EDITOR,
Re. "Salmon film 'fiction,'" Letters, Chief, April 25).
Ian Roberts works for Marine Harvest in "communications and media" and so it's his job to refute the film sweeping across North America revealing his industry and its government handlers in a bad light. (Salmonconfidential.ca)
But when Roberts suggests the $26 million Cohen Commission gave salmon farms a clean bill of health, that is not accurate.
Cohen recommendation #14 was that licences to farm salmon in B.C. be one year in duration only.
This is a crippling blow to an industry that requires over a year to grow a single generation of farm salmon. The industry is complaining bitterly about this very tight restraint, because it means their licence could be pulled mid-cycle to protect wild salmon.
Then in recommendation #19, Cohen gives DFO a time limit to provide convincing evidence that salmon farms have less-than-minimal impact on wild salmon or they should cease to operate in the narrows off Campbell River!
Cohen is clearly very concerned and has provided tools that a responsible government could pick up to protect the legacy, economy and ecology of B.C. from this 98 per cent Norwegian industry that has never co-existed with wild salmon anywhere in the world. Hopefully, B.C. will elect a government who will take up these tools and use them to the benefit of all British Columbians present and future.
Alexandra Morton
Echo Bay, B.C.
