levels become too low” or if farmers can no longer budget to tap increasingly deep sources. “Many people think that groundwater pumping effects will be small or localized,” Pokhrel says. But the new data, he says, show that cumulatively, these withdrawals are changing sea level globally. CITATIONS L.F. Konikow. Contribution of global groundwater depletion since 1900 to sea-level rise. Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 38, September 2, 2011. doi: 10.1029/2011GL048604. Abstract: [Go to] Y.N. Pokhrel et al. Model estimates of sea-level change due to anthropogenic impacts on terrestrial water storage. Nature Geoscience. doi: 10.1038/NGEO1476. Abstract: [Go to] Y. Wada et al. Past and future contribution of global groundwater depletion to sea-level rise. Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 39, May 20, 2012. doi: 10.1029/2012GL051230. Abstract: [Go to]

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Mr.

President… support science, address the realities of global warming… American Fisheries Society January 17, 2013

President Barack Obama The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 Dear Mr. President: Established in 1870, the American Fisheries Society is a 9000 member professional scientific association with members employed by state, provincial, tribal and federal agencies, universities, NGOs, and the private sector. Our mission is to advance sound science, promote professional development, and disseminate science-based information for the global protection, conservation, and sustainability of fisheries resources and aquatic ecosystems.

Barak Obama

We congratulate you on winning the 2012 presidential election and for mentioning the need to address climate change in your acceptance speech. In the wake of the devastating destruction of superstorm Sandy and, as the most influential leader in the world, you have an opportunity to help our nation prepare for continued disruptions caused by global warming and permanently reduce carbon emissions. Upgrading our infrastructure, discouraging development of at-risk lands, and transitioning to new technologies can create millions of much-needed jobs, spur green economic growth, and increase the probability of a healthy and prosperous future for our children. Therefore, we urge you to use sciencebased information to make climate change a priority for your administration and our nation. Members of the American Fisheries Society have been acutely aware of how climate change is already affecting our aquatic and marine ecosystems, and our predictive modeling forecasts much more serious threats. Consequently, we recently adopted a climate change policy by vote of our membership (see attached). Our policy includes the following statement: 1. Do not delay emission reductions. Encourage reductions in anthropogenic sources of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. 2. Encourage economic mitigation options that indirectly or directly assist with water conservation practices and watershed protection of policies and laws that support wise and sustainable use. 3. Integrate efforts to manage for both fish and wildlife habitat. Develop partnerships with overlapping interests on shared concerns will increase overall effectiveness and temper uncertainty of difficult decisions.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

4. Restore historic hydrologic regimes that facilitate historic fish dispersal patterns. Do not support assisted migration or translocation of fish species as a standard operating policy, but consider this tool on a case-by-case basis carefully evaluating possibilities of unintended consequences. In landlocked “island” systems with imperiled or extirpated species, assisted migration may be the only viable management alternative for maintaining ecosystem function. 5. Encourage education efforts aimed at federal and state agencies and the private sector about the general effects of climate change to our aquatic ecosystems. This ensures transparency of the principles and practices employed for either mitigation or adaptation responses to climate change in fisheries. 6. Encourage implementation of national, regional, and local monitoring programs to evaluate the effects of climate change in fisheries. The continuation of long term monitoring (i.e., biological, hydrological, climatic) will be essential in addressing trends. 7. Encourage management and research activities that reduce ecosystem stressors to include but not be limited to: metapopulation expansion through careful consideration (i.e., use or removal) of barriers, prescribed fire in watershed to reduce chances of catastrophic fires, pollution preventive measures, biodiversity protection, and land use practices to mitigate changes to disturbances in hydrology of riparian areas and ameliorate temperature fluctuations for protection of coldwater refugia of trout, salmon, and whitefish. 8. Encourage research activities to characterize climate effects in marine, arctic, and freshwater systems, reduce ecosystem stressors, and optimize harvest quota for commercial fisheries stocks. 9. Support provisions of dedicated funding for climate legislation that would provide for conservation of fish, water and other natural resources affected by climate change. As you set our nation’s course for the next four years, we urge you and your Administration to support science, address the realities of global warming, and further expand efforts to move a clean energy economy forward in the United States. As fisheries scientists and also concerned citizens, we offer our assistance in helping you redirect the Nation from a carbon-based consumptive economy to a more sustainable one.

Sincerely, John Boreman, Ph.D. President American Fisheries Society (AFS)

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

Energy production and wild game fish: Oil, Coal, Hydropower, Wind, Natural Gas

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

Ocean Acidification: From Knowledge to Action

Editorial Comment: Ocean acidification impacts marine wildlife at all levels of the food chain. This one of the major drivers behind conservationists’ efforts around the world to minimize dependence on fossil fuels.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

Oil – Drilled, Fracked, Tar Sands

 Northern Gateway Attack Ads Recall Exxon Valdez Spill (VIDEO) March 24, 2013

READ ENTIRE HUFFINGTON POST ARTICLE HERE

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Video: Coastal Tarsands Intro

PROJECT SUMMARY This innovative media project takes a firsthand look at British Columbia’s central coast, its natural features, the weather, the currents, the wildlife, and the people who live there. The filmmaker’s personal journeys into this remote wilderness focus on the coastal areas where Enbridge is proposing to navigate hundreds of supertankers loaded with millions of barrels of Bitumen from Alberta’s Tarsands to China. A UNIQUE APPROACH TO MEDIA PRODUCTION ‘Coastal Tarsands’ will use a series of unique strategies that reflect today’s independent media to examine the truth behind tankers navigating Canada’s west coast. Enbridge is spending $350 million on media campaigns, including promotional animation TV ads. This independent project will use public support to provide a voice for the environment that will be most impacted by the Enbridge tankers. You can help to make this project successful by spreading the word about this website, and DONATING DIRECTLY to this production through our Indiegogo Fundraising Campaign.

READ ENTIRE COASTAL TARSANDS ARTICLE HERE

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 First Nations say they will fight oilsands, pipeline March 20, 2013

Minister of Natural Resources says pipeline projects are in First Nations' economic interest Watch CBC video HERE (begins with a commercial)

Alexandra Morton: 'We have to wake up to the crazy decisions that this government's making to change the world in a negative way.'—Chief Reuben George, Tsleil-Waututh First Nation My coastal First Nation family, friends, allies and enemies - hear these words by a brave chief. You are being taken advantage of by Norwegian feedlots bringing European viruses into your lands, into your fish and into your bodies. The few jobs they offer are like the trade beads that stole so much from you. Their fish are like the virus contaminated blankets. Look

into the eyes of the children you cherish. It is time for the elders to speak, the people to stand up and stop this negative change too. I am here to stand with you, to inform you of the work I do. Your leadership is doing the best they can, but they have not been able to stop this way your lives are being changed, forever. No one knows how to recall the viruses. I was named Gwayum'dzi by the late Chief Alice Smith, the name was remembered by the late and beloved Bea Smith, I am

adopted into her family and the family of Dr. Evelyn Voyager, descendant of Thunder Woman. Tell government and your candidates you will not vote for the people who allow this industry to remain in the water. Message me if you need more

information. This affects not only you, but the people throughout the Fraser River. This has to stop if you want your children to be nourished by the generous salmon who brought life to this coast after the glaciers had scraped it bare. Your

descendants tended the first salmon carefully and together you flourished together. They gave you life, you gave them thanks and respect. Even in this dark age it is not against the law to respect wild salmon. I am here but I have failed.

Your fish need you

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Joint

Review Panel releases "potential conditions" for Northern Gateway to proceed April 12, 2013

Vancouver - The Joint Review Panel investigating the Enbridge Northern Gateway proposal released Friday a lengthy set of "potential conditions" the company must meet for the project to proceed. The panel emphasized that release of the conditions does not mean the controversial proposal to send bitumen by pipeline from Alberta to Kitimat on B.C.'s north coast for export by tankers will receive the go-ahead. "The Panel has not made any decisions on whether or not to recommend approval of the proposed Project," it said in a statement. "The publication of potential conditions is a standard step in the hearing process that is mandated by the courts. This permits all Parties (interveners, government participants and Northern Gateway) to provide comments and to suggest any additional conditions for Panel consideration." The potential conditions would require Enbridge to: • have both pipeline and marine environmental effects monitoring programs, including the need to implement, monitor, and ensure compliance with voluntary marine mammal protection measures, and a completion of a detailed caribou habitat assessment. • ensure laden tankers in the confined channel assessment area have two escort tugs (one tethered). • track aboriginal, local, and regional employment for the project and to notify the National Energy Board prior to applying to Service Canada to use temporary foreign workers. • complete a geo-hazard assessment, mitigation, and monitoring report; an aquatic catalogue for all watercourse crossings; and fish habitat and marine compensation plans.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Activist Climbs Flagpole Outside Refinery Office, Hangs

Banner Denouncing

Investment in Keystone XL March 27, 2013 An activist with Tar Sands Blockade climbed a 50 foot flagpole in front of LyondellBasell‘s downtown Houston, Texas, office this morning and hung a banner denouncing the corporation’s plans to nearly triple its tar sands processing capacity at its Houston Refining facility in the Hispanic neighborhood of Manchester. The banner reads: “LyondellBasell, Stay Out of Tar Sands. No KXL.”

Perry Graham, an activist with Tar Sands Blockade climbed a 50 foot flagpole in front of LyondellBasell‘s downtown Houston office this morning and hung a banner denouncing the corporation’s plans to nearly triple its tar sands processing capacity at its Houston Refining facility in the Hispanic neighborhood of Manchester. Photo courtesy of Tar Sands Blockade Today’s protest, from activist Perry Graham, is in response to a recent announcement by LyondellBasell’s CEO Jim Gallogly that they were “just finishing up” a $50 million upgrade to increase the Houston Refining facility’s capacity to process tar sands. The planned upgrade to the largest refinery in the City of Houston would process 175,000 barrels of tar sands per day, or nearly onequarter of the capacity of TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline. If built, the pipeline would carry toxic tar sands from Alberta, Canada to Houston and other Gulf Coast refineries before being primarily exported overseas. “I’m taking action today to expose LyondellBasell’s unjust practices of environmental racism, from the poisoning of the Athabascan Chipewyan people due to tar sands extraction, to the ongoing refinery pollution affecting communities of color in Houston’s toxic East End,” said Graham. “After last week’s 55 actions across the continent to stop tar sands profiteers, corporations like LyondellBasell that process tar sands should expect active resistance.”

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon! LyondellBasell has a history of dodging accountability for their pollution. In 2009, LyondellBasell filed for bankruptcy, allowing the corporation to avoid nearly $5 billion in environmental cleanup costs at 11 contaminated sites across the country. Last year, LyondellBasell was sued by Harris County for four incidents at their Channelview, Texas, refinery that resulted in the release of five tons of pollutants, including benzene, octane, ethylene, propylene and 1,3-butadiene. To make matters worse, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) refused to allow a public hearing to review LyondellBasell’s benzene emissions in Houston in 2010. This lack of oversight leaves affected communities like Manchester, located less than two miles from the LyondellBasell refinery, to suffer toxic pollutants and cancer-related deaths without recourse. “The fence-line community of Manchester already deals with the effects of the pollution from surrounding industry,” said Manchester resident and Tar Sands Blockade spokesperson Yudith Nieto. “Now LyondellBasell wants to almost triple dirty tar sands refining in our communities without regard for the safety and well being of the people. Where are the state environmental agencies who have a duty to protect us from this unjust and destructive industry?” Visit EcoWatch’s KEYSTONE XL page for more related news on this topic.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Five Oil Spills in One Week: 'Accidents' or Business as Usual? April 3, 2013 UPDATE: Since publication of this story this morning, yet another oil spill has come across the wire - a CP Rail spill from a derailment in northern Ontario - raising the total of spills this past week to SIX. It's been another appallingly bad week for proponents of pipeline safety and new oil infrastructure. If the industry's woeful historical record - from the Exxon Valdez to BP's Gulf of Mexico catastrophe to Enbridge's trashing of the Kalamazoo - isn't enough to turn people off of new pipelines and tanker routes, this slew of recent spills should seal the deal. These incidents couldn't have come at a worse time for the oil and pipeline industries, as US President Barack Obama prepares to announce his final decision in the coming months on the proposed Keystone XL pipeline from the Alberta Tar Sands to Port Arthur, Texas. Let's review the record over the last week: • This past Friday, ExxonMobil's Pegasus Pipeline coated the streets of Mayflower, Arkansas, with what CNN describes as a "smelly, asphalt-like crude" (i.e. diluted bitumen from the Alberta Tar Sands - the same kind the proposed Keystone XL would carry). These photos illustrate the effects of the spill on the sleepy Little Rock suburb - see the viral video captured by a local resident below. • Enbridge was back at it again last week, with the fourth recorded spill in two months along its Norman Wells Pipeline through the Northwest Territories. The company has leaked an estimated million litres of oil since February, 2011, from this one pipeline, prompting the National Energy Board to order an engineering assessment of the chronically malfunctioning line. • Meanwhile, back at the Alberta Tar Sands, Suncor was dealing with (and furiously downplaying) a leak from one of its massive waste ponds into the Athabasca River. This comes on the heels of a leaked memo to Conservative Resources Minister Joe Oliver, which acknowledged routine spillage from these ponds throughout the Tar Sands. • Over the weekend, Michigan was hit with another spill - this time up to 500 gallons of hydraulic oil spilled into the Lansing Grand River during an equipment malfunction at a local utility. • For those who would look to rail as an alternative to pipelines for transporting oil, there was the derailment last week of a CP Rail train, spilling an estimated 30,000 gallons of its crude cargo in western Minnesota. This latest spate of spills should give pause to President Obama as he contemplates the Keystone XL - and to Canadian citizens and lawmakers debating several new pipeline proposals of our own. It's time to put to rest the notion that oil spills are "accidents". They are, rather, a routine function of the business of extracting, transporting, and consuming oil - a good reason to spend our energy and resources on developing sustainable alternatives, not further entrenching our dependence on fossil fuels through new oil infrastructure.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Port grants lease option for oil shipping company April 10, 2013 Now that U.S. Development Group’s Grays Harbor Rail Terminal company has had the chance to “kick the tires” on the Port of Grays Harbor’s Terminal 3 site near Bowerman Field in Hoquiam, it’s ready to negotiate a lease option. It’s not a lease — not for a while, anyway. U.S. Development will pay between $7,000 and $21,000 at various periods for the right to start an actual lease on the site once it gets all the requisite permits and insurance. It’s working on a plan to store and ship crude oil through the Port. The company has had permission from the Port to go on the property and study the feasibility of the project. Since the company “has been able go out there and kick the tires and see if it will meet their needs … the grant of the option will give Grays Harbor Rail the right to proceed with its due diligence,” Port attorney Art Blauvelt said at Tuesday’s Port of Grays Harbor meeting. The option gives U.S. Development security as it moves through the permitting process that it will actually be able to lease the land it’s looking at once it gets to a point where the project is shovelready. It will have up to two years to exercise its option on the property. Port commissioners gave staff the go-ahead Tuesday to begin negotiations, and nothing is finalized yet. The proposal suggests a 20-year lease term with two five-year options for renewal, a separate dock use and rail agreement, a specific plan for dealing with hazardous substances and a requirement the company hold pollution and accident insurance in addition to what’s required by permitting agencies such as the state Department of Ecology or the Coast Guard. If U.S. Development leases the property, the Port can require that it remove any improvements, such as oil storage tanks, at the end of the lease. If the company decides not to exercise its option to lease the property, the Port will keep any fees the company paid to keep the option open. Kevin LaBorne, U.S. Development’s business development manager, said the company will carry general liability insurance with $25 million in coverage for individual incidents and $50 million total. For pollution insurance, LaBorne said their typical policy at other sites has been $10 million. “At the appropriate time, we well establish the requisite pollution insurance,” he told commissioners. Port Commissioner Jack Thompson asked whether the company’s insurance would cover a spill in the estuary if the facility were built. Blauvelt said anything that occurs on the property relating to the facility’s activities would be covered. U.S. Development is one of three companies looking at shipping crude through the Port; the others, Westway Terminal Co. and Imperium Renewables, are existing Port tenants hoping to expand shipping operations at Terminal 2 in the heart of Port operations. U.S. Development’s Grays Harbor Rail Terminal proposal is for Terminal 3 near the Bowerman Field airport in Hoquiam and is expected to be the largest of the operations. Westway and Imperium are currently in the permitting and environmental review stage.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Gulf Seafood Deformities Alarm Scientists March 18, 2013 New Orleans, LA - “The fishermen have never seen anything like this,” Dr Jim Cowan told Al Jazeera. “And in my 20 years working on red snapper, looking at somewhere between 20 and 30,000 fish, I’ve never seen anything like this either.” Dr Cowan, with Louisiana State University’s Department of Oceanography and CoastalSciences started hearing about fish with sores and lesions from fishermen in November 2010.

READ ENTIRE OCEANSRNG ARTICLE HERE

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Government

still plans communications station

Vancouver

Coast

Guard

marine

March 20, 2013 Largest oil spill response ship in Monday public relations exercise for federal Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver came too close to a BC Ferry, then ran aground on 11-hour trip to Vancouver from Esquimalt base, say two Coast Guard unions – CAW & UCTE - and ForestEthics Advocacy

VANCOUVER – Hours before a public relations exercise by federal Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver took place Monday in Vancouver Harbour, the largest oil spill response ship taking part came too close to a BC Ferry in Active Pass and then ran aground later on during an 11-hour trip from its Esquimalt base to Vancouver, says the Coast Guard’s marine communications union. BC environmental group Forest Ethics says Oliver’s assurances that Vancouver will be adequately protected in the event of an oil spill should be taken with a grain of saltwater. And the union representing crew at the now closed Kitsilano Coast Guard Station says the federal government actually moved the oil boom containment boat previously located there all the way to Richmond’s Sea Island hovercraft base, at least an hour away from Vancouver Harbour.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon! Allan Hughes, Regional Director of the Canadian Auto Workers Local 2182 – representing Canadian Coast Guard Marine Communications Officers – says the Burrard Cleaner No. 9 – the largest oil spill response skimmer vessel owned by private contractor Western Canada Marine Response Corporation – was involved in a close quarters situation with a BC Ferry and then ran aground near Sandheads off the Fraser River on the way to Vancouver, a trip that took 11 hours. “It’s astonishing to think that the safety and protection of Canada’s busiest port is dependent on a quick response in the event of an oil spill and this is what we get – a response vessel grounding itself and taking 11 hours to arrive in Vancouver,” said Hughes. “Minister Joe Oliver announced nothing actually new on Monday to add to the Port of Vancouver’s protection and didn’t bother telling media about the Burrard Cleaner No 9 incident or just how far away major oil spill response ships are from Vancouver,” Hughes said. “There are wrecks littered all over this coast that continue to leak oil that the government has not acted in cleaning up since the 1950's,” he added. “This is all smoke and mirrors while in reality they are dismantling the safety net in Vancouver Harbour, by moving Vancouver’s Coast Guard Marine Communications and Traffic Services Centre to Victoria – and have in February already closed the Kitsilano Coast Guard Station and Vancouver Coast Guard radio. ForestEthics Advocacy representative Ben West said Oliver’s visit to Vancouver was literally a baseless attempt to gain positive media coverage while doing worse than nothing. Joe Oliver’s claims that Vancouver will be better protected by the federal government should be taken with a grain of saltwater, they barely even managed to get the oil spill response vehicle to a press conference in one piece” West said. “The irony of the minister’s mishap enroute to his press conference should be a serious reminder for us all that in the event of even a small oil spill in Vancouver harbour we are in deep trouble with current resources.” “Oliver’s PR stunt is all about trying to convince British Columbians that increased oil exports through the Port of Vancouver and down our coast is no big problem,” West said. “But the government has actually closed the Kitsilano Coast Guard Station and plans to eliminate Vancouver’s marine communications station only increase the risk of a serious and potentially devastating accident here. Dave Clark – Union of Canadian Transportation Employees BC Regional Vice-President – says the oil boom containment boat previously anchored at Kitsilano Station was moved to Sea Island when the Station closed, increasing response time by at least an hour. “The oil boom containment boat was literally just around the corner from Vancouver Harbour at Kitsilano – now it would take an hour’s travel time even in good weather to get from Sea Island to the site of a spill,” Clark said. “That’s another move that reduces – not improves – protections services.” Hughes said federal plans continue to close the Marine Communications & Traffic Service centre in the Harbour Centre building that directs and monitors tanker, freighter, cruise ship, tugboat, ferries, pleasure craft and other large vessel traffic in the Port and move its operations to Victoria to be done remotely by cameras and radar is ludicrous. The federal government is also closing Canadian Coast Guard Marine Communications & Traffic Service centres in Comox and Tofino, further jeopardizing safety at sea, Hughes said. And Hughes said other measures proposed as “new” by Oliver are either already in effect or window dressing that will not improve prevention, only response.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

Coal

 Watershed Concerns Surface What happens when the largest coal company in Canada mines near the banks of one of North America’s prime fisheries? April 7, 2013 The Elk River rushes south through the picturesque Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, past the communities of Elkford and Fernie and merges with the Kootenai River in Lake Koocanusa, which spans the U.S. border. Stretching almost 140 miles from its glacial origins farther north, the river is hailed as a world-class fishery for westslope cutthroat and bull trout. The vast river basin is also a rich source for energy development. The Elk River Valley is home to five longstanding open-pit coal mines that produce 30 percent of Canada’s overall steelmaking output. The mines are lucrative operations for Vancouver-based Teck Resources Ltd., the country’s largest diversified mining company that is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. Despite depressed prices in the global market last year, Teck increased both coal sales and production by 8 percent and reported year-end revenues of $10.3 billion and gross profit before depreciation of $4 billion. The industrial giant announced plans in 2012 to expand operations, particularly in the Elk River Valley. Four of the five mines are looking to grow and a sixth mine is being proposed. But those prospects appear to be on shaky ground as impacts are surfacing from more than 40 years of mining near the Elk’s riverbanks. Environment Canada, the governmental department overseeing the country’s natural resources, served a search warrant on Teck last spring in response to growing fear of toxic pollutants in the watershed, according to a recent story in The Globe and Mail. Researchers with the Elk Valley Selenium Task Force, a group studying pollution levels in the basin, catalogued “mass deformities” of fish that were exposed to the Elk Valley tributaries in southeast British Columbia. They also discovered high levels of a metal-like element called selenium, as well as abnormal nitrate and phosphate levels. Concerns further spiked this month following the release of a water quality and aquatic life study coauthored by two University of Montana researchers.

READ ENTIRE FLATHEAD BEACON ARTICLE HERE

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Coal Power Study Finds Health Impacts Very Dangerous

EDMONTON - A study says coal-fired power generation is likely to cause thousands of early deaths in Alberta before government regulations forces plants to reduce emissions. The study also says the plants — many of which have decades to comply with new federal emissions rules — will also be behind thousands more hospital admissions and lost workdays. It concludes the cost of those health impacts amounts to a subsidy for generators because they don't have to pay for them. "In essence, it's a health subsidy that's being picked up by the people of Alberta," said report author Tim Weis of the environmental think-tank Pembina Institute. The institute teamed with the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, the Alberta and N.W.T. Lung Association and the Asthma Society of Canada on the report released Tuesday. Weis said if the health costs were reflected in the price of coal-fired power, renewable energy would look more attractive. The study combined previous research measuring the health impacts of various pollutants with the known amounts of pollution coming from Alberta's many coal-fired power plants. "There is an extensive body of literature dealing with the health impact of air pollutants," says the report, which draws on many studies from the U.S. and Canada on contaminants, including sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, mercury and particulates. The amount of those toxins released by each generator is published annually in a federal pollution inventory.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 TransAlta Involved in Legal Battle Over Coal Dust Lawsuit: Conservationists Allege TransAlta and Other Coal Transporters are Polluting Washington Waters April 12, 2013

TransAlta is facing off with the Sierra Club again, this time over coal dust coming from trains carrying loads of the fossil fuel to the Centralia plant and throughout the state, potentially polluting Washington waters. The Sierra Club and four other environmental groups last week filed a 60-day notice of intent to sue Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway and seven other coal companies, including TransAlta, in federal court for allegedly violating the Clean Water Act. “I think they’re exaggerating,” TransAlta’s External Relations Director Richard DeBolt said of the environmental groups’ concerns, noting the company is still determining how to respond. DeBolt said he was surprised the Sierra Club named TransAlta in the notice because there is already an agreement to shut down the Centralia plant’s coal-powered turbines in 2020 and 2025. If successful, this latest challenge would for the first time require companies exporting coal to obtain water pollution permits or seek other solutions for mitigating the discharge of pollutants.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon! “It’s up to the coal shippers to figure out how to stop violating the law,” said Krista Collard, a spokeswoman for the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign in the Pacific Northwest. “The Clean Water Act is something to take seriously.” Collard said four uncovered trains carrying coal travel through the state each day and two typically go to TransAlta’s Centralia facility. BNSF estimates that an average of 500 pounds of coal is lost from each rail car on every trip. A typical train carries about 120 rail cars — losing an estimated 30 tons of coal per trip, according to the railway’s testimony before the Surface Transportation Board. The environmental groups have documented several Washington waterways near railroad tracks throughout the state that have tested positive for coal and its byproducts — including one near Longview. But, DeBolt said, coal dust is not a legitimate environmental concern because sealant is applied on top of loaded rail cars to prevent it from coming off in transit. Still, Collard said, the sealants are only about 85 percent effective and are often applied unevenly. Further, she said, coal leaks out of holes in the bottom and sides of the rail cars, particularly during rain events common to the Northwest. A page from BNSF’s website detailing the railway’s research on coal dust since 2005, which has since been taken down, confirms that sealants are only 85 percent effective. “From these studies, BNSF has determined that coal dust poses a serious threat to the stability of the track structure and thus to the operational integrity of our lines,” the webpage states. “BNSF does not believe that any commodity should be permitted to escape from its shipping container and foul the railroad’s roadbed or surrounding areas.” The company’s study determined that coal dust buildup can prevent water from draining from track beds, which can push steel rails out of place and cause derailments. “Coal train derailments pose a threat to human health and safety and constitute Clean Water Act violations when they spill coal into waterways,” the environmental group’s legal notice states. But, DeBolt, who in addition to his role at TransAlta serves as the state’s House Republican minority leader, said the coal dust issue is not a real concern and denied its existence near railroad tracks, during a telephone town hall meeting with constituents and other legislators on April 3. “As we look at the environmental rules and regulations in Washington, they’re not just stifling the coal industry and they’re not just stifling our growth but they really are an assault on rural Washington,” he said. DeBolt said Washingtonians need to embrace coal and other natural resource industries to bring jobs to the state. TransAlta’s Centralia operation employed about 270 workers as of January. “Right now we have some of the best jobs in Washington out at the Centralia steam plant,” DeBolt said. “Yet, we have people in Seattle and other areas telling us what businesses can and can’t exist in our communities.” The environmental groups are now calling on TransAlta and other coal transporters to figure out how to mitigate pollutants and other health risks coming from coal trains or face a legal battle in federal court. “There’s a good chance there could be national implications,” Collard said. “It’s certainly a big deal.”

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Pacific Northwest Coal Exports: Washington And Oregon Governors Call For Greenhouse Gas Study March 25, 2013 SEATTLE (AP) — The governors of Washington and Oregon are urging the White House to evaluate the effects of greenhouse gasses that would be emitted elsewhere if the nation's coal is exported. In a joint letter sent Monday to the President's Council on Environmental Quality, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber called on the federal government to examine the consequences on global air quality if five coal export terminals proposed in Washington and Oregon ship up to 140 million tons of coal a year from Montana and Wyoming's Powder River basin to hungry markets in Asia. Given that coal exports from the Northwest could result in 240 million tons per year of carbon dioxide emissions, the Democratic governors wrote, "it is hard to conceive that the federal government would ignore the inevitable consequences of coal leasing and coal export." "We believe the decisions to continue and expand coal leasing from federal lands and authorize the export of that coal are likely to lead to long-term investments in coal generation in Asia, with air quality and climate impacts in the United States that dwarf almost any other action the federal government could take in the foreseeable future," they wrote. The governors said that the U.S. is poised to become a significant supplier of coal to Asia, and they noted that coal is a major source of global greenhouse gas emissions. They worried that increase greenhouse gas emissions from burning of coal are causing environmental and health costs in the U.S. and around the world. Kitzhaber has previously asked federal officials to study the environmental impacts of mining coal in Montana and Wyoming, shipping it to the West Coast and burning it in Asia. Former Gov. Chris Gregoire, a Democrat whom Inslee replaced in January, had declined to take a position on coal exports, saying she wanted the regulatory process to play out. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is reviewing three projects, including one in Oregon at Port of Morrow in Boardman, and two in Washington in Longview and north of Bellingham. No final decisions have been made on related state permits for these terminals, the governors noted in their letter. Proponents of the projects say they will create jobs and generate millions in tax revenues. Lauri Hennessey, a spokeswoman for Alliance for Northwest Jobs & Exports, which includes U.S. coal producers, noted that the U.S. Senate voted last week to oppose new requirements that federal agencies consider greenhouse gas emissions in their analysis under federal environmental law. "This requirement would be particularly damaging in the Northwest where trade and export are vital to the economy and support good family-wage jobs," she said. Project opponents want regulators to study the broader effects of the projects, including increased train traffic, carbon emissions from burning coal overseas and other health and environmental concerns. "Coal export would harm our air, water, and climate so it makes sense to evaluate the impacts," Brett VandenHeuvel, executive director of Columbia Riverkeeper said in a statement Monday.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Coos Bay Coal Export Project Derailed FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, April 1, 2013 Contact: David M. Petrie Coos Waterkeeper, 541- 297-7252 Krista Collard, 614-622-9109 Kimberly Larson, 206-388-8674 Northwest Communities Score Major Victory: Coos Bay Coal Export Project Derailed Coos Bay, OR— Today, the Port of Coos Bay stands alone in its efforts to develop a terminal for coal exports, as the last project proponent, California-based Metro Ports allowed its exclusive negotiating contract with the Port to expire 3/31/13. Last month, Metro Ports filed a 30-day extension of the negotiating contract after learning that the last two companies being courted as partner investors, Japanese-based Mitsui Company and Korean Electric Power Corporation, lost interest in the project. On behalf of the Power Past Coal coalition, David Petrie, Director of Coos Waterkeeper, issued the following statement in response: “We are heartened that Metro Ports, the sole remaining interested project proponent, finally joins Mitsui and Korean Electric Power Corporation in seeing the Port of Coos Bay’s coal export proposal for the bad project it is.

ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST: The last of three backers of the proposed coal export terminal at Coos Bay Oregon let its contract expire yesterday. With Asian coal demand waning coal export is a risky proposition for NW communities. http://bit.ly/13MoYaX

“As coal export proponents desperately seek to develop the other four proposed coal export terminals in Oregon and Washington, should take notice of the independent decisions made by Metro Ports, Mitsui, Korean Electric Power Corporation, Portland General Electric, and RailAmerica to walk away from these risky projects before it’s too late. “With fluctuating markets, massive opposition from communities, local businesses, health professionals and elected officials across the region, and the hundreds of millions of dollars in rail and bridge infrastructure needed to make the project viable, it is hard to imagine that anyone would want to risk getting in bed with risky and desperate coal industry.” ### POWER PAST COAL is an ever-growing alliance of health, environmental, businesses, clean-energy, faith and community groups working to stop coal export off the West Coast. Visit PowerPastCoal.org for more information.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

Hydropower

 Fish Ladders and Elevators Not Working January 25, 2013 River dams control water flow and help generate electricity, but they're a daunting barrier to fish swimming upstream to spawn. Various structures called fish passages are designed to get fish past dams, and they dot rivers across the Northeast United States. But a new analysis suggests they aren't working like they're supposed to, and fish aren't making it to where they need to go. To help fish surmount the looming wall of a dam and reach upstream waters, dams are fitted with stair like structures called ladders (fish leap up a series of pools) and elevator like contraptions called lifts (fish are channeled into a hopper that gets raised).

Maryland's Conowingo Dam has a fish lift.

Such fish passages are a key component of restoration efforts for migratory fish such as American shad and Atlantic salmon, whose populations are at historic lows—less than 10% of previous generations. State laws have required fish passages for hundreds of years—some date back to the 1700s—and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has mandated them for relicensing hydropower projects since the 1960s. Data on fish passages is collected by power companies and is publicly available, but until now no one had pulled the information together. So Jed Brown, a fish ecologist who was working at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Nashua, New Hampshire, and his colleagues compiled fish passage data from multiple "mainstem" dams—those closest to the mouth—on three major rivers: the Merrimack, which runs from New Hampshire and empties into the Atlantic Ocean north of Boston; the Connecticut, which runs from New Hampshire south to the Long Island Sound; and the Susquehanna, which runs from upstate New York to the Chesapeake Bay. Scientists and engineers set targets for the transport capacity of fish passages. And yet, the study lays bare that those targets are being missed by orders of magnitude. For instance, the first Merrimack River dam aims to let 300,000 river herring pass through; the mean number for the years 2008 to 2011 was 706 per year. The goal at the first Connecticut River dam is 300,000 to 500,000 fish. There, the mean for those same years was 86. And for the Susquehanna, the goal is 5 million river herring spawning above the fourth dam, which passed an average of seven herring from 2008 to 2011. This means that very few fish are reaching quality breeding grounds, which has likely contributed to the decimation in river herring populations. Live Chat: Is the World Failing at Conservation? Thursday 3 p.m. EDT "It's an old problem and it hasn't gotten solved," Brown says of getting fish around dams. (Brown now directs the Integrated Seawater Energy and Agriculture System Project in Abu Dhabi.)

Legacy â&#x20AC;&#x201C; May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Year of the Wild Salmon! It's not like fish ladders never work. American shad climb ladders in Western U.S. rivers with apparent ease, says co-author Karin Limburg, a shad expert at the State University of New York's College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse. But for reasons no one completely understands, they're not helping fish at these mainstem dams in the East. Many fish have trouble finding the passages in these large waterways, Limburg says. So what's the solution? The authors, who publish their work online this month in Conservation Letters, suggest it's time to admit failure that the fish passages they studied aren't working. They make a case for dam removal in these areas and point to Maine's experience removing two dams from the Penobscot River. In that case, the power company was allowed to increase generating power at other, less ecologically important sites. Removing mainstem dams can allow free access to lower tributaries and their spawning habitats, while dams farther upstream can keep producing electricity (while they limit access to upper tributaries and ancestral habitat). Brown knows that removing dams will be an uphill battle, so to speak. "I hear this a lot: 'These dams will never come out,' " he says. "Maybe our paper will change that." James McCleave, professor emeritus at the University of Maine, Orono, agrees that it's time to consider different options. Migratory fish, he notes, readily move into newly opened habitat when dams are removed. "So many people are focused on making better fishways," McCleave says. "I think Brown is saying, 'Let's step back and take a different tack.' " Photos - Condit Dam breaching, Washington State

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Alarm raised over lack of process in run-of-river project Conservationists claim Holmes Hydro Inc. proposal is bypassing environmental assessment process April 3, 2013

The Holmes River empties into the Fraser River southeast of McBride, B.C. (Google Maps) A coalition of conservation groups was in B.C. Supreme Court on Wednesday, asking a judge to overturn a decision that allows a hydro-electric development in northeastern B.C. to proceed without an environmental assessment. The Holmes River hydro project consists of 10 generation sites along a 40-kilometre stretch of the river near McBride, B.C., generating an estimated 76 megawatts of electricity. The Watershed Watch Salmon Society and the David Suzuki Foundation say the large-scale project should, under provincial law, undergo an environmental assessment.

Legacy â&#x20AC;&#x201C; May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Year of the Wild Salmon! But the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office has permitted the proponent to file each of the 10 hydro stations to be located along tributaries to the river as separate, smaller-scale projects that do not require assessment. "That means it hasn't been subject to the rigorous and transparent scientific review and public participation that it could have been," said Aaron Hill, an ecologist with the Watershed society. "We think that's necessary to ensure that these types of projects don't do undue harm to important wilderness values in B.C." There are a large number of run-of-river projects underway or proposed in B.C. currently, and the decision to allow Holmes Hydro Inc. to split the project up for application purposes is a dangerous precedent, he said. "It is a cleaner form of energy than, say, fossil fuels but it's still a major industrial development that could do significant harm to fish and wildlife in an important watershed," he said outside B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver, where a hearing was scheduled for two days. "It's important that when we do approve renewal energy projects we make sure that only the best ones go ahead and the best way to do that is through subjecting the projects to B.C.'s environmental assessment process." An official with the provincial Environment Ministry declined to comment, as the matter is now before the court. Jay Ritchlin, western Canada director of the David Suzuki Foundation, said his group is not necessarily opposed to this specific project. "Had the right process been applied for environmental assessment, we would have had the opportunity to address the real issues around fish and wildlife habitat â&#x20AC;&#x201D; but we can't," Ritchlin said. "And no way can the people of British Columbia understand the cumulative effects of something like this if the proper assessments aren't done up front." The Holmes River is home to chinook salmon, and the conservation groups are concerned that the water diversion involved in 10 hydro stations could impact a salmon population that feeds into the Fraser River. The hydro plants to be built along the river would be linked by a transmission line connecting them to the provincial power grid. Each would generate between two and 10 megawatts of power. Projects in B.C. that generate 50 megawatts or more must undergo an environmental assessment and Ecojustice lawyer Devon Page, who represents the conservation groups in the court action, said splitting the project up has allowed Holmes Hydro to circumvent the law. The B.C. government has significantly weakened provincial assessment laws already, Page said. "The laws we have left they're interpreting as loosely as possible so as to avoid conducting environmental assessments of environmentally harmful projects," he said. The groups want the judge to overturn the provincial agency's decision, and order an environmental assessment, cancelling any permits that may have been issued so far.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Monster

earthquake would devastate Pacific Northwest, leaving thousands

dead. But tsunami would be secondary issue for Lower Mainland, because Vancouver Island would take brunt of big wave: expert March 16, 2013 A monster earthquake and tsunami would wreak havoc on B.C.’s west coast, but the effects would be far worse in Washington and Oregon states. “I suspect there’d be a significant number of deaths in the Lower Mainland as a result of the shaking,” said Ronald Clowes, a crustal seismologist and professor emeritus at the University of B.C. “But the tsunami would be a secondary concern.” Clowes spoke on Friday after researchers told Oregon legislators Thursday that more than 10,000 people could die when — not if — a monster earthquake and tsunami occur off the Pacific Northwest coast. Coastal towns would be inundated; schools, buildings and bridges would collapse; and economic damage could hit $32 billion, the researchers said. These findings were published in a chilling new report by the Oregon Seismic Safety Policy Advisory Commission, a group of more than 150 volunteer experts. In 2011, the Oregon legislature authorized the study of what would happen if a quake and tsunami such as the one that devastated Japan hit the Pacific Northwest. The Cascadia Subduction Zone, just off the regional coastline, produced a mega-quake in the year 1700. Seismic experts say another monster quake and tsunami could happen at any time.

Oregon legislators have been told that although the state and Japan are mirror images, Japan was more prepared to handle the damage caused by an major earthquake and tsunami. Editorial Comment: Connecting the dots…. The Pacific Northwest region discussed in this article is blessed with many streams and rivers that are home to magnificent wild game fish (salmon, steelhead, cutthroat and more). Our river valleys are home to hundreds of species of flora and fauna. This natural abundance has sustained local inhabitants and newcomers for thousands of years. Many of these same watersheds have been “tamed” via construction of hydropower and flood control dams – more dams are planned and even more are being debated. When the earthquakes described in this article hit our region, many of these dams will assuredly fail, thus killing far more people and causing far more damage than this article alludes to.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon! “This earthquake will hit us again,” Kent Yu, an engineer and chairman of the commission, told lawmakers. “It’s just a matter of how soon.” When it hits, the report says, there will be devastation and death from Northern California to British Columbia. Clowes agreed that B.C. will be hit hard, and that we could be due for a major quake. But he also noted that while the Lower Mainland would be severely shaken and the west coast of Vancouver Island devastated, the tsunami’s energy would largely dissipate before reaching the Vancouver area because Vancouver Island and the Olympic Peninsula provide a measure of protection. “You won’t have the open-ocean wave.” According to the Oregon report, the 2011 Japan quake and tsunami were a wake-up call for the Pacific Northwest. Governments have been taking a closer look at whether the region is prepared for something similar, and discovering it is not. Oregon legislators requested the study so they could better inform themselves about what needs to be done to prepare and recover from such a giant natural disaster. The report says that geologically, Oregon and Japan are mirror images. Despite the devastation in Japan, that country was more prepared than Oregon because it had spent billions on technology to reduce the damage, the report said. Meanwhile, a third minor earthquake has struck off the north B.C. coast, the latest in a series that has rattled the area since last fall. The West Coast-Alaska Tsunami Warning Centre in Palmer, Alaska, says the third quake hit at 7:28 p.m. on Thursday, 72 kilometres south of Sandspit on the Haida Gwaii islands. The centre says quakes with magnitudes of 4.6 and 4.3 struck about 75 kilometres south and 97 kilometres southwest of Sandspit just hours earlier. The centre says there was no tsunami danger from any of the quakes. Two other quakes of similar magnitudes occurred in February in the same region. A 7.7 earthquake rocked Haida Gwaii in October, the strongest recorded in Canada since an 8.1 shaker hit the same area in 1949, but no damage was reported.

Stuff Happens!

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 BC Hydro’s Site C dam proposal puts Peace River at top of endangered rivers list April 8, 2013 The Peace River — site of a contentious, planned third BC Hydro dam — has been named the most endangered river in the province for 2013 by the 100,000-member Outdoor Recreation Council of B.C. The lower Fraser River ranked second on the council’s annual list due to urbanization, industrial development, and habitat loss, while the Elk River in southeastern B.C. ranked number three based on development, coalrelated chemical levels, and wildlife migration issues. Mark Angelo, the council’s rivers chair, said the environmental impacts of the Site C hydroelectric dam would include loss of important wintering wildlife habitat, recreational values, aboriginal and historic sites, and class-one agricultural land. The council also cites widespread local opposition to the dam, including from aboriginal groups, and the $7.9-billion cost to a Crown corporation already mired in debt and with more than enough power to meet existing domestic needs. “If you look at the whole picture, the case for a Site C dam has largely vanished,” Angelo argued in an interview. “It’s difficult under the current scenario for anyone to justify it.” Of the suggestion that the power is needed for proposed liquefied natural gas plants, Angelo said that “to build Site C just to support a possible future LNG plant would be a huge environmental and economic subsidy.” NDP energy critic John Horgan agreed that domestic needs do not currently justify the Site C project, but said one cannot rule out its necessity in decades to come. That is why he believes the environmental assessment process should continue so that the public will know the true tradeoffs of proceeding with the proposal. “I’m often pushed to just say no, but I don’t believe that’s responsible,” Horgan said. He said that before making any decision it is important for BC Hydro to complete an Integrated Resource Plan, offering a 20-year plan for meeting future growth in demand for electricity. BC Hydro proposes to construct an earthfill dam 1,050 metres long and 60 metres high, a 1,100megawatt generating station, an 83-kilometre reservoir, realignment of four sections of Highway 29, and two 77-kilometre transmission lines connecting Site C to the existing provincial power grid. Site C is downstream of two existing dams — WAC Bennett and Peace Canyon, completed in 1967 and 1980, respectively. The period for written comment on BC Hydro’s environmental impact statement ended April 4. A three-member Joint Review Panel is expected to be appointed by the federal and provincial environment ministers this summer. Angelo said he is dismayed that at a time when rivers need greater protection from human activities, Ottawa has weakened federal river-related legislation, such as the Fisheries Act and the Navigable Water Protection Act. At the provincial level, he said he is looking forward to a long-awaited modernization of the centuryold Water Act that would ensure that any decisions relating to the allocation and extraction of water would take into account the long-term needs of people and fish, and not just the short-term needs of resource development and extraction. He also urged the province to recognize that some rivers with exceptional natural and recreational values such as Tamahi Creek, a popular padding spot and tributary of the Chilliwack River, should be “no-go zones” for independent run-of-river power projects.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Corps assesses danger from big quake at 20 NW dams April 1, 2013 GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is halfway through studies of the threat posed by a major offshore earthquake to its 20 dams in Oregon and southern Washington. Dam safety program manager Matt Craig said Monday the dams were all built before engineers knew about the dangers of a major quake in the Cascadia Subduction Zone. Though the dams were not built to meet that kind of a threat, the agency doesn't expect any of them to fail to the point of losing their reservoirs. There could, be some damage, such as settling of the dam structure, cracks in concrete, and some seepage. Meanwhile, Oregon State University has just started to map areas of the Willamette Valley likely to see soil liquefaction in a major quake, said Ed Mason, assistant professor of engineering. Prolonged shaking causes some soils, such as sand, to behave like a liquid, which leaves structures built on them vulnerable to shifting. The map will be done in six years. State agencies, including the Oregon Department of Transportation, have put up the $500,000 for the work. The Cascadia Subduction Zone last let go 313 years ago, but scientists say it could go again at any time. There is evidence on land that the full fault from Northern California to Vancouver, British Columbia, shifts about every 500 years, producing an earthquake of magnitude 9.0. But there is growing evidence from the seabed that the southern part of the fault off Northern California and Southern Oregon shifts more frequently, about every 300 years, said Art Frankel, a seismologist with the U.S. Geological Survey. The smaller quakes are of lower magnitude, about 8.0, or 10 times less than the full event, but still big enough to cause major damage. A recent study commissioned by the Legislature says as many as 10,000 people could die, coastal areas would see major flooding, and buildings and bridges would collapse. Since starting the dam studies about 15 years ago, the corps has studied earthquake dangers at 10 dams. It plans to do five this year, and five more next year. The five being studied this year are The Dalles Dam on the Columbia, Cougar Dam on the South Fork McKenzie, Green Peter and Foster dams on the South Santiam, and the Lost Creek Project on the Rogue River. The one dam that has gone through the full safety evaluation process, including seismic evaluation, is Applegate Dam on the Applegate River outside Medford. While there was a recommendation to evaluate the intake tower bridge, that would not lead to dam failure, said corps spokeswoman Amy Echols. The evaluation of Bonneville Dam on the Columbia led to repairs to one of the navigation locks. Areas of soil liquification have been identified as a potential issue at the dam closest to the subduction zone, Fernridge west of Eugene. The corps has asked for money to do further studies, Craig said. All the dams go through a general safety inspection every five years. The seismic studies occur every 15 years.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Flood Authority Discusses Quinault Opposition to State Funding AT ODDS: Tribe Opposes Plan for Dam on the Upper Chehalis March 22, 2013 MONTESANO — At a Flood Authority meeting here Thursday, members of the Chehalis River Basin Flood Authority discussed the Quinault Nation’s announcement that they will not support state funding for flood mitigation projects. In a letter to Gov. Jay Inslee, Fawn Sharp, the Quinault president, asked the state to preserve the tribe’s treatyprotected fishing, hunting and gathering rights by not funding the $28 million requested by Chehalis Basin leaders. “The bottom line is that they’re opposing the Capital Budget package until there’s a discussion in the Governor’s Office with the Indian Nation present,” Flood Authority Facilitator Jim Kramer said Thursday. According to Kramer, the authority only became aware of the letter’s existence last week. It was sent to the governor in late February.

Editorial Comment: Wild Game Fish Conservation International (WGFCI) along with the Quinault Indian Nation (QIN) opposes additional efforts associated with constructing a multipurpose dam in the uniquely productive headwaters of the Chehalis River. WGFCI and the QIN support immediate and permanent moratoriums on Chehalis River basin floodplain development and on irresponsible/illegal logging practices throughout the Chehalis River basin. (photo credit: Natural Settings)

The Quinaults last year sent a similar letter to then-Gov. Chris Gregoire. The governor responded with a letter offering government to government consultation, but that meeting never took place, Kramer said. Former Grays Harbor County Commissioner Terry Willis, who attended Thursday’s meeting as a member of the public, encouraged the Flood Authority to reach out to the Quinault Nation. Communicating with the governor is one important conversation, she said. But communicating with the Flood Authority — particularly regarding individual projects and their impact on the Nation’s treaty rights — is a different, and equally important, conversation, according to Willis.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon! “I want to remind everyone that in the permitting process of these projects, the Quinault Nation’s opinion is going to weigh extremely heavily, along with any of the other tribes,” she said. “If we don’t do some outreach, it’s going to be difficult in the permitting process.” Kramer said that, according to governor’s adviser Keith Phillips, no action has been taken in response to the letter According to Sharp’s letter, the Quinault Nation wholly opposes funding for both the study and design of a dam on the Upper Chehalis River as well as the proposed slate of small scale projects, intended to provide immediate flooding relief in the Basin. “We have repeatedly expressed our opposition to such projects in the past and continue to do so now,” Sharp, the tribe’s former managing attorney, said in her letter dated Feb. 26. “As a co-manager of the Chehalis Basin’s resources with federally-protected treaty rights, the Quinault Indian Nation must be substantively involved in decision-making regarding flood relief measures.” The Quinaults instead suggest, Sharp said, that state resources be directed toward removing and prohibiting construction of houses and businesses in the floodplain and restoring the local environment. “Millions are being spent to remove dams from the Elwha River and elsewhere to try to undo damage to salmon and steelhead resources,” she wrote. The Quinault Indian Nation would welcome a meeting with the governor to discuss “appropriate state expenditures to address flooding,” she concluded. The Chehalis Work Group will meet with Gov. Inslee on April 4.

The Cowlitz Falls Project (Lewis County PUD) is a 70 megawatt hydroelectric dam that was constructed in the early 1990's. The dam and power generation facility were completed in 1994. The dam is 140 feet high and spans approximately 700 feet across the Cowlitz River. The reservoir behind the dam has a surface area of approximately 700 acres. This project was constructed without effective fish passage, upstream or downstream. The Chehalis River Project (proposed by Lewis County PUD) will be approximately 300 feet high and 2,000 feet across the Chehalis River. Like the Cowlitz Falls Project, the Chehalis River Project is being designed without fish passage and like its sister project will be sited in prime salmon and trout spawning and rearing habitats.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Inslee Budget Allocates $28.2 Million to Flood Relief in the Chehalis Basin March 29, 2013 In his proposed 2013-15 budget, released Thursday, Gov. Jay Inslee allocated $28.2 million to Chehalis Basin flood mitigation efforts. The money awarded equals the sum requested by the Chehalis Work Group. Former Gov. Chris Gregoire in her outgoing 2013-15 Capital Budget suggested that money be awarded to the Chehalis Basin. According to the Office of Financial Management, the money allocated by Inslee is to be used specifically for the Chehalis Basin Flood Authority and Chehalis Tribe and other authorized local government groups to develop governance agreements for development of flood hazard mitigation measures throughout the Chehalis basin. Vickie Raines, a Work Group member and the chair of the Flood Authority, said she is "grateful Governor Inslee sees the importance of flood reduction and mitigation on the Chehalis River." Wild Game Fish Conservation International response: It's truly unfortunate that Governor Inslee and other elected officials continue their reckless spending of taxpayer money in support of yet more studies to determine the feasibility of the proposed Chehalis River dam, a multipurpose (hydro-power and water retention) project that will never see the light of day. The $28 million now proposed by governor Inslee for Chehalis River flood risk reduction projects is in addition to several million already spent to study the feasibility and impacts of this irresponsible undertaking. It is about half of what is planned over the next six years - more will be requested in future years. It's a cash cow for a few counties and cities in the basin - with no reduction of flood risks to date! And then there's the project itself at an estimated $1,000,000,000 to build. This massive figure doesn't include project maintenance or upstream and downstream passage of Chehalis River salmon, steelhead and trout. This dam, as proposed will be in the headwaters of the Chehalis River, just upstream from the SW Washington community of Pe Ell. It will not keep Interstate 5 from flooding as there are several tributaries that flow into the Chehalis River downstream from the dam site. This dam has been opposed by the Chehalis Tribe, Quinault Indian Nation, Steelhead and Salmon Conservation Society, Wild Game Fish Conservation International and others as it will be extremely expensive, ineffective and it will devastate several Chehalis River basin fish and wildlife species; some of which are listed as threatened or endangered under America's Endangered Species Act. All of this while providing downstream residents and businesses with a false sense of security. In fact, many downstream from the proposed dam location would be placed in greater harm's way given the area's geology, including faults and unstable soils. The likelihood of this dam failing is real! To fund additional studies associated with the proposed Chehalis River dam, many of which have been done previously, demonstrates a lack of leadership, disrespect to Chehalis basin tribes, no common sense and absolute insensitivity to the real needs of Washington state citizens and our natural resources. It's time for Washington taxpayers to demand wise use of our dollars to protect our fish and wildlife and their fragile ecosystems. It's also time for our elected officials to insist that land use regulations associated with floodplain development and logging are effectively enforced and updated as needed. Lastly, it's time for governor Inslee to disband the expensive and ineffective Chehalis River Basin Flood Authority.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Our Views: Inslee Makes Right Call in Flood Relief March 29, 2013 Last month, the Quinault Indian Nation came out in opposition to a requested $28.2 million from the state for proposed Chehalis River Basin flood relief projects. The Nation asked Gov. Jay Inslee to keep the money out of his proposed two-year capital budget. The Quinaults claimed the flood projects would infringe upon their fishing, hunting and gathering rights protected by treaty. The Nation was specifically opposed to several small projects and any money going toward further study and design for a dam on the Chehalis River above Pe Ell. When former Gov. Chris Gregoire left office last year, her outgoing proposed 2013-15 capital budget included the $28.2 million. One of the Quinaults’ demands was to be “substantively involved in decision-making regarding flood relief measures.” The Nation wants a seat at the Chehalis River Basin Flood Authority and the ear of Inslee. The Quinaults certainly have standing in the Chehalis River Basin, which extends up into their traditional lands southwest of the Olympic Mountains. They should be involved in the discussions, but we do urge the Nation to consider a solution beyond what they asked for in the letter to Inslee: that state money should go toward removing homes and businesses already in existence in the Chehalis Basin floodplain, prohibiting any new construction and returning the area to its natural state. That makes as much sense as asking for the restoration of the downtown waterfront of Seattle to its original pristine condition. Thankfully, Inslee on Thursday released his 2013-15 budget, which included $28.2 million for the flood mitigation projects. The money is earmarked to pay for the Flood Authority, the Chehalis Tribe and other local government groups to develop agreements on flood mitigation throughout the Chehalis River Basin.

Editorial Comment: Unlike the salmon rivers and streams that run through the extensively developed downtown Seattle before they enter Puget Sound, the Chehalis River and its 350 tributaries do not pass through metropolitan areas, Also, unlike Seattle area rivers, the Chehalis River is freeflowing and supports populations of wild salmon and trout as well as cultures and communities that rely on them. So, to compare the magnificent, wild Chehalis River to the "tamed" King County rivers with their many problems (including flooding) is reckless and irresponsible! To continue to support the proposed dam on the Chehalis River is similarly reckless and irresponsible given the known adverse impacts of it. This dam, given tribal opposition and impacts to federally listed endangered species, will never be constructed. In the meantime, catastrophic floods will continue to seriously impact properties and lives within the Chehalis River basin. To date, after millions of dollars and countless hours, little has been accomplished to minimize the risks of future flooding. Funding of more studies associated with the proposed Chehalis River dam is counter-productive and should discontinue immediately.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon! Those who lived through the December 2007 floods know too well real relief is needed. When the floods come back, and they are sure to do so, projects need to be put in place that protect the residents, farms and businesses in the basin. Interstate 5 needs protection as well. A dam could solve those problems. We continue to believe it is possible that in the future when the heavy rains come down, I-5 can remain open and the people living in the basin won’t be washed out. This can be accomplished while improving fish runs. A dam would provide increased water flow during the warm summer months; during the winter decreased flows would protect gravel beds, which are key for spawning. We still believe the option of a dam, along with streamland mitigation, is a viable option that deserves careful consideration

This…

Compared to…

No Comparison!

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

Natural Gas

 Four more LNG export projects proposed for B.C. British Columbia’s potential LNG production boom just got louder. April 11, 2013

A liquefied natural gas tanker leaves a berth in Yokohama City, Japan. The list of proposed LNG projects on the northern B.C. coast just got a little longer Energy Minister Rich Coleman announced Wednesday that the provincial government has received four “new major international LNG project proposals” to develop liquefied natural gas export terminals, all in the Prince Rupert area. That’s on top of six multi-billion-dollar export facilities already proposed for Kitimat and Prince Rupert, and at least two others that are in preliminary stages of consideration.

Editorial Comment: British Columbia is creating a perfect storm of tanker traffic in and out of Kitimat via the often treacherous Douglas Channel. It’s difficult, at best, to imagine anything other than multiple and irreversible environmental disasters given the proposed shipping planned in this sensitive region.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon! Multinational companies including Nexen, Imperial Oil/ExxonMobil, Woodside Petroleum of Australia and Korea’s SK E&S are the latest LNG proponents on a list that already includes Shell, PetroChina, Chevron Canada, BG Group and Petronas. Nexen is joined in its project by state-owned CNOC — China’s largest producer of gas and oil and Japanese petroleum company INPEX. Woodside is Australia’s largest independent oil and gas company and operates six of seven LNG processing facilities on that continent. Imperial/Exxon is the world’s largest international oil and gas company. In an interview, Coleman said the ministry had been anticipating some of the expressions of interest but that the response from Woodside was unexpected — Australia is considered one of B.C. LNG exporters’ biggest rivals to sign up customers in Asia. The Korean conglomerate, SK E&S, has been looking up and down the coast for a venue to situate a terminal, Coleman said. “Will they all go ahead? Big question, but the interest is exceptional — more so than I would have thought even on this (Grassy Point, north of Prince Rupert) one. “There’s no question it’s a generational opportunity, and it’s huge.” Just how huge is still a matter of conjecture and should be approached with caution, according to NDP energy critic John Horgan. He accused the government of misleading the public with its announcement so close to next month’s election. “The disservice this does to the public is that it gives the impression that there is a mad gold rush to develop liquefied natural gas in British Columbia,” he said. “There are a number of companies that are exploring the possibilities … but I’ve been speaking with all of the proponents, particularly those that have been looking at the Grassy Point facility, and they’re doing their due diligence. The market will determine how many, if any, of these projects proceed.” Horgan said he is in favour of exploring ways B.C. can gain a foothold in the Asian energy market, but the province should be careful not to present proposals as if they are finalized projects that will play major role in B.C.’s future economy. As for Coleman, he said the concentration of companies around Prince Rupert could create an opportunity for companies there to form a partnership on a pipeline to deliver gas from the northeast. “Our involvement is going to be on the environmental assessment side, for the most part. If you take a place like Grassy Point where these four companies have responded to the expression of interest, chances are they are going to end up working together on a pipeline or a pipeline corridor to service it.”

READ ENTIRE GLOBALNEWS ARTICLE HERE

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

Forest management and wild game fish

 Group to keep pressing EPA on logging roads March 22, 2013 GRANTS PASS, Ore. — A conservation group says it will keep pushing federal authorities to more closely regulate muddy logging roads, despite a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last week that sided with the timber industry on the issue. Activists believe the ruling left room to press the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to regulate runoff from the roads through specific permits, rather than broad recommendations, said Paul Kampmeier, a lawyer representing the Northwest Environmental Defense Center. The center sued the Oregon Department of Forestry over roads in Tillamook State Forest that drain into salmon streams. The suit contends that the Clean Water Act specifically says water running through ditches and culverts built to handle stormwater from logging roads is a source of pollution when it flows directly into a river.

Logger Eric Davis runs down a road as a truck loaded with logs is readied in a forest area near Banks, Ore.

Such roads require the same sort of permit from the federal agency as a factory, the suit states. However, in a 7-1 vote announced Wednesday (March 20), the high court reversed a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that held logging-road runoff into salmon streams is the same as any other industrial pollution. “The Supreme Court ruling, while not the ruling we wanted, certainly suggests EPA has the power to solve the problem,” Kampmeier said. “We expect to continue working with EPA to get a solution that will be effective on the ground.” New regulation The EPA disagreed with the appeals-court ruling, and Justice Anthony Kennedy said for the court that the agency's reading of its own regulations is entitled to deference from the court.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon! The agency has since issued a new regulation that makes it clear that water from logging roads is the same as runoff from a farmer's field and is not industrial pollution. The environmental center filed another lawsuit in January challenging the new rule. But Kampmeier said it is unclear if that challenge will go forward in light of the Supreme Court ruling. Activists could cite different sections of the Clean Water Act requiring permits for operations that pollute U.S. waters or violate clean-water standards. The court “effectively said EPA gets to decide whether to regulate by requiring permits for polluting roads,” Kampmeier said. “Because EPA has said they didn't intend to regulate them, the court found EPA did not require permits.” EPA referred comment to the U.S. Department of Justice, which said it was reviewing the ruling. Forest owners Dave Tenny, president of the National Alliance of Forest Owners, praised the current EPA policy that regulates logging roads the same as farm fields. He expects the legal challenge to continue, even though he said it has only caused disruption. “We just won an important round in an ongoing fight,” Tenny said. “What we have been looking for all along is to maintain what EPA has done successfully for 37 years.” Per Ramfjord, an attorney representing the timber industry, said he doubted the appeals court would be receptive to new challenges to the EPA, given the strong majority in the Supreme Court ruling.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Herrera Beutler Applauds Supreme Court Ruling on Forest Roads March 25, 2013

The United States Supreme Court last overturned an earlier circuit court decision that would have required dirt and rock runoff from forest roads to be treated the same as runoff from industrial parking lots. Increased regulation on forest roads was first suggested by the Environmental Protection Agency, which described forest roads as "point sources of pollution." The circuit court's decision — in favor of the EPA's suggested changes — upended a system in place for the last 35 years. If the Supreme Court had not overturned the circuit court ruling, forest landowners, businesses and state and local governments would have been made vulnerable to lawsuits and "unlimited regulation from the federal government," according to a press release from U.S. Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Camas. Herrera Beutler and Congressman Kurt Schrader, D-Ore., fought against the "onerous decision" to protect forests and jobs, according to the congresswoman. “The Supreme Court decision today is very good news for workers, small businesses, and communities throughout Southwest Washington – but we’re not in the clear just yet,” Herrera Beutler said. “Until we’ve put clear protections into law, forest roads are still susceptible to job-killing federal regulations that simply aren’t necessary to protect our forests and waterways. I’ll continue leading efforts to preserve the Clean Water Act protections alongside Congressman Kurt Schrader, and preserving healthy ecosystems and a healthy economy.”

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

Government action/inaction and wild game fish

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Aboriginal leaders urge total ban on Fraser River early chinook fishery

April 4, 2013 (Coast Salish Territory / Vancouver) The Union of BC Indian Chiefs demands that the Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans upholds its primary legislative responsibility to the protection and conservation of salmon, and stop all non-Aboriginal fisheries that could affect these indigenous stocks. In addition, the UBCIC have again called on First Nations in BC along the Fraser River and in the approach areas to cease fishing on the early timed (Spring) Chinook for the continued recovery of this stock. This is the third consecutive year the UBCIC have called on First Nations to cease fishing. Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, President of the UBCIC stated, "The stocks that return up through the Fraser and into the Nicola and Thompson systems have seen incredibly drastic decline. We call on First Nations to cease fishing on these early stocks to allow them to rebuild to sustainable numbers. Further, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans poor and sloppy management of the Fraser system has continued to allow the further deterioration of these stocks." Chief Bob Chamberlin, Vice-President of the UBCIC added, "The protection of these early stocks is integral to making wild salmon a foremost priority. In light of the fact that wild salmon is recognized as an official emblem of BC with high ecological and cultural value, it would be ridiculous for governments and DFO in particular not to undertake immediate and meaningful steps to protect these stocks." Chief Chamberlin continued, "Ensuring the recovery and restoration of this fish stock for our future generations is important to our communities and for our continued survival as Indigenous Peoples." FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, (604) 684-0231 Chief Bob Chamberlin, (604) 684-0231

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Environmental

“watchdog” office closed in midst of controversial coal terminal application April 2, 2013

VANCOUVER – The Wilderness Committee is predicting that the people of Metro Vancouver will strengthen their resolve to oppose coal port expansion in the face of the sudden closing of an intergovernmental office designed to keep the Burrard Inlet and Fraser River Estuary safe from port-related impacts and spills. The news of the closure coincides with Port Metro Vancouver’s consideration of an application by Fraser Surrey Docks to create a new coal export terminal, which proposes to send 1280 barges carrying a total of eight million tonnes of coal down the Fraser River each year. When local citizens and organizations wrote letters outlining their environmental concerns about the proposal, Port Metro Vancouver CEO Robin Silvester responded by referring to this office as an example of its work to keep the surrounding region safe from environmental impacts. The Wilderness Committee has said that all proposed coal port expansions in the region should be halted, due to the serious climate change and health implications associated with increasing fossil fuel exports from BC. “What worries me is that the Port’s CEO thinks it is fully appropriate to brag about the work of this office as a watchdog for the environment as recently as December, and then sit back and watch it shut down just a few months later,” said Eoin Madden, the Wilderness Committee’s Climate Change Campaigner. “Added to the fact that the Port has shut the mayors of the Lower Mainland out of the review process, all of whom had environmental concerns, this sends a clear message that our concerns about coal shipment expansion aren’t a priority for Port Metro Vancouver,” Madden said. Based in Burnaby, the office administered the Burrard Inlet Environmental Action Program (BIEAP) and the Fraser River Estuary Management Program (FREMP). It had been in operation for the last 28 years, before closing its doors on March 31. Its duties included protecting and improving environmental quality, providing economic development opportunities and sustaining the quality of life in and around the Fraser River Estuary “The closure of the watchdog office seems very advantageous to the proponents of projects like the Fraser Surrey Docks coal facility, as there is now a critically important hurdle missing from the permitting process,” Madden said. “In the aftermath of this closure we need to clear the air and send a strong message to the Port – no coal shipping expansions here,” said Madden.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Harper government touts Northern Gateway benefits while announcing trade mission April 03, 2013

OTTAWA - The Harper government touted the benefits of Enbridge Inc.'s proposed $6.5 billion Northern Gateway oilsands pipeline to Kitimat while announcing in Vancouver Wednesday the launch of a new trade mission to Asia. Trade Minister Ed Fast, speaking at the Pacific Energy Summit, said he and Minister of State Alice Wong will lead a mission of Canadian businesspeople to Japan and China April 7-12. Fast said he will meet with his Japanese counterpart, Toshimitsu Motegi, to discuss Japan's recentlyannounced interest in joining negotiations leading to the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement with the U.S., Canada, Australia and a number of other Asia-Pacific countries. Executives with 19 companies will join the trade mission in Japan, and 11 in China.

Legacy â&#x20AC;&#x201C; May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Year of the Wild Salmon!

"The trade leadership shown by Japan's new government truly is a positive sign for the entire global economy," Fast is to say, according to a draft of the speech provided to The Vancouver Sun. Fast also stressed in his speech B.C.'s potential to meet Asia's energy needs with up to five Liquefied Natural Gas projects now being developed. In addition to natural gas riches "Canada's oil sands have enormous potential to fuel demand throughout the Asia-Pacific region." Enbridge Inc.'s Northern Gateway project must still pass the "rigourous" joint National Energy BoardCanadian Environmental Assessment Agency review that's due to be completed by the end of the year. But if it does the project could deliver 525,000 barrels of oil a day to Asian markets. "There is, therefore, considerable incentive on both sides of the Pacific to make oil pipeline and B.C.'s LNG projects work," according to Fast. "Canada does not currently export LNG to Japan and exports very little crude oil and petroleum products there. "We want to change that. We must change that." Fast's speech also stresses Canada's vow to reduce by 2020 Canada's greenhouse gas emissions by 17 per cent from 2005 levels, even though a Pembina Institute report Tuesday suggested that this goal will be almost impossible to meet given projected growth in oil sands and LNG production. The Harper government has at times appeared cautious about making firm statements that suggest it backing any specific oilsands pipeline, and there are currently two being developed. Kinder Morgan is also pitching a $5.4 billion project to twin its existing pipeline from the Edmonton area to Burnaby. Last summer, for instance, Heritage Minister James Moore criticized Enbridge after a scathing U.S. regulatory agency's report on the company's failures during a massive spill in Michigan in 2010. Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver doesn't tend to mention either project in speeches, even though he has long stressed the need for Canada to find a way to get diluted bitumen to markets other than the U.S. However, Oliver also has shown no hesitation, when faced with direct questions, to promote the financial payoff if the projects pass environmental reviews. "In respect to Northern Gateway what we see are tremendous economic benefits, the creation of tens of thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions or billions of dollars to governments starting with the government of British Columbia and an opportunity for First Nations to participate in the economic and employment benefits," Oliver said in Vancouver in February while replying to a question after a speech.

Legacy â&#x20AC;&#x201C; May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Year of the Wild Salmon!

ď ś Genetically

engineered salmon should not be approved for human

consumption March 27, 2013

Thank you for contacting me regarding genetically engineered salmon. I appreciate hearing from you about this important matter. As you may know, consumers, environmentalists, and some scientists have expressed concerns about genetically modified products. They maintain that the long-term effects of growing and consuming genetically modified foods are unknown. Many people have expressed concerns about the potential for genetically modified organisms to breed with unmodified plants, producing hybrids that carry the new genes. Others have expressed fears that introduced genes could prove allergenic or harmful to human health. I understand these concerns and I believe that regulations regarding the labeling, sale, and production of foods should be based on facts and sound science. I believe that federal agencies should undertake comprehensive scientific reviews of genetically engineered crops, including considering any environmental, ecological and human health implications. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is currently considering approval of the first genetically engineered animal for human consumption, an Atlantic salmon developed by the biotechnology firm AquaBounty. On December 26, 2012, the agency published a draft environmental assessment in the Federal Register for public comment. The agency's preliminary finding is that this genetically engineered salmon, in the boundaries of its specific application, poses no risk to the environment. This particular analysis did not review farming genetically engineered salmon in the United States. The agency is evaluating this salmon under its authority to regulate new veterinary drugs because it believes that the DNA construct used to change the fish meets the definition of a drug as defined by federal statute. According this interpretation of the statute, AquaBounty can request that its supporting data remain confidential for proprietary reasons. The Food and Drug Administration is currently scheduled to accept public comments on the draft environmental assessment through February 25, 2013. On January 11, 2013, I sent a letter to the agency requesting a 60 day extension to the public comment period to ensure all stakeholders have sufficient time to comment on this important issue. If you would like to submit a public comment, please visit http://www.regulations.gov. Since 2010, I have sent three letters to Senate leadership and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration expressing my strong concerns with the approval of genetically engineered salmon for human consumption, the agency's approval mechanism, and the lack of transparency during this process.

Legacy â&#x20AC;&#x201C; May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Year of the Wild Salmon! The limited review has not sufficiently considered human health risks or potential threats to natural salmon species and their ecosystems. I believe that genetically engineered salmon should not be approved for human consumption until these concerns can be adequately reviewed and addressed. Please be assured that I will keep your thoughts in mind should I have the opportunity to consider any related legislation, and that I will pay close attention the ongoing debate regarding genetically modified animals and plants. I believe that we must work to ensure the safety and integrity of our food supply and our environment, and I will continue working to provide consumers with the information they need to make informed purchasing decisions.

Sincerely, Maria Cantwell United States Senator

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!  Harper Government Takes Muzzling Scientists to New Extreme March 18, 2013 Machiavelli would approve. So would Stalin, Mao Zedong, the ayatollahs of Iran, Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and Bashar al-Assad of Syria. George Orwell would proudly place the audacity of information control in the Ministry of Truth, the agency in his dystopian 1984 novel in which Big Brother uses the Thought Police as the instrument that determines right from wrong, good from bad, wise from foolish, fact from fiction, reality from illusion. Reality is shaped by information. Control information and reality is controlled. Eliminate information and the blank slate of public consciousness is vulnerable to suggestion and manipulation. Reality is, in effect, an immensely valuable but incredibly fragile commodity, forever changing as information changes. Little wonder, then, that those with a special interest in power also have a special interest in controlling information. This would be an academic subject befitting a university class on ethics, philosophy or politics if it were not surfacing in Canada because of the Privy Council's muzzling of scientists associated with the federal government through employment or grants.

Hundreds of scientists recently gathered in Ottawa to protest their muzzling by the Harper Government Elizabeth May: …“this suppression of the free exchange of scientific information in Canada is the 21st Century equivalent of the Dark Ages. This is book burning and superstition run rampant. This is the administration of a steady, slow drip of poison to a weakening democracy”

The strictures on what scientists can publicly say or publish, put in place by the Prime Minister's office, have been tightening in recent years. In 2011 scientists protested and collectively complained that they could not speak openly to Canadians about their research and findings without receiving prior approval from the upper echelons of government—a dramatic break from the traditional freedom that is an assumed liberty in an open, modern and democratic society. Now the strictures are tightening further. “As of February 1st this year,” writes Elizabeth May in Island Tides, (Feb. 28/13), “new rules were put in place requiring that scientists working on projects in conjunction with DFO in the Central and Arctic Region to treat all information as proprietary to DFO and — worse — await departmental approval before submitting research to any scientific journals.”

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon! A week later, on February 7th, additional rules were imposed requiring that “now they must obtain prior consent before applying for research grants”. In Elizabeth May's assessment of the tightening controls on scientists and their research, the process and its intent is obvious. “The tightening of control over science must be established far earlier in the process. Stop research from being submitted to journals. Stop scientists from collaborating with others. Stop scientists from applying for research grants. Stop science from happening at all” (Ibid.). This tragedy is compounded by strictures that constrain scientists from complaining about the constraints placed on them. An American scientist, Dr. Andrew Muenchow, who has been doing important collaborative research with DFO in the Eastern Arctic since 2003, has refused to accept the new conditions, politely calling them a “potential muzzle”. The dissemination of crucially important information from Dr. Kristi Miller on viral diseases arriving in Canadian waters from salmon farming has been obstructed by the government authorities. Scientists researching ozone depletion, Arctic ice melt, pollution and species loss have been silenced. These are typical examples of the control of information by the Privy Council, an adjunct of the Prime Minister's office. And it contrasts dramatically with the earlier protocol in which, “Data and any other project-related information shall be freely available to all Parties to this Agreement and may be disseminated or published at any time” (Ibid.). The Iron Curtain and the Berlin Wall have appeared in Canada as a blackout on any scientific studies that may conflict with the direction of government's agenda. This is not a mere scientific issue. Although science should be the basis upon which governments make many important legislative and policy decisions, open and free scientific research is the most obvious measure of an open and free society, one in which evidence is given precedence over ideology, and decisions are weighted and made as rationally and intelligently as possible from the best available information. Control information and decisions can be shifted toward ideology, the unexamined opinions that drift away from enlightened guidance toward blind bigotry. Granted, governments make decisions and devise legislation based on their particular ideological bent. But this ideology must be guided by credible information. And a substantial portion of this information now comes from scientific research, collaboration, study and findings. Opinion untempered and unguided by science lacks credibility because it isn't connected to an empirical measure of circumstances. Ideology that is untested and incompatible with evidence is medieval, for it bears little relationship to reality. Government strategy and legislation founded on uninformed opinion will invariably be flawed and dysfunctional. Even worse, the result is a burden of liabilities, faulty strategies, defective laws and missed opportunities that can be incredibly costly to a country, to its citizens and to the environment that sustains them. The laws of science don't change to suit political and economic agendas. Pretending that greenhouse gas emissions are not changing weather, that the Arctic is not warming, that pollutants don't harm ecologies, and that crucial ecosystems are not under threat is denial bordering on the delusional and pathological. Scientists don't invent what is happening to our world; they measure, witness and report to us. Muzzling their effort silences evidence and increases our vulnerability to environmental ruin. As Elizabeth May so eloquently concludes, this suppression of the free exchange of scientific information in Canada “is the 21st Century equivalent of the Dark Ages. This is book burning and superstition run rampant. This is the administration of a steady, slow drip of poison to a weakening democracy”

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Muzzling’

of Canadian government scientists sent before Information Commissioner Suzanne Legault March 15, 2013

Federal Information Commissioner Suzanne Legault is being asked to investigate the “muzzling” of Canadian government scientists in a request backed by a 128-page report detailing “systemic efforts” to obstruct access to researchers. “She is uniquely positioned, and she has the resources and the legal mandate, to get to the bottom of this,” says Chris Tollefson. Tollefson is executive director of the University of Victoria Environmental Law Centre, which issued the request with the non-partisan Democracy Watch. Newsrooms nationwide are familiar with the unusual restrictions Canadian government scientists face when attempting to communicate their work. For a story last December on how climate change is affecting the Arctic and Antarctic, The Star contacted scientists at NASA, Environment Canada and Natural Resources Canada. Emails to the U.S. government scientists were personally returned, usually the same day and with offers to talk in person or by phone. Emails sent to Canadian government scientists led to apologetic responses that the request would have to be routed through public relations officials. Public relations staff asked for a list of questions in advance, and then set boundaries for what subjects the interview could touch upon. Approval to interview the scientists was given days later. In all cases, a PR staffer asked to listen in on the interviews. Government scientists who were contacted for this story informed the Star directly and through intermediaries that they did not want to comment, fearing repercussions. But one researcher with well over a decade of experience in the civil service, who asked to remain anonymous because he said both management and his union have told him he could face penalties for speaking out publicly, called the situation “absolutely embarrassing.” “All of my colleagues around the world know about this, and they simply can’t understand what is going on in Canada,” the scientist said. Tollefson says Legault’s office has confirmed it has received the request. Following usual practices, a preliminary investigation will be conducted to see whether the commissioner has jurisdiction to carry out a full probe.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon! The report was compiled by law student Clayton Greenwood, who spoke to approximately 40 sources. It details how public relations staff accompanied researchers to an International Polar Year conference, and directed all requests for interviews through themselves. In two high-profile incidents, scientists researching Arctic ozone loss, and others studying salmon declines, were not given media clearance for weeks or months. A spokesperson for the Minister of State for Science and Technology said in a statement that last year, Environment Canada participated in more than 1,300 media interviews and in 2010 published 524 peer-reviewed journal articles; Natural Resources Canada published 487. “The numbers show that not only does this government stand behind its scientists; we are making more of the data they generate available to Canadians than ever before,” the statement said. “Ministers remain the primary spokespersons for government departments.” Last year the journal Nature published an editorial criticizing Canadian policies that limit the freedom of scientists to talk to the press; The Guardian and the Economist have also covered the topic.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Ottawa withholding reports on B.C. wild salmon April 14, 2013 Key scientific documents needed before the department of Fisheries and Oceans can implement its plan to save British Columbia’s wild salmon have been held up in Ottawa for a year. The documents, concerning sockeye conservation units on the Fraser River, were withheld from the Cohen Commission even though they were substantially ready for release at the time the federal inquiry was under way. Fisheries managers planning catch limits for the 2013 season, which has yet to start, have had to do so to this point without knowing what the reports contain. The reports, confidential draft copies of which have been obtained by The Globe and Mail, show that seven of the 24 conservation units in the watershed have been designated as “red zones” with another four rated red/amber. That classification means the salmon populations in those areas are considered at risk of extinction. The reports show most of those red zones are located at the heads of distant tributaries, indicating the salmon that travel the farthest in the Fraser River system are having the hardest time surviving. That raises questions about the impact of climate change because the salmon that are in trouble are exposed to the warmer river temperatures longer. Only five of the conservation units got “green zone” status, which means they are healthy, and six were amber or amber/green, at low risk, but of concern. Two populations weren’t rated because of a lack of data. The stocks were rated when 34 top fisheries scientists and managers retreated for a three-day workshop in November, 2011. They analyzed a variety of ways to assess the status of conservation units and came up with a method that would allow DFO to evaluate all salmon conservation units in the province. The approach leads to long-term projections of stock health, not just immediate snapshots. The documents are considered to be one of the final pieces that need to be in place before DFO can implement its wild salmon policy, a strategy that has been in development for nearly 10 years. DFO has refused to release the documents, saying they are still in draft form – even though the reports were effectively completed in the spring of 2012. “We only release final copies of reports. At this time, I have no indication of when they will be finalized,” Tom Robbins, a spokesman for DFO, stated in an e-mail last week, when asked for the documents. A fisheries researcher, who didn’t want to be named, said scientists suspect the government is delaying the release because it doesn’t want to have to respond to the red-zone ratings. “It’s clearly political,” he said of the delay.

READ ENTIRE GLOBE AND MAIL ARTICLE HERE

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Lawsuit filed alleging WDFW violated Public Disclosure Law

On April 1, 2013, Fishingthechehalis Co-founder Dave Hamilton filed suit against WDFW alleging the Department has breached the Public Disclosure Act by refusing to turn over files and documents that are public records. While some documents were provided during a 16 month ordeal and placed in the FishiLeaks Library at Fishingthechehalis.net for public viewing, the suit alleges hundreds of documents related to WDFW season setting and management processes have been hidden from public view, especially those related to the Department's interactions with Native American Indian Tribes. Additionally, in the North of Falcon process (NOF) used for public input came to end in Olympia on Friday. The Department has announced it intends to set commercial gillnets seasons for 2013 that will grant a handful of gill net operators in excess of 85% of the salmon available for harvest in the Chehalis/Grays Harbor and Willapa Bay estuaries. A second suit is being prepared to challenge the validity of such an unfair appropriation to the commercial nets. The recreational fisherman and conservationists who have simply said "enough is enough" are joining together to put an end to WDFW's historical abusive season setting practices. Please go to http://fishingthechehalis.net/want-to-help to view an actual copy of the suit and exhibits. A vehicle for change is in front of your eyes. Its time to go get a "Boldt Decision" for recreational fisherman. Respectfully, Tim Hamilton

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Center for Food Safety applauds passage of the Begich amendment in Senate Budget Resolution

(Washington, DC) March 22, 2013—The Center for Food Safety (CFS) applauds the passage of an amendment offered by Senator Mark Begich (D-Alaska) to the Senate budget resolution in favor of labeling genetically engineered (GE) fish. The amendment, passed by voice vote, modifies the budget resolution to establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to the labeling of GE fish. “Passage of the Begich amendment serves as a clear statement that the Senate supports the labeling of genetically engineered fish,” said Colin O’Neil, Director of Government Affairs for the Center for Food Safety. “The American people have spoken loud and clear that genetically engineered fish must be labeled and today the U.S. Senate agreed with them.” In his speech on the Senate floor today, Senator Begich reiterated that over 60 countries currently require the labeling of GE foods including Japan, Australia, Brazil, China, Russia and the European Union. He further noted that this week several major grocery retailers, such as Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and others representing more than 2,000 stores across the United States, committed to not sell genetically engineered seafood if it is allowed on the market. More than one million consumers have sent public comments to the FDA opposing the unlabeled introduction of genetically engineered fish. The first such GE fish, a GE salmon engineered for faster growth, is currently in its final stage of review with the agency. While the Senate Democrats’ budget plan is non-binding, and reconciliation with the GOP-lead House version is unlikely, passage of the Begich amendment will further increase the pressure on the Food and Drug Administration to require the labeling of GE fish, if approved. The amendment was co-sponsored by Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Maria Cantwell (DWashington), Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) and Martin Heinrich (D-New Mexico).

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Will Fisheries minister act in response to the Cohen Commission? March 18, 2013 Prime Minister Stephen Harper should start protecting wild salmon instead of hurrying them along a path to extinction.

Federal Fisheries Minister Keith Ashfield has not yet responded to Justice Bruce Cohen’s report on the sockeye salmon in the Fraser River. The report is critical of the multiple threats to the survival of British Columbia’s wild salmon and the weakening of the Fisheries Act. It has been nearly five months since the mammoth report of Justice Bruce Cohen on “The Uncertain Future of Fraser River Sockeye” was tabled with the Governor General. The Cohen Commission was set in motion in the fall of 2009 to explore the causes for the collapse of returning sockeye populations to the Fraser River. Cohen undertook a substantial process, with commissioned scientific research, testimony from scientists, First Nations, and the public. The result is a three-volume report of more than 1,000 pages, taking a critical look at the multiple threats to the survival of British Columbia’s wild salmon. While Cohen identified dozens of stressors on wild salmon, from climate change, to pollution, ocean acidification, over-fishing, habitat loss, and infectious disease, he characterized the results as having no one “smoking gun.” But his recommendations clearly point to salmon aquaculture and escape of sea lice and farmed fish as a contributing factor. Of course, the weakening of the Fisheries Act and the removal of habitat protection is another blow. Cohen was highly critical of these changes brought in through the spring 2012 omnibus bill C-38. He was specifically angered that the changes to the Fisheries Act did not await the recommendations of this major commission of inquiry.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon! Here we are, nearly five months later, and the minister of Fisheries has not yet formally responded to the recommendations. It is getting to the point where time-limited recommendations will be staledated due to the non-response from the minister. For example, Cohen recommended that a “wild salmon policy implementation plan,” be developed, with specific and dedicated funding and be published no later than March 31, 2013. Of the 75 recommendations, a key principle was established in his second recommendation: “In relation to wild fisheries, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans should act in accordance with its paramount regulatory objective to conserve wild fish.” (emphasis added). This is a critical interpretation of the federal responsibility for the fisheries found in the Constitution. It appears to be one Prime Minister Stephen Harper would like to abandon. Flowing from this principle, Cohen also called for an end to DFO’s conflict of interest around farmed salmon. He called for the DFO mandate to promote aquaculture to be scrapped in favour of living up to its core mandate—the conservation of wild fish. Cohen recommended the establishment of a moratorium on any new salmon farms near the Discovery Islands. And he called for more research into the stressors impacting salmon survival, including the threats associated with fish farms. Ideally, these recommendations would lead to policy changes to assist in wild salmon recovery on both the West Coast and East Coast. Tremendous effort has gone into trying to restore wild Atlantic salmon populations. A once healthy and prosperous fishery is now closed. The only Atlantic salmon on the market are farmed, and the presence of open-pen salmon farms on coasts along New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, imperils Atlantic salmon recovery. The decision just this week by the Nova Scotia government to turn down a salmon farm near Sheet Harbour after a 22-month review, is further evidence that the plight of wild salmon needs a national lens. In relation to aquaculture, the minister now has another report to consider. On March 7, 2013, the House Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans tabled its report on the potential for closed containment salmon aquaculture. While not as strongly-worded a report as Cohen’s, nevertheless it is to be noted when in our current hyper-partisan House, a committee issues a united report. The committee recommends in a number of ways that closed-containment aquaculture can be explored and supported. Of course, ensuring salmon are raised in tanks where the water is exchanged, but fish and disease are kept out of the environment, is an improvement. Nevertheless, it does not solve all the ecological downsides associated with fish farming. We will continue to have the problem that a large proportion of the planet’s wild fish being turned into fish meal to be fed to carnivorous fish, like salmon, in aquaculture operations. Nevertheless, the report from the committee creates space for reacting to Cohen’s report and the committee’s report with a series of actions that could apply nationally to help protect and restore wild salmon populations. Both reports now sit on the minister of Fisheries’ desk. Perhaps, since the Cohen report is so heavy, he could use those three volumes to bludgeon some sense into the Prime Minister’s Office whiz-kids who decided re-doing the federal responsibility for the nation’s fisheries would be without negative repercussions to the Conservative Party. Perhaps he could suggest that the changes to the Fisheries Act be reversed and that the Cohen and standing committee recommendations for the foundation for a policy shift. Maybe Harper could start protecting wild salmon instead of hurrying them along a path to extinction.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Let’s act NOW to protect our wild salmon

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 B.C. agrees to freeze on new salmon farms in critical zone

Aerial view of a net-pen salmon farm in the Discovery Islands. March 22, 2013 B.C. won't approve any new net-pen salmon farms in the Discovery Islands before 2020, in line with the Cohen Inquiry's call for a freeze in that area to safeguard migrating wild sockeye. "We're taking the precautionary principle as the commissioner has requested," Agriculture Minister Norm Letnick said in an interview after releasing the province's formal response to Justice Bruce Cohen's recommendations last fall into the decline of Fraser River sockeye. The freeze applies only in the Discovery Islands off northeastern Vancouver Island, which includes a narrow channel where most sockeye pass in close proximity to numerous ocean-based salmon farms.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

B.C. could consider new licences in other areas of the coast, but Letnick wasn't able to say if any applications are expected. The main operator in the Discovery Islands, Marine Harvest, has indicated it has no need for new tenures in that area, Letnick said. Cohen's did not conclusively tie farmed salmon to the collapse of wild sockeye runs, but heard enough evidence to recommend the limited moratorium until September of 2020, while more monitoring is carried out to assess the risk from aquaculture-spread disease or other pathogens. He also recommended farms along the migration route be shut down if science can't prove by 2020 that the risk to wild fish from aquaculture is minimal. "The government of the day in 2020 will have to make those decisions," Letnick said in response. He said the government has also accepted the intent of the other seven Cohen recommendations that apply to the province. Some, including the replacement of B.C.'s Water Act, were already in the works, he said.

Editorial Comment: The facts, as reported in this article, cause readers to believe that the $26 million Cohen Commission inquiry into declining Fraser River sockeye salmon stocks was a sham – no more than smoke and mirrors at the expense of Canada’s taxpayers and North America’s wild Pacific salmon and their fragile ecosystems. Specifically: • There was no intent by Marine Harvest to locate additional salmon feedlots in the Discovery Islands. So, they lost nothing with this “feel good” ruling by Judge Cohen. • Another seven years to determine that the risk to wild fish from aquaculture is minimal – Seriously! – It’s been understood for decades by all involved that risks associated with open pen salmon feedlots is significant – this foreign-owned and managed industry needs to be removed from North America’s wild salmon migration routes – the sooner; the better!

Other measures require the province to work closely with the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Letnick said he expects DFO to meet its obligations in B.C. despite federal budget cutbacks. No single culprit – not fish farms, overfishing, pollution, natural predators or global warming – got primary blame for the two-decade decline of Fraser River sockeye salmon in the report of the judicial inquiry. Aquaculture industry reps had previously said Cohen's recommendations would have very little impact on them. Cohen was appointed by the federal government after less than 1.5 million sockeye returned in 2009, far fewer than the more than 10 million expected. The latest forecast calls for an improved run of about 4.8 million this summer.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Aquaculture Columbia

Management:

Ensuring

Sustainable

Fisheries

British

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Money for aquaculture, but not wild salmon, critics note March 28, 2013

Money in this year's federal budget for aquaculture has critics wondering when Ottawa plans to speak up for wild salmon on the west coast. The government gave the Department of Fisheries and Oceans $57.5 million over five years "to enhance regulatory certainty" in the aquaculture industry, but it has yet to respond to the final report of the $26-million Cohen Commission, which was set up to look into the decline of sockeye salmon in the Fraser River. "How do you respond to the recommendations of Mr. Justice [Bruce] Cohen, specifically that there be a moratorium on new aquaculture development near the Discovery Islands [B.C.]," asked Green Party Leader Elizabeth May outside the House of Commons after Tuesday's question period.

Editorial Comment: A terrible waste of money due to the expected complete moratorium on open pen salmon feedlots sited in British Columbia's uniquely productive and beautiful marine waters; waters that are home to majestic wild Pacific salmon originating in Canada and the United States. A far better use of these funds would be to transition salmon farm employees to folks who would work to protect and restore wild Pacific salmon. Expecting new results (abundant wild Pacific salmon) while doing the same things (open pen salmon feedlots) is the definition of insanity.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon! May added that there is a great deal of concern in B.C. that farmed salmon are harming the survival of wild stocks. The Cohen Commission was set up in 2009 to look into the dramatic and unexpected decline of that year's Fraser River sockeye salmon run. DFO expected 11 million fish to return in 2009, but fewer than 1.5 million did. Cohen's report was released in October of last year and made 75 recommendations to ensure the future well-being of sockeye salmon. Chief among them was a call for a moratorium on all new salmon farm operations in the Discovery Islands between Vancouver Island and B.C.'s mainland. 'People living in British Columbia certainly have the right to be confused about what their government's priorities are with regard to wild salmon.'—John Reynolds, Simon Fraser University Cohen also pointed out a conflict of interest in the mandate of DFO. While the department is in charge of protecting wild fish stocks, it is also responsible for promoting the aquaculture industry. Cohen recommended that responsibility be taken away from DFO. "It does appear that the federal government is going in the other direction from the main recommendations of the Cohen Commission," said John Reynolds, who holds the Tom Buell B.C. Leadership Chair in Salmon Conservation and Management at Simon Fraser University. He pointed out how strange that was since just last week the B.C. government decided to accept all the recommendations that pointed to the province, in particular, a moratorium on aquaculture in the Discovery Islands. Still reviewing report "People living in British Columbia certainly have the right to be confused about what their government's priorities are with regard to wild salmon," said Reynolds. For its part, DFO says it is still reviewing the Cohen Commission's report nearly five months after its release. "This is an extensive report with serious implications for the British Columbia sockeye salmon fishery. Going forward, the Government is working with partners and reviewing Justice Cohen's findings and recommendations very carefully. The Government of Canada has long recognized the importance of protecting sockeye salmon in the Fraser River," DFO Official Melanie Carkner wrote to the CBC. Robert Chisholm, the NDP's Fisheries critic, said the money for aquaculture regulation was "a bit of a surprise" given how little new money there was in the budget. The NDP has called on the government to accept the recommendations of the Cohen Commission report. The government should "begin to do the work that needs to be done and make the investments that need to be made in order to protect the wild salmon fishery on the west coast," said Chisholm.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Jefferson County moving ahead with conditional net-pen permits, ’with some misgivings March 18, 2013 Despite some reservations, the Jefferson County Commissioners are moving ahead with regulating aquaculture net pens. Speaking at the commissioners' March 11 meeting, Commissioner David Sullivan said while county officials might rather have something different on the books, state Department of Ecology regulations indicate they must have some provisions to allow ocean-based net pens. “This is with some misgivings,” he said of the recommendations. Commissioner Phil Johnson, a one-time commercial fisherman, said allowing net pens would harm native salmon runs. “They add nutrients when [the] RCW says we’re supposed to reduce nutrients,” Johnson said of net pens. “They release pathogens and basically everywhere they were allowed, pens have caused tremendous damage to the ecology.” Henry Werch, who attended the meeting, said he and the other members of the Jefferson County Planning Commission recommended adopting a conditional use permit to avoid litigation. “When a government body prohibits something absolutely, it opens the door to challenges,” Werch said. He said having a conditional use permit should allow to the county to review each application with the most current and updated scientific findings. “The Planning Commission absolutely wants to protect wild salmon at all costs,” Werch said. “We would be supportive of the county allowing net pens under conditional use.” The commissioners did give staff the go-ahead to fine-tune some recommendations for a conditional use netpen permit, to be included in the county’s updated Shoreline Master Plan. The recommendations return to the commissioners March 25 at a public hearing. House Bill 1599, which would have added provisions allowing local governments to regulate siting or prohibit siting net pens, was introduced into the state Legislature by Rep. Kevin Van De Wege, D-Sequim. According to correspondence included in the BOCC’s packet, the bill never made it out of committee. Sullivan said it was frustrating to have the state regulations run counter to the county’s visions of how the local fishing industry should be regulated. “I just think it’s a tremendous contradiction to have a DOE that goes counter to the efforts from local government and citizens to restore native salmon runs,” Johnson added. According to DOE documents, state law supports water-dependent uses when they don’t have a significant, adverse impact. According to the DOE, that’s why net pens cannot be banned outright.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Fisheries Act (Canada) Thanks to Leanne Hodges for this truly valuable summary of key sections prior to last year’s changes (“pre-omnibus bills”. The Fisheries Act is federal legislation dating back to Confederation. It was established to manage and protect Canada's fisheries resources. It applies to all fishing zones, territorial seas and inland waters of Canada and is binding to federal, provincial and territorial governments. As federal legislation, the Fisheries Act supersedes provincial legislation when the two conflict. Consequently, approval under provincial legislation may not necessarily mean approval under the Fisheries Act. The Government of Canada's authority over fish and fish habitat arose from the Constitution Act (1982) that established the respective roles and authority of the Government of Canada and provincial governments. This Act deemed the Government of Canada responsible for sea, coastal and inland fisheries, navigation and migratory birds and fiduciary responsibility to aboriginal people. Provincial governments were given the right to make laws governing property, public lands and property rights. While the Government of Canada has the authority to manage fish habitat, it has essentially no control over the use of inland waters, beds of watercourses or shorelines which fall under provincial jurisdiction. Alternatively, the provinces cannot make regulatory decisions concerning fish habitat. The prime focus of the Habitat Management Program's regulatory activity is Section 35 of the Fisheries Act. Nevertheless, all the habitat protection provisions must be considered when reviewing the negative effects of a project to fish habitat. Additional sections of the Fisheries Act that frequently apply to project proposals are sections 20, 22, 30, 32, 36(3) and 37. Each section is discussed briefly below. Section 35 Subsection 35(1) is a general prohibition of harmful alteration, disruption or destruction (HADD) of fish habitat. This means that any work or undertaking that results in HADD is a contravention of Subsection 35(1). The only relief from this general prohibition is when a Subsection 35(2) Authorization is issued for the HADD. It is important to note that this 35(2) Authorization authorizes the HADD and not the project resulting in the HADD. The project does not need a 35(2) Authorization to proceed. However, if a HADD results and an Authorization was not issued, the proponent may be guilty of an offence. Many proponents prefer to obtain an Authorization before they proceed considering these penalties for violating Subsection 35(1) include fines of up to $1,000,000, up to 6 months imprisonment, or a combination of both. Section 20 Section 20 deals with fish passage around obstructions and two subsections dealing with fishways. According to Subsection 20(1) the owner/occupier must provide for the safe passage of fish around an obstruction. The requirement for a fishway or canal is discretionary. When the Minister determines it is in the public's interest, the owner/occupier of the obstruction needs to provide a fishway. DFO has the option to include Section 20 requirements within a Section 35(2) Authorization.

Legacy â&#x20AC;&#x201C; May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Year of the Wild Salmon!

Section 22 This section is for the provision of minimum flow below obstructions. Subsection 22(1) requires sufficient flow over the spill way or crest of an obstruction for the safe decent of fish. Subsection 22(2) requires the owner of an obstruction to provide sufficient flow for free upstream and downstream passage of fish during the construction of an obstruction. Subsection 22(3) requires sufficient flow downstream of an obstruction to provide enough water for fish spawning and egg incubation. The requirement for sufficient flow over an obstruction (Subsection 22(1)) is at the Minister's discretion. The Minister also establishes measures to accommodate fish movement during construction of an obstruction and the quantity of water to be maintained downstream of an obstruction for fish spawning and egg incubation. Section 30 Subsection 30(1) requires that every water intake, ditch, channel or canal constructed for irrigation, manufacturing or power generation has a fish guard or screen to exclude fish if the Minister believes it is in the public interest. Furthermore, according to Subsection 30(2), the size of the screen is specified by the Minister, and the screen must be maintained in a way that is satisfactory to the Minister. Section 32 Section 32 prohibits the unauthorized killing of fish by means other than fishing. This section normally applies to the detonation of explosive in or near water to kill fish. DFO's Guidelines for the Use of Explosives In or Near Water (1998) provide information to proponents who are proposing works or undertakings that involve the use of explosives in or near Canadian fisheries waters, and to which Sections 32 and 35 in particular, may apply. DFO has the option to include Section 32 requirements within a section 35(2) Authorization. Section 36 Subsection 36(3) prohibits the deposit of deleterious substances. Environment Canada is responsible for administering this subsection. Unlike Subsection 35(2), there is no provision to authorize the deposit of deleterious substances except by Regulation or an Order in Council. A deleterious substance is defined by the Fisheries Act as any substance that, if added to water, makes the water deleterious to fish or fish habitat or any water containing a substance in such quantity or concentration or has been changed by heat or other means, that if added to water makes that water deleterious to fish or fish habitat. Currently there are regulations that authorize the deposit of pulp and paper liquid effluent, metal mining liquid effluent, petroleum liquid effluent, and effluents from other industrial sectors. Section 37 Subsection 37(1) allows the Minister to request plans, specifications, studies or any other information that will allow the Minister to determine if the deposit of deleterious substances or a HADD is likely to occur. Subsection 37(2) empowers the Minister, after reviewing the plans, studies or other information requested under Section 37(1), to modify or add to the work or undertaking to avoid or mitigate the deposit of a deleterious substance or a HADD to fish habitat. Furthermore the Minister can restrict the operation of the work or undertaking and direct the closing of the work. Ministerial orders can only be made pursuant to a regulation or with the approval of the Governor in Council.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Legal Backgrounder – Fisheries Act - Ecojustice

(Updated February 2013)

Legal Backgrounder Fisheries Act 1. Overview The fishing industry in Canada is a significant source of jobs and a major contributor to the economy and well-being of Canadians. But for Canadians, fish are more than just a product. Fish provide our families with food and valued recreational opportunities. Tourism sectors across Canada are dependent on our fish-bearing waters. Many fish are integral to First Nation communities; some fish, such as iconic species like the salmon and oolichan, have a cultural and spiritual significance. Fish protection is serious business and it goes well beyond issues of environmental protection. The Fisheries Act1 is the principal federal statute that manages Canadian fisheries resources. Much of the Act is aimed at regulating fishing. However, the Act does not only protect fish, but also protects the habitat they need to reproduce, grow and survive. As any biologist can tell you, to try to protect fish without protecting their habitats does not make scientific sense. This backgrounder considers how the Fisheries Act has been changed by provisions enacted in two successive omnibus budget bills — Bill C-38 and Bill C-45.2 The changes enacted through the passage of these two bills will unfold over time, and may not all be realized.3 This backgrounder will focus primarily on changes to the Fish Habitat Protection and Pollution Prevention provisions of the Fisheries Act.4 1

Fisheries Act, R.S.C., 1985, c. F-14

This legal backgrounder was first created to address amendments to the Fisheries Act proposed when the Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act, S.C. 2012, c. 19 (“Bill C-38” or the “First Omnibus Budget Bill”) was introduced in Parliament on April 26, 2012. Since then Bill C-38 has been enacted. Only certain portions of Bill C-38 came into force at that time. A second budget omnibus bill — the Jobs and Growth Act, 2012, S.C. 2012, c.31 (“Bill C-45” or the “Second Omnibus Budget Bill”) was introduced in Parliament on October 18, 2012. Bill C-45 received Royal Assent on December 14, 2012.

READ ENTIRE EECOJUSTICE LEGAL BCKGROUNDER HERE

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 B.C. fish-farm foes fear being “shouted down” by new committee March 23, 2013 VANCOUVER — Critics of British Columbia’s salmon-farming industry fear they could be “shouted down” and that their concerns will disappear into a “black hole” when a new committee meets to advise federal fisheries officials on aquaculture issues. The advisory committee, which is being set up by Fisheries and Oceans Canada as part of its Integrated Management of Aquaculture Plan, is expected to hold its first meeting on Wednesday in Richmond, B.C. The federal department began developing the plan after a February 2009 ruling by B.C. Supreme Court that Ottawa, as opposed to the province, is responsible for B.C.’s salmon farming industry. Only three of the committee’s approximately 20 seats will go to environmental groups, and that concerns Craig Orr, executive director of the Watershed Watch Salmon Society. He said seven seats will be held by the industry, seven by First Nations, one or two by industry associations and two by regional districts. “We think that number should be certainly bumped up, or else we’re just going to be shouted down at the table,” Orr said. The advocate said that even though the industry has other avenues for consulting with the federal government, like the Finfish Aquaculture Industry Advisory Panel, Norwegian-owned companies will be well represented on the advisory committee. He said there’s not enough representation for regional districts or environmental groups. He added he’s also worried the committee will rely on science produced by the federal department and instead of what he considers “unbiased scientific advice.” “All we’re saying is, make it fair,” he said. “Have some (federal fisheries) scientists, have some academics, have some NGO scientists.” Diana Trager, director for DFO’s aquaculture management division, said the department has developed draft terms of reference for the advisory process and the numbers set out for the committee are still only proposals. She said the federal department is still open to change. “For sure, the door is still open for environmental organizations to participate in the committee,” she said, noting Fisheries and Oceans is also willing to review outside scientific advice. Trager said the advisory committee is similar to other groups set up for the salmon, groundfish and herring fisheries. Mary Ellen Walling, executive director of the BC Salmon Farmers Association, said the industry is following the process set up by the department, and members will learn how it works by participating. “If environmental groups are concerned about the makeup of the committee, I think they should come to the meeting and raise those concerns, so that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans can hear the concerns whatever they might be and work within the process that’s already been I guess successfully managed for capture fisheries,” she said. But Orr said his organization has decided not to participate in the committee. He said he’s been involved in similar processes in the past where “things get blocked.” “We don’t want to get into an arena where that advice is going to go into a black hole or just give us ulcers,” said Orr

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Wild Salmon is the First and Foremost Priority

News Release. March 28, 2013 (Coast Salish Territory / Vancouver) The Harper Government's Budget 2013 allocates the Department of Fisheries and Oceans $57.5 million over five years to increase "regulatory certainty" in the aquaculture industry ignoring the critical findings and recommendations of the final report of the $26-million Cohen Commission, which was set up to look into the decline of wild sockeye salmon in the Fraser River watershed. Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, President of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs observed “Commissioner Cohen's exhaustive work highlighted the Harper Government's great efforts to undermine, under-fund and greatly restrict the federal government's role in fish habitat protection. Cohen wrote about the duplicity and complete failure of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, created on the basis to preserve and maintain all fish stocks, most especially the indigenous runs of Pacific wild salmon, but as a department under this federal government has become a stooge for the open-net fish farm industry.” Chief Bob Chamberlin, Vice-President of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs stated "In regards to aquaculture, Commissioner Cohen’s most significant recommendation was that DFO should solely focus on the management of wild fisheries, and that the mandate for open-net fish farming be immediately moved from DFO to another federal department, as promotion of aquaculture development is in direct conflict with the interests of wild salmon stocks. Incredibly with Budget 2013, with all of its deficit reductions and programme cuts, the Harper Government snubbed one of the most vital recommendation of the Cohen Commission to the great peril of indigenous wild salmon runs. It is completely unacceptable and First Nations cannot continue to stand idly by as the wild salmon runs die off. We must fight to make wild salmon the first and foremost priority!”

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Chief Bob Chamberlin, (604) 684-0231 Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, (604) 684-0231

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 B.C. village’s ocean fertilization experiment probed Environment Canada investigating after iron-rich dust dumped off coast March 28, 2013

U.S. businessman Russ George, chief scientist and CEO for the HSRC, has been a proponent of the controversial idea of iron fertilization for years. (CBC/HSRC)

Environment Canada's enforcement branch has executed search warrants in British Columbia as part of an investigation into a controversial iron-fertilization experiment that took place off the coast of Haida Gwaii, B.C., last summer, CBC's the fifth estate has learned. In July 2012, the Haida village of Old Massett and an American businessman dumped 100 tonnes of iron-rich dust into the ocean off Haida Gwaii, sparking international controversy.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon! In an exclusive interview, Ken Rea, chief councillor of the village, told the fifth estate’s Gillian Findlay that despite two UN resolutions banning iron fertilization and anti-dumping legislation in Canada he would like to do it again and make it sustainable "After all the uproar, based on a whole bunch of inflammatory mischaracterized words, after calling it illegal, calling it dumping, calling it rogue and not having any of the evidence to back up their statements, none of it, they had no evidence to back all these statements up, we have it," Rea says in an interview that airs on the fifth estate Friday at 9 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. in N.L. Ken Rea, chief councillor of the village of Old Massett in Haida Gwaii, says that he would like to bring iron fertilization back to Canada and make it sustainable, despite anti-dumping legislation. Old Massett residents invested $2.5 million to start the Haida Salmon Restoration Corporation (HSRC) and initiate the iron-fertilization project in hopes that it would boost the salmon population.

Ken Rea

U.S. businessman Russ George, the chief scientist and CEO for the HSRC, has been a proponent of the controversial idea of iron fertilization for years. Scientists say iron promotes the growth of plankton, microscopic organisms that provide a food source for salmon and other sea life. George based the experiment on the theory that growing artificial plankton blooms can remove carbon from the atmosphere and help reduce global warming. Plankton absorb carbon dioxide from the sea and the air; the theory is that when plankton die they take carbon to the bottom of the ocean. Countries or companies that produce a lot of carbon could then buy carbon credits from the company that created the artificial plankton bloom. There have been more than a dozen studies on iron fertilization in oceans with varying results, but there is no conclusive evidence plankton can remove substantial amounts of carbon from the environment in the long-term. Some scientists say putting iron in the ocean is dangerous, because it could create "dead zones" where nothing can live. John Cullen, a professor of oceanography at Dalhousie University in Halifax, says unregulated experiments, such as the one off the coast of Haida Gwaii, should not be allowed. 

Haida Salmon Restoration president says iron fertilization working

"If those consequences cannot be predicted with confidence and verified with measurements then the activity should not be permitted," he said. George first gained media attention when he tried to do an iron-fertilization project off the Galapagos Islands in 2007. His company, Planktos Inc., attempted to dump 100 tonnes of iron-rich dirt near the World Heritage site before he was stopped by governments and environmentalists. Jim Thomas, of the environmental action organization the ETC Group, says a UN moratorium on iron fertilization was passed with George in mind.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon! “It was prompted by what Russ George was planning to do, so we then had two international moratoria in place. And since then there has actually been even further agreements through other bodies,” Thomas told the fifth estate. Old Massett residents said three meetings were held in 2011 before the community voted to approve the project. April White, a local artist and geologist, told the fifth estate the project was pitched by the village’s economic development officer, John Disney. Iron fertilization involves dumping iron-rich soil into the ocean. Scientists say iron-rich dirt promotes the growth of plankton, microscopic organisms that provide a food source for salmon and other sealife. (CBC/HSRC) "He said this project would bring in so much money. Everybody would have jobs because he had customers already lined up to buy the carbon credits from rich industries in Europe," White said. There is currently no regulated market for carbon credits based on fertilizing the ocean. Since there is no proof that plankton actually removes carbon in any significant way, there is no market. White says Old Massett residents were also told the project would bring back salmon. That convinced them to vote in favour of the project, she said. "Salmon is very much a part of the culture — I like to say we’re salmon people. It's what connects us to nature. For the salmon not to come back in the same numbers is a real trauma. It really is a heartfelt thing." According to Rea, the salmon have all but disappeared and the loss has hit his fishing community hard. He said unemployment in Old Massett is about 70 per cent. George declined to speak with the fifth estate. The HSRC website says that through this project the company is "working to learn how to replenish and restore the ocean plankton blooms, the ocean pastures, and salmon." The iron-fertilization experiment has split the Haida nation. Residents of Skidegate First Nation, a Haida community 100 kilometres south of Old Massett, told the fifth estate they believe their reputation as stewards of the environment has been tarnished by what the village of Old Massett has done. In an email to the fifth estate, Environment Canada said ocean fertilization is not allowed under Canadian law unless it qualifies as legitimate scientific research. Environment Canada says it did not receive an application from the village of Old Massett and is still investigating.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Judge orders state to fix culverts blocking salmon March 29, 2013 SEATTLE — A federal judge on Friday ordered the state of Washington to fix culverts that block salmon from reaching their habitat, setting a timeline and pressuring officials to find the money needed to do the job. U.S. District Court Judge Ricardo S. Martinez’s ruling was the result of a decades-old legal battle tied to treaties dating back to the mid1800s. Tribes have said the state has blocked salmon passage and contributed to the decline of fish harvests. Under the ruling, the state must first fix culverts on recreational lands by fall 2016. The state would have 17 years to provide fish passage through Transportation Department culverts. Martinez said in his decision that the tribes have been harmed economically, socially, educationally and culturally because of reduced salmon harvests caused by state barriers that prevent fish passage. “This injury is ongoing, as efforts by the State to correct the barrier culverts have been insufficient,” Martinez wrote in his ruling. “Despite past state action, a great many barrier culverts still exist, large stretches of potential salmon habitat remain empty of fish, and harvests are still diminished.” Martinez compared spending on culvert correction with the overall transportation department budget and said the state has the financial ability to accelerate the pace of its fixes over the next several years. Fawn Sharp, president of the Quinault Indian Nation, said she expected tribal leaders would soon convene a meeting with state officials about how to implement the court’s decision. “It’s been a long time coming,” she said. “We’re very excited to see this next phase.” State Attorney General spokeswoman Janelle Guthrie said the state was determining its next step, which may include appealing the decision to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. At the start of the case in 2009, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife identified 807 culverts blocking salmon habitat in the tribal case. By 2012, that number had gone up to 817 despite 24 culverts getting fixed. “Extrapolation from these data would lead to the untenable conclusion that under the current State approach, the problem of WSDOT barrier culverts in the Case Area will never be solved,” Martinez wrote.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

Mining and wild game fish

 Senator Cantwell Calls For SEC To Investigate Northern Dynasty Minerals March 18, 2013 A member of the U.S. Senate is urging the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate one of the companies looking at developing a massive gold and copper mine in the Bristol Bay region. Northern Dynasty Minerals is one half of the Pebble Limited Partnership along with the giant mining company AngloAmerican. The Partnership is looking at developing the massive Pebble Mine that would be located just north of Iliamna Lake. On Monday U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell from Washington sent a letter to the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission asking for an investigation into what the Senator claims is contradictory information provided by Northern Dynasty Minerals to federal officials regarding building the Pebble Mine. At issue is a document called the “Wardrop Report” that Northern Dynasty Minerals submitted to the SEC in February of 2011. That same report was also used by the EPA to prepare the draft “Bristol Bay Watershed Assessment”. In her letter, Senator Cantwell claims that Northern Dynasty Minerals informed both the SEC and investors that the proposed Pebble Mine design and specifications are feasible and permit-able in a press release issued in 2011. Cantwell claims that more recently, in August of last year, Northern Dynasty Minerals referred to the “Wardrop Report” as a “fantasy proposal” in the company’s public testimony to the EPA. In her letter Cantwell claims that the contradictory use of the “Wardrop Report” is extremely concerning as it is unclear whether Northern Dynasty Minerals is misleading investors by attracting investment for a fantasy proposal or it is intentionally providing fraudulent testimony to the EPA. Senator Cantwell is paying attention to the issue because the salmon resource in Bristol Bay supports a massive commercial fishery that is closely tied to Washington State. That’s because many of the major seafood processors that operate in Bristol Bay are based in Washington including Peter Pan, Ocean Beauty, AGS, Icicle, and North Pacific Seafood’s. Additionally nearly 1-thousand Washington State residents hold commercial fishing permits in Bristol Bay. Senator Cantwell wrapped up her letter by urging the SEC to launch an investigation. Northern Dynasty acquired the mining claims that encompass the Pebble Deposit back in 2001 and they entered into a 50-50 partnership with mining giant Anglo-American in 2007. The deposit is thought to contain over 50-billion pounds of copper and around 67-million ounces of gold. However, some estimates greatly increase those numbers. No matter what estimate you use the Pebble Deposit is considered one of the largest deposits of its type on earth and any development of that deposit would have a positive impact on the economy of the Iliamna region. However, many Native, fishing, and environmental groups believe a mine of the size needed to develop the deposit would pose risks to the surrounding natural environment and could be especially harmful to the Bristol Bay region’s world famous and one of a kind salmon resource. Efforts to get a comment from the Pebble Limited Partnership about the Cantwell letter and the call for a SEC investigation have so far been unsuccessful.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

Pesticides, pollution and wild game fish  Fish lose sense of smell in polluted waters March 18, 2013

Fish in lakes tainted with metals are losing their sense of smell, stoking concern among experts that the problem could devastate populations. But if the fish can just get into cleaner water – even if they’ve been exposed to pollutants their whole life – they start sniffing things properly again, according to new research out of Canada. Fish use their sense of smell to find mates and food, and to avoid getting eaten. It helps them navigate their often murky world, and it is necessary for their growth and survival. But when metals contact fish nostrils, the neurons shut down to protect the brain. Metals already have been linked to impaired reproduction and growth in fish but now they are proving to be “covert toxics,” said Keith Tierney, a University of Alberta assistant professor who did not participate in the new study. “If you can’t smell food, or avoid predators, you’re more likely to die – simple as that.” Greg Pyle, a professor at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta, said he suspects that impaired sense of smell “has meaningful and profound effects” on many fish species. It may be jeopardizing entire populations of fish, including some endangered species. “We’ve tested everything from leeches to water fleas to several species of fish,” Pyle said. “Every species and every metal we’ve observed has had effects at low, environmentally relevant concentrations.” “If you can’t smell food, or avoid predators, you’re more likely to die – simple as that.” -Keith Tierney, University of Alberta Most contaminated lakes have a metallic mix, making it hard to tease out which pollutants are to blame. In the latest study, Pyle and his team of researchers took yellow perch that lived in Ontario lakes contaminated with mercury, nickel, copper, iron and manganese, and put them in a cleaner lake. Within 24 hours of basking in the clean water, the fish regained their sense of smell.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon! This shows “fish from metal contaminated lakes have the ability to recover once the lake recovers,” the authors wrote in the paper published in last month’s Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety journal.

Metal contamination affects the survival of coho salmon, which are endangered or threatened in most West Coast waters The researchers used wild fish from two lakes with metal contamination (Ramsey and Hannah lakes) and from a cleaner one (Geneva Lake). Ramsey and Hannah, located in Sudbury, Ontario, are polluted from more than a century of mining, particularly with nickel. Hannah Lake is one of the worstpolluted lakes in the area, while Ramsey is similar to other North American lakes near industrial areas. Geneva Lake is far enough northwest to escape most contaminants. Just as the clean lake revived the sense of smell for the Ramsey and Hannah fish, Geneva Lake’s perch had decreased smell after just 24 hours of hanging out in the dirtier lakes. Their response times to substances that smelled like their food dropped 75 to 59 percent. Similar results have been reported with minnows and perch, with metals apparently reducing their ability to escape predators. “Copper is a poster child for water pollution...It’s a rare pollutant that’s both agricultural and urban.” -Nathaniel Scholz, NOAA, Some metals attack specific neurons in the nostrils that respond to certain smells, Pyle said. Nickel targets the neurons that help fish smell food, while copper – at low concentrations – targets the neurons that help fish avoid predators. At higher concentrations, copper impairs their smell for everything. “Copper is a poster child for water pollution,” said Nathaniel Scholz, an ecotoxicology program manager at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Northwest Fisheries Science Center. “Copper is intensively used as a pesticide, fungicide…It’s found in cars, in boat paint, so

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon! boatyards are often contaminated. And it’s often found in industrial discharge and near legacy mining operations. It’s a rare pollutant that’s both agricultural and urban.”

Old nickel mines around Sudbury, Ontario, have contaminated Hannah and Ramsey lakes. Copper use has more than doubled in the United States over the past three decades, according to a 2012 report from the Copper Development Association. Copper and other metal contaminants are a factor in the poor survival of the West Coast’s coho salmon, which are endangered or threatened in most of the region, Scholz said. Young coho salmon exposed to low levels of copper did not evade predators – cutthroat trout – nearly as well as unexposed salmon, according to a lab study by Scholz and colleagues. This is concerning, Scholz said, because they are listed as endangered or threatened throughout most of the Northwest United States. The problem is “likely to be widespread in many freshwater aquatic habitats,” according to a NOAA report. The report said that increases in salmon response time to smells came within 10 minutes of exposure in some cases. Some pesticides also affect fish smell, including atrazine and chlorpyrifos, according to research by Oregon State University and Canadian scientists, respectively. Adding to the concern, Tierney found that zebrafish hung out where the herbicides entered their water, instead of avoiding it. The fish seemed to think that there was more food where the chemicals were because of excessive nutrients and bacteria. Pyle said one way to mitigate the problem is cleaning up contamination near spawning sites, as embryos are sensitive to the metals. Pyle said hatching in clean water, even if the fish ends up in dirty water, bolsters the chance it will maintain its sense of smell. “You and I can communicate and learn about our environment from seeing and listening,” Pyle said. “But when you’re living in water, you get a lot better info from molecules dissolved in your immediate surroundings. It’s crucial for them.”

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

Wild game fish management

 Panel approves ecosystem plan for West Coast fisheries April 09, 2013

Fishing boats are tied up in Garibaldi, Ore. The Pacific Fishery Management Council voted Tuesday to adopt a fishery ecosystem management program, which will guide it in making decisions on spot and commercial fishing seasons, quotas and fishing methods on the West Coast. GRANTS PASS -- After three years of consideration, West Coast federal fisheries managers on Tuesday unanimously adopted their first ecosystem approach to decisions on fishing seasons and catch quotas.

Legacy â&#x20AC;&#x201C; May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Year of the Wild Salmon! Meeting in Portland, the Pacific Fishery Management Council adopted the Fishery Ecosystem Plan, whose first initiative will be to consider how to make sure enough little forage fish remain in the ocean for bigger fish to eat.

Editorial Comment: These important forage fish are also ground up to feed salmon reared in controversial marinebased and land-based salmon feedlots sited in North America and elsewhere.

"Clearly, federal managers have gotten the message that the days of crisis-based management, managing for a single species, and how to maximize catches are over," said Ben Enticknapp of the conservation group Oceana. The Pacific council followed the lead of other councils, which have established ecosystem plans for federal waters off the southern Atlantic Seaboard, the Aleutian Islands of Alaska and the Hawaiian and Marianas islands, said Yvonne deReynier, who overseas development of ecosystem plans for NOAA Fisheries Service in Seattle. Each council is taking its own approach to the issue, because there is no legal mandate, she added. As recently as 2002, the West Coast groundfish fishery, which includes popular species like lingcod and rockfish, was in trouble. A fisheries disaster was declared after a decade of declining catches. Since then, managers have gone beyond just cutting back catch quotas to buying out half the groundfish fleet, protecting marine habitats and taking steps to minimize the numbers of unwanted fish that get dumped overboard dead, known as bycatch. Fisheries have been rebounding. Under the ecosystem management program, the council will get regular scientific reports on the health of the ocean that will figure in decisions on setting fishing seasons, catch quotas and other issues. Conservation groups were disappointed the program was non-binding, but felt the scientific reports will go a long way toward informing good council decisions, said Enticknapp. Scott McMullen, a retired fisherman who serves on Oregon's Ocean Policy Advisory Council and helped write the program, called it a milestone, but added it faces challenges due to the difficulty of measuring things like forage fish numbers. "In the forest, you can go out and count the trees," he said. "You can't do that in the ocean." Brad Pettinger, director of the Oregon Trawl Commission, a fishing industry group, said West Coast fisheries have rebounded since the 2002 groundfish collapse, with strong catches of shrimp and whiting, the fish that is processed into artificial crab, and bycatch below 5 percent. "Obviously, you want to be careful on forage fish, because it's part of the food chain," he said. "But I don't think we are anywhere close to (overfishing those species). The Wild West is gone." Two major forage fish species, sardines and anchovies, are fished for bait and food. But lesserknown species, such as sand lance and some smelt are not. Conservation groups worry that as demand for fish protein increases, they will be overfished. The fish go through a boom-and-bust cycle of about 50 years, whether they are managed or not, Pettinger said.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 'Pacific salmon' named B.C.'s official fish Group of seven fish joins coat of arms, flag, flower, tree and bird among official symbols March 16, 2013

2013 - Pacific salmon adopted as B.C.'s official fish: Subspecies included in the province's designation of Pacific salmon are sockeye, chinook, coho, pink and chum salmon, and steelhead and cutthroat trout.

Legacy â&#x20AC;&#x201C; May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Year of the Wild Salmon! B.C. has decided that "Pacific salmon," an umbrella group of seven salmon and trout subspecies, will be its official provincial fish emblem. The announcement, which came Saturday, adds a ninth entry to B.C.'s collection of representative symbols. 'There is no symbol more iconic of British Columbia.'â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Environment Minister Terry Lake In a written statement, Environment Minister Terry Lake said making Pacific salmon B.C.'s fish emblem recognizes the importance that British Columbians place on the fish's ecological, cultural and economic significance. "Not only are Pacific salmon integral to the culture, well-being and livelihood of B.C.'s First Nations, they are often seen as indicators of overall ecosystem and wildlife health, and important to environmental sustainability. Pacific salmon are also a significant economic driver in B.C. due to commercial and recreational fisheries," Lake said. "With the epic migration of Pacific salmon from B.C.'s rivers and streams to the ocean and back, there is no symbol more iconic of British Columbia," Lake said. The B.C. government specified that the designation of "Pacific salmon" refers to seven salmonid species of the genus Oncorhynchus, all of which are native to B.C. waters. Subspecies included in the province's designation of Pacific salmon are sockeye, chinook, coho, pink and chum salmon, and steelhead and cutthroat trout. B.C's Provincial Symbols and Honours Act already lists emblems for B.C's official tree (western red cedar), flower (Pacific dogwood), gemstone (jade), mammal (spirit bear), bird (Steller's jay), tartan, flag and coat of arms. In 2011, conservation groups lobbied the provincial government to consider designating the Pacific salmon as B.C.'s official fish. Advocates said most of the public already associates the province with the fish, so taking the next step shouldn't make a splash.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Officers seize 242 trout, arrest suspected poachers Four men from West Side accused of illegal netting in Lake Lenore April 12, 2013 Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife officers arrested four suspected poachers in the early morning hours Saturday with 242 cutthroat trout caught in an illegal nighttime netting operation at a prized Grant County lake. Lake Lenore – north of the communities of Ephrata and Soap Lake – is managed as a “quality fishery,” attracting anglers who want to use single barbless hooks and no bait to catchand-release large fish. Anglers are allowed to Washington Fish and Wildlife Officers Will Smith keep no more than one fish a day from the lake. and Chris Busching pose with 242 Lahontan Arrested were Vitaliy Kachinskiy, 23, cutthroat trout, a gillnet and a 2005 Toyota pickup of Mount Vernon, Wash., and three Everett they seized from men who have been charged with men: Sergey Otroda, 32, Igor Bigun, 26, and illegal fish netting at Lake Lenore in the first week Oleg Pavlus, 25. of April. Behind Smith is the homemade cart Grant County prosecutors have not brought allegedly used to move sacks of fish. formal charges. Fish and Wildlife Capt. Chris Anderson in Ephrata said the illegal netting has caused great concern for the state’s fish program. “The 242 fish were just one night’s catch,” Anderson said. “We’re not sure how many nights or weeks worth of fish they’ve taken out of the lake.” Fish and Wildlife agents also nabbed two Spokane men for similar illegal netting activity in January. Police say one of the subjects threatened an arresting officer with retribution. The case broke open when two wildlife agents on night patrol at Lake Lenore sat waiting near an area filled with thousands of large trout. They watched as a truck pulled into the area by the boat launch and shut off its lights, according to their report detailing the stakeout and arrests. Less than a minute later the truck was driven away. A couple hours later the truck returned. Four men jumped out and began loading nets and backpacks filled with fish into the truck. When agents confronted the men, three ran off and another climbed into the truck to drive away but was blocked by the officers’ vehicle. One of the three men who fled on foot soon surrendered. The other two jumped into the lake and began swimming away in water thought to be slightly above freezing, according to reports. One of the swimmers struggled and clung to a tree limb. He was arrested. Agents lost track of the other swimmer, but they found the swimmer’s waders and a coat floating in the water. Around 5 a.m., a police officer in Soap Lake spotted a shoeless man dressed in camouflage clothing walking through a city park. He was identified as the fourth suspect and arrested. Agents reported that the men had collected about 500 pounds of fish. They were charged with illegal use of a net, fishing closed waters, fishing without a license and exceeding the bag limit. The trout were donated to the Moses Lake Food Bank. Agents seized the pickup truck for forfeiture.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Dead salmon found along silt-choked Elwha River after hatchery release April 12, 2013 PORT ANGELES — Piles of dead year-old chinook salmon, numbering at least in the hundreds, were found along the Elwha River's lower banks and mouth after hatchery smolts were released last week. State Fish and Wildlife Department officials will consider alternatives for future releases of fish, said Mike Gross, Fish and Wildlife fish biologist for Clallam County and West Jefferson County, who called the release “a mistake.” Sediment from the river clogged the gills of most he examined, said Mike McHenry, a fish biologist and habitat manager for the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe, who saw the dead fish at the river's mouth and on sandbars Monday and Tuesday. Staff at the department's Elwha Channel hatchery released 196,575 juvenile fish, ranging from 4 inches to 8 inches in length April 5, about 3½ miles from the mouth of the river, said Randy Aho, hatchery operations manager for the Fish and Wildlife region that stretches from the Long Beach Peninsula to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. “We feel that these” — the dead fish — “are fish released from our facility,” Aho said. Silt in the river increased rapidly after the fish were released, according to U.S. Geological Survey data. The cause of death had not been confirmed as of Thursday, though Gross said he suspected the fish died of suffocation. “Suffocation from the inability to uptake oxygen would be the expected diagnosis for the cause of death,” Gross said. McHenry, after finding dirt in the fish gills, said he expected few smolts made it out of the river and into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. “I'm guessing the survival for this release is going to be very low,” McHenry said. The smolts were released in accordance with the hatchery's release schedule, Aho said. The amount of sediment in the water, or turbidity, doubled shortly after the fish were released, USGS measurements showed. The river's turbidity, measured in formazin nephelometric units (FNU), was at about 800 FNU the evening of April 4 and peaked later in the day April 5 at about 1,600 FNUs. Hatchery staff checked turbidity levels the evening of April 4 and the morning of April 5 at about 7 a.m. before beginning the release, Aho said. “[Staff] took some visual observations of the river [Friday morning] and didn't see anything that made [them] suspicious of the turbidity levels,” Aho said.

READ ENTIRE PENINSULA DAILY NEWS ARTICLE HERE

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Overfished

and under-protected: Oceans on the brink of catastrophic

collapse March 22, 2013

"(Bottom trawling is) akin to someone plowing up a wildflower meadow, just because they can," says Callum Roberts, marine biologist at the UK's York University. Others have compared it to the deforestation of tropical rainforests. (CNN) -- As the human footprint has spread, the remaining wildernesses on our planet have retreated. However, dive just a few meters below the ocean surface and you will enter a world where humans very rarely venture. In many ways, it is the forgotten world on Earth. A ridiculous thought when you consider that oceans make up 90% of the living volume of the planet and are home to more than one million species, ranging from the largest animal on the planet -- the blue whale -- to one of the weirdest -- the blobfish. Remoteness, however, has not left the oceans and their inhabitants unaffected by humans, with overfishing, climate change and pollution destabilizing marine environments across the world. Many marine scientists consider overfishing to be the greatest of these threats. The Census of Marine Life, a decade-long international survey of ocean life completed in 2010, estimated that 90% of the big fish had disappeared from the world's oceans, victims primarily of overfishing.

READ ENTIRE CNN ARTICLE HERE

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 China

and many countries are greatly underreporting how much they take from Earth’s oceans April 3, 2013

Greenpeace has warned that factory fishing fleets are emptying patches of oceans in an unsustainable manner. Chinese fishing vessels are catching 12 times more than they are reporting annually, a study published today by researchers at the University of British Columbia has found. “Chinese fishing boats catch about US$11.5 billion worth of fish from beyond their country’s own waters each year,” states a media release. “Most of it goes unreported.” In a telephone interview with the Straight, Dirk Zeller, a senior research fellow at the UBC Fisheries Centre and one of study’s co-authors, said that the problem is the size of China’s fishing fleets coupled with Beijing’s reluctance to publicize the details of its deals with other governments. But he was quick to emphasize that while UBC’s investigation focused on China, many countries are lowballing estimates for how much their fleets haul in. “China is not alone in this,” Zeller said. “Basically, every country in the world underreports its catch.” He argued that this relates directly to problems of overfishing and the depletion of fish stocks “at the most fundamental level.” “If we don’t know how much we are actually taking, how can we ever figure out what is sustainable?” Zeller asked. “Countries need to be more transparent and more accountable about their activities.”

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

A study conducted by UBC researchers has mapped where Chinese fleets are fishing the world's oceans. UBC Fisheries Centre The majority of China’s overseas fishing is happening in West Africa. According to the UBC study, Chinese fishing vessels removed an annual average of 2.9 million tonnes of catch worth $7.15 billion from East African waters every year from 2000-11. The region therefore account for 64 percent of Chinese fishing activities outside national waters. Zeller said that there are a number of explanations for why there is so much activity in West Africa. The countries that make up Africa’s west coast are relatively poor, which makes it easier for richer nations to negotiate deals in their favour, he explained. Impoverished and less-developed governments mean there are fewer regulations, and also less enforcement of what rules do exist. Finally, many other areas of the world’s oceans are already overfished and simply have less left there to catch. “Europe, in the 1980s, tried to push their vessels to go and fish overseas because their own waters were already overfished,” Zeller noted. He said that European vessels have been very active in West Africa ever since, and have also moved into areas off the coast of East Africa and throughout the Indian Ocean. Oceania and the Pacific Ocean will inevitably be next, he predicted. “They are working their way around the word and wherever they go, they are reducing the populations and fishing down the available stocks,” Zeller warned. “It is like a big industrial factory that goes around the world and fishes everything out. And it is not just Europe, it is not just China, it is not just Japan; it is all of them together.” A summary of the research team’s findings is available here.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

Local Conservation Projects

 Documentary: “Salmon Confidential” – two decades in the making

by Twyla Roscovich in collaboration with Salmon are Sacred

Legacy â&#x20AC;&#x201C; May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Year of the Wild Salmon!

ď ś Local scientists featured in film on salmon March 19, 2013 Two scientists prominently in a examines whether are linked to the stocks.

from Nanaimo figure feature-length movie that European salmon viruses decline in Pacific salmon

The 70-minute documentary Salmon Confidential was viewed more than 40,000 times in the first week it went online. For years the film's producer, controversial environmentalist/ biologist Alexandra Morton has said the salmon farming industry has introduced viruses from farmed Atlantic salmon that are a factor in the decline of wild stocks.

Editorial Comment: Salmon Confidential documents why Wild Game Fish Conservation International is working with our associates and colleagues to identify and understand the impacts of the open pen salmon feedlot industry to human health, ecosystems, communities and economies. We recommend that you watch Salmon Confidential and then choose whether or not you want your loved ones to consume these products. Consumers, not profit-driven corporations or corrupt government agencies, will determine through supply and demand when this industry will be driven from wild salmon migration routes and from our markets

The film provides "insight into the inner workings of government agencies, as well as rare footage of the bureaucrats tasked with managing our fish and the safety of our food supply," according to an online promotional teaser. Among the sources quoted in the movie are two scientists who have been involved in salmon research at the Pacific Biological Station in Nanaimo. During the Cohen Commission inquiry into declining Pacific salmon stocks, it came out scientists, including Kristi Miller, at the PBS, were prevented by government from speaking publicly on their work. She and Brian Riddell, a former PBS scientist, who is has since left the federal fisheries department to take a position with the Pacific Salmon Foundation, are among those filmmaker Twyla Roscovich interviewed for the film. Morton claims a cover-up by government on the issue of viruses introduced into wild salmon stocks, in person and on the website that hosts the video. "I felt the best way to communicate this was to do a film," said Morton, spokeswoman for the organization Salmon are Sacred, which has a long history of conflict with the B.C. aquaculture industry. The video, at salmonconfidential.ca is a tool in the campaign to lobby government for legislative changes how fish farming is regulated in B.C. The B.C. Salmon Farmers Association is running a campaign to counter what it considers misinformation contained in the video. "It really is a film version of what we and other experts have been correcting, in print, for years," said Ellen Walling, BCSFA spokeswoman. "There's really nothing new, from our perspective. It's really based on multiple pieces of misinformation that (we have) corrected many times."

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Documentary takes aim at salmon farming March 21, 2013 Documentary filmmaker Twyla Roscovich is looking forward to a controversial home coming. Her latest project, Salmon Confidential, has just been released and takes a highly critical look the B.C. salmon farming industry. “I’m looking forward to the Campbell River screening. I’m sure it will be interesting,” she says. She chuckles at her own understatement because Roscovich knows all too well the hub of the B.C. salmon farming industry is based in Campbell River. She grew up here too, graduated from Carihi secondary in 1996, and immediately went out and started filming killer whales for the BBC. Later, she got to know Alexandra Morton, a biologist and activist who supports wild salmon and condemns salmon farming in coastal waters. “She has a huge knowledge of fish and she’s dialed in to what’s going on,” says Roscovich, during a phone interview Monday. The new 70-minute documentary follows Morton’s 2012 investigation of wild salmon deaths which she attributes to European viruses associated with salmon farming. Roscovich is the one-woman film crew who follows Morton’s trips to court, remote rivers, government offices, Vancouver grocery stores and sushi restaurants. “The film documents Morton’s journey as she attempts to overcome government and industry roadblocks thrown in her path and works to bring critical information to the public in time to save BC’s wild salmon,” reads a news release from the website salmonaresacred.org. The timing of the documentary’s release also coincides with the upcoming provincial election on May 13. “We’re hoping this does become an election issue,” says Roscovich. You can watch the film online at salmonconfidential.ca and it’s due to be screened in Campbell River sometime in mid-April at the Timberline Secondary theatre. The date still needs to be confirmed.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Adult Salmon Monitoring 2010-2012 - Community Salmon Investigation (CSI): Highline Miller and Walker Creeks Stewardship How many adult salmon return to Miller and Walker Creeks in Burien, Normandy Park, and SeaTac each year? We are just beginning to find out with the help of some dedicated volunteers. In addition, we are starting to learn how many of these fish are stricken by pre-spawn mortality and thus how many survive long enough to lay the eggs of the next generation. A better understanding of the numbers of fish returning to the streams in the Highline community and the extent of pre-spawn mortality is one of the top recommendations the community identified as part of coordinated monitoring of the streams (see the 2009 monitoring coordination recommendations). Adult salmon in our streams are the Pacific Northwest equivalent of the “canary in the coal mine” – they reflect the health of our lands and water.

Different CSI teams go out each day during the fall salmon migration to count fish in the stream. These two adult coho migrated up Miller Creek October 23, 2009.

The Community Salmon Investigation team of volunteers gathered data in 2010 and 2011 to help us learn more about this community resource. Teams of volunteers are working each day to gather information about 2012 salmon spawning in Miller and Walker Creeks. Salmon Monitoring Results for 2012 - New! Final 2012 Salmon Survey presentation (Adobe, large file) In 2012, surveys started on October 10, and ended on December 24, since no live salmon had been seen for a week. Volunteers walked each day to look for salmon in sections of Miller and Walker Creeks where eleven property owners gave written permission. The survey reaches were approximately 2/3 of a mile long in each stream, and were not continuous. Volunteer monitoring teams in 2012 reported seeing the following adult salmon (last updated 3/15/2013): • Coho (live): 432 (of these, 216 were in Miller Creek, and 216 were in Walker Creek) • Chum (live): 113 (of these, 56 were in Miller Creek, and 57 were in Walker Creek) • Unidentified adult salmon (live): 69 • Coho carcasses (dead): 240 (150 females, 90 males) • Coho Pre-spawn Mortality (died before they spawned, females only): 88%, or 100 of 115 females of known spawning condition • Spawned Coho Females: 14% (21 of 150) • Predated Coho (marks indicating they had been eaten by a predator or scavenger): 27% (56 of 274 coho, chum and unidentified carcasses recovered)

Legacy â&#x20AC;&#x201C; May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Year of the Wild Salmon! Video of coho salmon female showing symptoms of prespawn mortality (swimming near the water's surface, disoriented, lethargic) Volunteers from "Team Thursday," Christine and Karen, measure and collect data on a dead coho that had died before it had a chance to spawn.

Sign Up for Community Salmon Investigation (CSI) in 2013 More adventurous volunteers will be needed for salmon surveys starting in October 2013. To find out more and be eligible to conduct surveys, attend our 2-hour training workshop! CSI 2013 Training Workshop Look for updates in September 2013. Normandy Park City Hall, Council Meeting Room 801 Southwest 174th Street Normandy Park, WA 98166 To sign up, contact Elissa Ostergaard, 206-296-1909

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Removal of culverts creates fish habitats March 24, 2013 CLALLAM BAY — North Olympic Salmon Coalition staffers have removed two fish-blocking culverts from an unnamed tributary to the Clallam River. The culverts were replaced earlier this year with a 30-footlong bridge to span the creek, provide fish access and prevent water from flowing over the top of Weel Road. The project was accomplished through a partnership with private landowner Ken Sadilek and was financed by the state Recreation and Conservation Office’s Family Forest Fish Passage Program, which provides funding to small forest landowners to repair or remove fish passage barriers.

Editorial Comment: WGFCI tips our hat to Mr. Sadilek, Family Forest Fish Passage Program and other project partners for effectively completing this winwin, wild salmon and trout conservation project – it will have long term benefits for a relatively small investment.

The bridge was manufactured by Big R Bridge of Greely, Colo., and construction and installation was completed by 2 Grade LLC of Port Angeles. The total cost of the design, project management, engineering and construction was $75,000. Weel Road was built in the 1950s to provide vehicle access through a large wetland and across the creek. Over time, a beaver dammed the culverts, causing flooding over the road and blocking juvenile fish from a 16-acre forested wetland located upstream of the road. “This project has corrected a flooding problem in addition to re-establishing access to ideal wintering habitat for juvenile coho salmon,” said Jamie Michel, assistant project manager for the North Olympic Salmon Coalition. Michel reported seeing abundant populations of juvenile coho salmon taking advantage of the newly available habitat. Coho salmon, steelhead and cutthroat trout are likely to use the newly available habitat, Michel said, adding that the wetland is a particularly important rearing habitat for juvenile coho salmon looking to escape high winter flows in the Clallam River. The salmon coalition is a community-based nonprofit organization that works with willing landowners and volunteers to restore salmon habitat on the North Olympic Peninsula. It has been working on salmon habitat restorations along the Strait of Juan de Fuca for more than 20 years and is based in Port Hadlock with a satellite office in Port Angeles. For more information, visit nosc.org or phone 360-379-8051.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

Conservation-minded businesses – please support these fine businesses

 Fly Fishing Fine Art

Currently we have 2 events for your immediate attention! Crazy Bear Lodge is an exclusive, fly in, wilderness lodge in central BC. I will be doing workshops for guests during the week of Aug. 8-14 and hope that you will be able to join us for a mix of terrific angling and watercolour painting. Check out the website www.crazybearlodge.com and contact for details! Also, The Old School House Gallery in Qualicum Beach is hosting an exhibition and sale of approximately 20 of my selected paintings. The official opening is Apr.10 at 7:00 pm, and the show runs from Apr.8 until Apr.27. I invite you to drop by, say hello and enjoy the presentation.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Cabela’s – World’s Foremost Outfitter

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 ADG Titanium Fly Rods

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Our claims are based on scientific research & angler's testimonies, not from a commercial sales point of view.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Dorado Lodge – Patagonia, Argentina

Video: Angling for Gold

Freshwater Dorado

Salta Province in NW Argentina is the only place on earth where you can consistently catch large freshwater dorado (Salminus maxilosus) on small, clear streams. Parque Nacional del Rey in Salta is located in the transition zone between the high altitude Andes range and the Yunga, an extension of the Amazon watershed. Our home waters, the Rio Tucanes, Rio Dorado and Juramento are tributaries of the Parana River basin. From base camp we have access to all the extension of the most productive parts of the Juramento River and to our two leased waters on both the Tucanes and Dorado Rivers.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 STS Guiding Service, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Vancouver Saltwater Fishing Welcome to Fishing in Vancouver. Fishing in Vancouver offers some of the best salmon fishing in Vancouver area has to offer. Saltwater fishing in Vancouver can be very good at certain times of the year. Winter and early Spring can offer some good results for winter Chinook fishing in Vancouver Harbour and the North Shore of Vancouver. A little further north, Bowen Island, Tungstall Bay and the Howe Sound can be very good for larger Chinook that are chasing bait fish like herring. Summer and fall offer great opportunities for Sockeye, Pink, Coho and Chum Salmon so whatever the season, we can provide you with some great fishing opportunities around Vancouver, British Columbia.

Once Spring freshet arrives in late May, Vancouver's waters can become murky and sometimes fishing is just not productive. That's when our Pro team of fishing guides lift up the gear and head across the inside passage to the Gulf Islands. The fishing in the Gulf Islands can be very good from late May through until early August then we move back to target those Fraser River bound Chinook and Coho. Our Gulf Island trips are 8 to 10 hours in length and offer some great scenery including a good chance at seeing a Whale or two. Whether we are Fishing Vancouver Harbour, The Gulf Islands or Vancouver Island our team of professional fishing guides will find the fish, Our Vancouver fishing team of guides have past experience which includes Queen Charlottes, West Coast Fishing, Howe Sound and Vancouver Coast and Vancouver Island. If your just looking for a relaxing afternoon fishing around Vancouver, our boats are moored close by at the Delta Airport Hotel only minutes from Vancouver Airport. We also offer Hotel pickup at most Downtown Vancouver Hotels.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 RiverQuest Charters - Michigan

Welcome to RiverQuest, an experienced and professionally endorsed fly fishing guide service. RiverQuest is committed to giving you one of the most memorable days of fly fishing you've ever had. Whether you're a novice venturing out for the first time, an accomplished fly fisherman, or anywhere in between, RiverQuest custom-tailors our services to meet your specific needs and wants - always with a smile. RiverQuest Charters is a professional Muskegon River guide service; fly fishing for steelhead, salmon, trout and smallmouth bass. RiverQuest Charters also seasonally guides the Manistee River, St. Mary's River, St. Joseph River, and on the Grand Traverse Bay of Lake Michigan. RiverQuest Charters is a "Catch and Release" guide service.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Guiding Sportfishing - Gašper Konkolič - Slovenia

“There is no fishing heaven on Earth, there are just heavenly seasons, magical moments on the water.” It is a job of a fishing guide to look for a right moment on the right water. A guide should also know his town, waters, fish, fishing techniques and the whole tourist offer of his town, along with its specialities. As a flyfisherman you really have to love a country like Slovenia. It's a small country, just a little larger than New Jersey, but it has so much to offer. There are not many places where you can fish as good and nice as in Slovenia. Slovenia has a vibrant culture, a lot of rivers and lakes, perfect for fly fishing. Nowhere in the world can you experience so much variety of rivers and fish. In Slovenia we are very proud of the Marble trout (Trota Marmorata), which is the biggest Trout and is also the biggest challenge for flyfishermen. We are also proud of Hucho Hucho (Danubian salmon), which is the closest relative to the (Mongolian) Hucho taimen. Marble Trout and Hucho Hucho are rare species, but to those who like great challenges they are a life catch. We are happy to offer you all this and much more, as e.g. fishing for wild fish. I see so many people travelling the globe in search for places with bigger and easier fish to catch. For some it sounds great, but me, I like to spend a lot of time in water, searching for rare fish (Marble trout, Danubian salmon) or wild fish. Sincerely yours, Gašper Konkolič, fishing guide.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 Ruca Chalhuafe Lodge - Chile

Welcome to Ruca Lodge Come join us and discover one of Patagonia´s great angling secrets, savour the pristine natural beauty and enjoy the abundance of Trout and salmon, the surroundings and hospitality will take your breath away. Our lodge is located on the shores of Lake Llanquilhue at the base of the amazing Osorno Volcano, with more than 20 rivers, 5 lakes, remote lagoons, and numerable streams, varied angling is a definite option. . The opportunity to float-tube casting big dry flies to Trophy Trout might suit you, or maybe a delicate approach in an isolated stream sight fishing may tempt you, but rest assured the variety and the welcome will be un matched.

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

 ZERO Blends –$2.00 to protect wild Canadian salmon with each online order

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

Attention Conservation-minded Business Owners Many businesses around planet earth rely on healthy 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 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. Healthy 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 effectively protect and restore planet earth’s wild game fish for this and future generations to enjoy and appreciate. This i our LEGACY. WGFCI endorsed conservation organizations:  American Rivers  Global Alliance Against Industrial Aquaculture  LightHawk  Native Fish Society  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  Wild Salmon Forever

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!

Featured Artists:

 Diane Michelin: “Lee and Hardy” “Lee and Hardy” and Diane’s other amazing art are available at Fly Fishing Fine Art

Diane Michelin: “This is a painting of Wilfred Lee, an old guide from the Kispiox, who sold his license to his son and still continues to fly fish his beloved river with an old Hardy reel.”

Legacy – May 2013 Wild Game Fish Conservation International 2013 – Year of the Wild Salmon!