Victory for wild salmon as Federal Court strikes down aquaculture licence conditions.
Department of Fisheries and Oceans needs to err on the side of caution in regulating fish farms, Court rules
VANCOUVER — The Federal Court has struck down aquaculture licence conditions that allowed private companies to transfer fish infected with viruses to open-pen farms in the ocean.
“This is a great day for wild salmon,” said Margot Venton, Ecojustice staff lawyer. “The Court has sent a clear message confirming the Department of Fisheries and Oceans duty to protect and conserve wild fish and the marine environment.”
Ecojustice lawyers, acting on behalf of biologist Alexandra Morton, filed a lawsuit in May 2013, after learning that fish later confirmed to be infected with the piscine reovirus (PRV) had been transferred into an open pen fish farm operated by Marine Harvest in Shelter Bay, BC. The farm is located along the migration route of the Fraser River sockeye. The presence of PRV at Marine Harvest’s Dalrymple hatchery was confirmed by a provincial pathologist during legal proceedings last year.
Marine Harvest was operating under the terms of a federal aquaculture licence that gave it the power to decide whether to transfer fish carrying viruses that may be harmful to wild fish into the ocean. The Court found that the licence conditions at issue in the case were inconsistent with the law which prohibits the transfer of fish carrying diseases or viruses that may be harmful to conservation of wild fish.
“This was a reckless practice that put wild salmon at risk by exposing them to potentially dangerous disease agents,” Morton said. “The Court’s judgement comes as a big relief. Salmon farms are just nets or cages open to our oceans. To stock them with farmed fish carrying viruses is playing biological roulette. It cannot be left to these companies to decide whether putting farmed fish carrying viruses into the ocean environment is safe.”
Scientists have identified PRV as the most likely cause of Heart and Skeletal Muscle Inflammation (HSMI), a severe disease that affects the muscles and heart of salmon. The Court rejected the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) argument that its license conditions were based on sound science about HSMI or other fish diseases, finding there was no evidence that DFO relies on science in issuing aquaculture licenses. Instead, after noting that “the weight of the expert evidence before this Court supports the view that PRV is the viral precursor to HSMI”, the Court accepted that transfers of farmed salmon infected with viruses like PRV may be harmful to the protection and conservation of fish – and thus contrary to the law.
HSMI is prevalent in farmed salmon in Norway, and has since appeared in Scotland, another jurisdiction with an intensive fish farming industry. In this case, the Court stated that “it would be an unreasonable inference to draw from the evidence that it will not appear in farmed Atlantic salmon on the Pacific Coast.”
“Common sense, experience from around the globe, and the overwhelming weight of scientific evidence all tell us that putting farmed fish carrying viruses in close proximity to healthy wild fish is a bad idea,” Morton said. “We need to err on the side of caution when it comes to protecting wild fish, and I am delighted that the Court agrees.”
Read the full federal court decision.
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For more information contact:
Margot Venton, lawyer | Ecojustice: 604.349.2333 mventon@ecojustice.ca
Alexandra Morton | Biologist: 250.974.7086
Wolves Scapegoated While Alberta Government Sells Off Endangered Caribou Habitat
Culling Alberta’s wolves without prioritizing caribou habitat protection and restoration is like “shoveling sand,” according to Mark Hebblewhite, associate professor of ungulate habitat biology at the University of Montana.
Hebblewhite says the Alberta government is sponsoring awolf cull without doing the one thing that could possibly scientifically justify it: conserving and restoring critical caribou habitat.
“That’s the tragedy here: the Alberta government blew the opportunity to do the right thing,” he said.
“It’s all shoveling sand without real commitment to habitat conservation.”
Scientists have warned of Alberta’s caribou losses for decades and in recent years have argued the majority of the herds are endangered with some facing an imminent risk of local extinction. Provinces have until 2017 to formulate provincial caribou recovery plans under the new federal caribou recovery strategy released in 2012.
The goal for each province is to maintain 65 per cent undisturbed habitat in all caribou ranges, according to Duncan MacDonnell, public affairs officer for Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development (ESRD).
“It is ESRD’s responsibility to implement recovery plans,” for Alberta, MacDonnell said, adding that since 2004 the province has had a wolf cull in place “to hold the line while the habitat recovery plans take place and are implemented.”
Since 2006 more than 1,000 wolves have been shot in the Little Smokey and A La Peche caribou ranges.
The province’s use of predator management has generated serious controversy, especially in light ofcontinuing sales of oil and gas leases in caribou ranges, a move experts say undermines the scientific integrity of the wolf cull.
“There are all kinds of ethical problems in this mess,” Hebblewhite told DeSmog Canada.
“It’s unethical to sell oil and gas leases in endangered caribou critical habitat.”
Hebblewhite recently published a paper, Managing Wolves to Recover Threatened Woodland Caribou in Alberta, that demonstrated the wolf cull in the Little Smoky and A La Peche regions helped stabilize local caribou herds, but won’t contribute to their long-term survival without habitat recovery and protection.
“If we had started killing wolves 10 years ago, stopped all development, and started restoration, we might actually be somewhere,” he said.
Hebblewhite is preparing to release additional research that shows that since the release of the federal recovery strategy, the federal and provincial governments have allowed significant oil and gas activity to continue in caribou ranges.
“This is where it is most egregious: on the one hand, the Alberta government is saying they are doing habitat conservation while on the other I have proprietary oil and gas industry data that shows there have been hundreds of wells drilled in the Little Smoky herd, and 1,500 wells drilled in the Cold Lake herd range on the border with Saskatchewan. And that herd is the second most rapidly declining herd in the country.”
“And this is just since 2012 when the federal caribou recovery plan, including the delineation of critical habitat, was adopted,” he said.
“We are still destroying caribou habitat…it shows quite clearly that we’re killing wolves and we are not doing anything to recover caribou or the boreal forest.”
Habitat Destruction, Seismic Lines a Costly Lack of Foresight
Oilsands companies are in a “mad rush” to restore seismic lines in Alberta’s caribou ranges before the province reveals its caribou recovery plan — mandated under the Federal Caribou Recovery Strategy — by 2017.
With tens of thousands of kilometres of seismic lines, their restoration is critical for reducing the mobility of wolves in caribou ranges.
Scott Nielsen, a University of Alberta professor who is studying seismic line restoration, said now that restoration on these legacy lines is happening, industry should work with scientists to ensure it’s done right. At a cost of roughly $10,000 per kilometre Nielsen says prioritizing the most critical areas for caribou and other species is critical.
“A lot of companies are grouping together and doing restoration projects, but if each company is doing a little bit here and a little bit there, the scale at which the disturbances occur at and the scale at which caribou and wolves move at are big. We need to think big when we’re thinking of the restoration or the offsets.”
“It would be even better if the work could be coordinated from the stand point of objectively trying to identify areas with the best bang for our buck both from the perspective of biodiversity and cost benefits,” he said.
And now, Nielsen said, even with aggressive restoration in place, “from a caribou perspective there has to be some form of zoning or restriction in development for at least certain herds for them to persist.”
But the government of Alberta, in lieu of enforcing habitat protection — which would require limiting new leasing for oil and gas companies — has relied on predator control as a means to keep caribou herds alive.
Predator control, Nielsen said, “tends to be a favourite tool used when you’re desperate and you have a population or a species that is critically endangered and threatened.”
The wolf cull is “one tool the managers are using for a short-term solution,” Nielsen said. “And if they aren’t working towards a long-term solution then it should be abandoned.”
Real Issue is Habitat Conservation
For Raincoast Conservation Foundation biologist and wolf expert Paul Paquet, the continued destruction of caribou habitat demonstrates the Alberta government is working at cross-purposes.
“The whole issue around oil and gas leases is it shows the government working at cross-purposes,” Paquet said. “I think it undermines their credibility.”
He added the negative effects of unrestored seismic lines on caribou habitat has been known for decades, but both government and industry have failed to take meaningful action.
“They don’t seem intent on doing what needs to be done,” Paquet said, adding the failure to protect caribou habitat throws the province’s ongoing wolf cull into a “moral dilemma.”
Research recently published by Hebblewhite and his colleagues shows that while the killing of wolves in some areas has stabilized populations, aggressive predator control was unable to put caribou back on a path to self-sustaining populations.
“All of this is useless if the primary reasons for caribou decline isn’t addressed and that primary one now is loss of habitat and degraded habitat,” Paquet said.
Hebblewhite agrees.
Predator control “has to be against the template of real commitment to habitat conservation. But if we’re just doing it in small little parts of the habitat and destroying other parts, it’s probably not going to have a very good effect.”
The wolf cull “reminds us we’ve screwed up the entire ecosystem,” Hebblewhite said. “Killing wolves is a short-term response to that. It buys us time.”
Image Credit: John E. Marriott
Converging Suspects Exhibition – Fazakas Gallery Vancouver
Hi everyone, I appreciated meeting everyone in our class and how supportive and knowledgable you all are! It made my time studying as a guest in Coast Salish territories a awesome experience!! Also, here is the link and dates for the group exhibition I am involved in this saturday night 6-8pm, at Fazakas gallery, Vancouver. If you get the chance I would love to see you there. Warraba 🙂
http://www.fazakasgallery.com/exhibitions/converging-suspects/
The Truth About The Tar Sands Pipeline
language warning
-Posted by Ryan
City of Vancouver calling it an “oil spill,” Vancouver Aquarium concerned
Photo via twitter by Mike Groat
Cleanup workers are at English Bay today, responding to reports of an oily sheen coating the water on the east side of the bay at about 5 p.m. Wednesday.
Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre is closely monitoring developments around the overnight spill of bunker fuel in English Bay, a press release said. “The immediate concern is whether the spill will affect aquatic species that live at or around the water’s surface, in the water column, or in the sediments. Vancouver Aquarium has offered its assistance with the monitoring and evaluation, and is preparing a rapid response team to ensure the protection of any fish, seabirds and/or marine mammals that might be at risk from this toxic spill.”
Port Metro Vancouver received multiple reports about the spill before calling in the coast guard.
The spill is suspected to be bunker fuel, leaking from a nearby cargo ship.
Investigation and clean up efforts are expected to continue into Thursday.
The size and scope of the spill have not been specified.
The City of Vancouver is holding a press briefing soon.
Justice for Cindy Gladue
All across these lands, in almost twenty cities and communities, there will be rallies on Thursday April 2 to honour Cindy Gladue’s life and to demand justice for her with a specific call for a re-trial (please see below).
Cindy Gladue was a 36-year old Indigenous mother of two who was murdered by Bradley Barton in an Edmonton motel room four years ago. Last week, an almost all-white and all-male jury decided to acquit her killer, a white Ontario man, because they believed that Cindy had consented to the violence that caused her to bleed to death. This verdict represents a larger ongoing pattern of colonial gendered violence.
Earlier this month, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) concluded that Canada, “has failed to ensure that Aboriginal women are protected against discrimination committed by public institutions.”
And in December of 2014 the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights stated, “disappearances and murders of indigenous women in Canada are part of a broader pattern of violence and discrimination against indigenous women in Canada.”
The UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is visiting BC this month and the previous UN Special Rapporteur Dr. Anaya stated that “indigenous women and girls remain vulnerable to abuse” due to complex and intersecting historical and present issues stemming from the impacts of colonialism. Dr. Anaya noted the disproportionately high rate that Indigenous women and girls are victims of violent crime, and that “since 1996, there have been at least 29 official inquiries and reports dealing with aspects of this issue, which have made over 500 recommendations for action.”
We demand justice for Cindy Gladue and all missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.
Thank you for joining us,
Feb 14th Women’s Memorial March Committee.
* IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO JOIN *
If you are unable to join us, but want to show your support, you can sign the petition at https://www.change.org/p/honourable-jonathan-denis-qc-mla-minister-of-justice-and-solicitor-general-initiate-an-appeal-of-justice-for-cindy-gladue
We also call on you to join in the push for a retrial. Crown Prosecutor Carole Godfrey has only one month to initiate an appeal for a retrial.
Respectfully request that the prosecutor initiate an appeal to retry Bradley Barton for the original charges of second-degree murder, based on the extensive biases and mistreatment that are clear in our article and numerous other media articles:
Crown Prosecutor Carole Godfrey
6th Floor, J.E. Brownlee Building
10365 – 97th Street
Edmonton, AB T5J 3W7
Telephone: 780-422-1111
Fax: 780-422-9756
E-mail: edmontonprosecutions@gov.ab.ca
Write to Alberta Justice Minister and Solicitor General Jonathan Denis, who would have to approve the call for an appeal:
Honourable Jonathan Denis QC MLA
Minister of Justice and Solicitor General
3rd floor, Bowker Building, 9833 – 109 Street.
Edmonton, Alberta, T5K 2E8
Phone: 780-427-2339
Fax: 780-422-6621
Email: ministryofjustice@gov.ab.ca
(Write and call-in information via Naomi Sayers and Sarah Hunt, image credit Angela Sterritt)
There will be a vigil and rally seeking justice for Cindy Gladue this Thursday, April 2, at 10:30 am, at the Supreme Court of BC (800 Hornby St.), in Vancouver, organized by the February 14th Women’s Memorial March Committee. Please see the attached poster and hope to see you there.
Here is the Facebook event page: https://m.facebook.com/events/446813728815761/?ref=m_notif¬if_t=plan_user_joined
Background (set out on FB event page):
* Additional Events
Justice For Cindy Gladue – Algonquin Territory, Ottawa:https://www.facebook.com/events/659410977496946/
Justice For Cindy Gladue – Edmonton: https://www.facebook.com/events/419958091508690/
Justice and Vigil for Cindy Gladue Calgary/Treaty 7/Blackfoot Confederacy:https://www.facebook.com/events/1501176266769571/
Justice for Cindy Gladue – Victoria, on Lkwungen territories: https://www.facebook.com/events/1606587266225135/
Justice for Cindy Gladue – Saskatoon: https://www.facebook.com/events/1411748372467390/
Justice For Cindy Gladue – Regina: https://www.facebook.com/events/1578080472462451/
Justice for Cindy Gladue – St. John’s, NL: https://www.facebook.com/events/516826465122931/
Justice for Cindy Gladue – Kenora/Treaty 3: https://www.facebook.com/events/682805831848855/
Justice and Vigil for Cindy Gladue Treaty 1 Solidarity ActionWinnipeg: https://www.facebook.com/events/614292468672452/
No Justice No Peace – Honouring Cindy Gladue –Toronto: https://www.facebook.com/events/1592063801041473/
Justice for Cindy Gladue, an event in Nogojiwanong (Peterborough): https://www.facebook.com/events/357892087750793/
Justice for Cindy Gladue – Lac La Biche, Alberta: https://www.facebook.com/events/897332023620446/
Justice for Cindy Gladue- Treaty 7 Blackfoot Territory, Lethbridge, Alberta: https://www.facebook.com/events/934387869934355/
Justice for Cindy Gladue –Saskatoon Art-In: https://www.facebook.com/events/692227500888667/
Justice for Cindy Gladue – St. Paul andArea: https://www.facebook.com/events/716924471749736/
Nathan Cullen stands up for BC coast and communities
-Posted by Ryan
Cry Wolf: An Unethical Oil Story
Over the last several years, Alberta has killed more than 500 wolves using aerial sharpshooters and poisoned bait in order to conceal the impact of rapid industrial development on Canada’s iconic woodland caribou.
Independent scientists say that declining caribou health stems chiefly from habitat destruction caused by the encroachment of the tar sands and timber industries. But in a perverse attempt to cover industry’s tracks, the Alberta government is ignoring the science and shifting the blame to a hapless scapegoat: the wolf.
As DeSmogBlog reported earlier this year, the Alberta Caribou Committee, tasked with the recovery of the province’s dwindling caribou populations, is dominated by timber, oil and gas industry interests. Participating scientists have been silenced – their reports rewritten and their recommendations overlooked.
The prospect of the expansion of this unscientific wolf cull, projected to claim the lives of roughly 6,000 wolves over the next five years, has outraged conservationists and wildlife experts. While the wolves dodge bullets and poison, this scandal is flying largely under the public radar.
A team of DeSmogBlog researchers traveled to the Tar Sands region to investigate the dirty oil politics behind this fool’s errand. Here is our first report:Cry Wolf: An Unethical Oil Story.
Is this what “ethical oil” looks like?
Rather than relying on science to protect caribou habitat and restore this iconic species, Alberta is killing wolves in order to protect unfettered industrial development.
As a result, our unethical oil addiction is leading to one of the most shameful wildlife control programs ever imagined. Government complicity, on both the federal and provincial levels, leaves biologists caught up in the mix with no higher power to appeal to. Real science is shelved, while industry-friendly political decisions prevail.
What does this say about the state of our democracy when scientists are ignored and industry profits are prioritized ahead of safeguarding iconic wildlife species?
Stay tuned for more details as DeSmog continues our investigation into this controversial issue.
Take Action
You can make a difference by participating in these actions to stop the unscientific wolf cull.
Credo action: Tell the Canadian government: Stop your tar sands wolf kills! – Over 200,000 voices in opposition to the wolf killings.
DeSmogBlog petition on Change.org – Tell Canada’s federal Environment Minister Peter Kent, who considers the cull “an accepted if regrettable scientific practice,” to put an end to the reckless wolf slaughter.
Alberta Provincial petition – Put some pressure on at the provincial level too, by signing this petition to Frank Oberle, Minister of Alberta’s Sustainable Resource Development and Fiona Schmiegelow from the University of Alberta.
NWF Action Center – American residents can go here to send a letter to their senator or representative in order to connect the dots between the Keystone XLtar sands pipeline and the wolf cull. Also watch National Wildlife Federation scientist David Mizejewski on the Today Show and read NWF‘s report on the plan to poison wolves to protect tar sands interests.
For more information on the tar sands, check out DeSmogBlog’s tar sands action page.
And for those who may be unfamiliar with what the ‘ethical oil’ campaign is,check out our previous coverage of the Sierra Club’s John Bennett and Ethical Oil Institute spokesperson Kathryn Marshall on CBC‘s Power and Politics with Evan Solomon.
indigenous environmental justice activism art 