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Blood Water

by Tavish Campbell

This is an international embarrassment to Canada!

Write to Premier John Horgan (premier@gov.bc.ca) and Prime Minister Justine Trudeau (justin.trudeau@parl.gc.ca) and tell them the B.C. salmon aquaculture industry MUST transition to land.

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  • It's the first day of spring, and nothing marks this time of year like the resurgence of life that herring bring to our coastal ecosystems. While the turquoise water continues to spread throughout the Salish Sea, our #BIGLittleFish seems to have arrived early on the central and north coasts. Today, reports of herring spawn are coming in from territories up the central and north coasts. Spring has sprung - and the herring seem to have as well. In our world of changing marine environments, events like this are becoming less predictable, but no less spectacular. Here are a few quick scenes from last week's spawn on the Strait of Georgia. To learn more go to the link in our bio under "Protect Herring, Protect Orcas". Footage by @iantmcallister and @tavishcampbell #BIGLittleFish . . . #wildernessculture #ExploreBC #ig_discover_wildlife #herringiscaring #naturalwonders #equinox #welcomespring
  • "For more than 40 years, coastal First Nations communities have told Ottawa that our waters are no place for oil tankers because of the navigation hazards and risk of a spill. A voluntary ban has been in place since the 1980s — now it’s time to formalize it." - Chief Marilyn Slett, Heiltsuk First Nation and president of @coastalfirstnations in @theprovince. In October 2016, the Nathan E Stewart spilled over 110,000 L of fuel into the waters of Heiltsuk territory. This spring, Senators will vote on whether to ban large oil tankers along the North Coast. These spills have already affected the #GreatBearRainforest and the lives that have relied on its waters for thousands of years. It's time to formalize the tanker ban and make sure these catastrophes do not threaten the coast again. Go to the @coastalfirstnations website to find out more and support #BillC48: https://coastalfirstnations.ca/bill-c48/ or through the link in our bio under "Coastal First Nations - No Tankers". #NoTankers @heiltsukcouncil . . . #oilfreebc #notankersbc #marineprotection #marineconservation #pnwonderland #ExploreBC
  • "Agencies like DFO and the National Energy Board have tremendous research budgets and their conclusions are backed by authority of law, but they’ve become what environmental lawyer Eugene Kung has referred to as “captured regulators.” They can no longer be trusted to interpret their research in the public interest because of the pressure of private interests: respectively, commercial fishing and fish farm industries, and in the case of the NEB, powerful energy interests". The herring spawn in the Strait of Georgia continues, and though the seine fleet has left, the gill net fishery is still open. DFO has left the grounds, leaving these boats to monitor and manage their quota of 11,472 tons themselves as of March 15th. Today @thetyee published a deeper window into the herring fishery and its management, what's at stake, and what we have to lose. If you've been invested in our #BIGLittleFish, have a read. It's worth your while. Go to the link in our bio under "The Tyee - BC's Herring War and the Sacrifice of the Salish Sea". #BIGLittleFish 📸 @iantmcallister With @tavishcampbell @sitka_ @sealegacy . . . #feedthecoast #fishlove #herringiscaring #fisheriesmanagement #DFO #hornbyisland #ExploreBC
  • It's #MarineMonday again, and it's time for another Texture of the Great Bear Sea. Last time if you guessed aggregrating anemone with what are likely pandalid shrimp larvae in them, you were probably right. Pandalid shrimp larvae are opportunistic hitchhikers, using jellyfish for transport. They rely on the tentacles of anemones for protection, but there is still a lot we don't know about them and their deep sea relations. This one's a bit easier. Guess away! #MarineMondays 📸 @iantmcallister . . . #marineconservation #diveworld #underwaterphotography #coastprotectors #wildernessculture #exporebc
  • From the 39th Annual Report of the Department of Marine and Fisheries, 1907, Ottawa, p. lxvii: "In the Straits of Georgia the schools in certain months of the year, usually the fall, may extend for many miles. Indeed in 1893 I was informed that a small tug passed for three hours through a continuous mass of migrating herring in the month of June, while I myself have seen in February dead herring thickly covering the surface of the sea near Nanairno for a distance of over two miles. Purse seines of 1-inch extension measure were tried 14 or 15 years ago in March and April with considerable success." The history of the industrial herring harvest on this coast goes back about 200 years, after at least 14,000 years of successful First Nations stewardship. From coast to coast, Fisheries and Oceans Canada's mandate is to "sustainably manage fisheries and aquaculture and work with fishers, coastal and Indigenous communities to enable their continued prosperity from fish and seafood". Yet there are many examples when this department has not (1) sustained fisheries; (2) worked with fishers and communities; or (3) continued prosperity. On the BC coast, many herring populations can no longer sustain fisheries and many communities can no longer prosper from herring. Even First Nations have had to fight DFO legally and through direct action for recognition of declining stocks, as well as their basic rights to fish them. DFO needs to engage more with communities and fishers, incorporate new science into old models, and consider ecosystem needs. Take action today for our #BIGLittleFish at pacificwild.org or using the link in our bio. For a detailed timeline, check out Hakai's Herring School website: https://www.pacificherring.org/timeline Thanks to @cammacarthur at @sitka_ for creating this video! #BIGLittleFish With @sitka_ @iantmcallister @tavishcampbell @sealegacy @pacificyellowfincharters . . . #herringiscaring #feedthecoast #wildernessculture #ExploreBC #pnwonderland #history #fishlove #fisheriesmanagement #DFO
  • "At the Canadian Fishing Company [Canfisco] based in Vancouver, all carcasses of herring processed for roe are reduced into fishmeal and sold to farms and aquaculture facilities, including coastal salmon-rearing operations, according to Rob Morley, the company's vice-president of production and corporate development." - NPR, February 2016 This year, it is possible that over 18,000 tons of herring will go to feed salmon farms in B.C. These farms continue to threaten our wild salmon. Owning 15% of the total roe licenses, the Pattison group is the largest owner of licenses by a large margin. The 10 largest license holders own 30% of all licenses. Pattison's expected quota, due to heavy investing in the seine licenses, is around 4,000 tons - almost 20% of the entire fishery quota. Canfisco plants process 30% of the total herring catch. Is this how we treat the foundation of our coastal food web - corporations like Canfisco feeding Atlantic salmon farms owned by Norwegian companies while DFO spends millions looking for ways to save Chinook salmon and Southern Resident Killer Whales? Does that sound as ridiculous as we think it does? Make your voice heard for our #BIGLittleFish at pacificwild.org, or using the link in our bio under "Give Your Voice to Our #BIGLittleFish". Edit: @d.leowinata Footage: @tavishcampbell and @alexmorton4salmon With #ConservancyHornbyIsland #ADIMS @tavishcampbell @sitka_ @sealegacy @iantmcallister @pacificyellowfincharters . . . #ExploreBC #fishfarmsgetout #forthewildones #wildernessculture #SRKW #fisheriesmanagement #DFO #herringiscaring #fishlove #feedthecoast #pnwonderland
  • With the inshore migration of herring every spring comes an explosion of life on the coast. They're back this year, and just off the coast of Vancouver island one of nature's greatest events is bringing life back to our Pacific waters. Let's take a moment to remember that this #BIGLittleFish is the foundation of our coastal food webs. Anything we do to them will move quickly upwards, affecting every part of our ecosystem. What we do to them will undoubtedly affect us. Herring are depending on you today. Give your voice to our #BIGLittleFish at pacificwild.org or using the link in our bio. Edit: Damien Gillis Footage: @iantmcallister @tavishcampbell With Conservancy Hornby Island, ADIMS, @tavishcampbell @sitka_ @pacificyellowfincharters @sealegacy . . . #feedthecoast #herring #hornbyisland #wildernessculture #ig_discover_wildlife #naturalhistory #fishlove 🐟
  • 🔊 Did you know that herring FRT to communicate? FRTs, or Fast Repetitive Ticks, are just one type of a multitude of pneumatic (air) sounds that are produced by physostomous fish - fish with a duct between their air bladders and digestive canals. Scientists like Rodney have spent years listening to a wide variety of fish FRTs, but there is still a lot to learn. Take-home message: Flatulence is, in fact, a communication strategy. Thanks to Dr. Rodney Rountree for his knowledge, his FRT sounds, and his photos, all of which we used in this video. For more information, look him up! And check out our colleague @tavishcampbell's post for some more fun FRT facts. Edit: @kingtidefilms Footage: @iantmcallister #BIGLittleFish With @tavishcampbell @sitka_ . . . #FRTs #HornbyIsland #wildernessculture #ig_discover_wildlife #herringiscaring #fishlove
  • The nets are in the water. The industrial seine fishery opened yesterday near Nanoose Bay, and as of last night pulled 3000 tons of herring from the Salish Sea. Watch as our Executive Director @iantmcallister speaks out from the field, for Chinook salmon, for killer whales. Add your voice now at pacificwild.org, before it's all over. #BIGLittleFish With @tavishcampbell @sitka_ @sealegacy Edit: Damien Gillis & @d.leowinata Footage: @iantmcallister @tavishcampbell and Damien Gillis . . . #herringiscaring #fishlove #ExploreBC #fisheriesmanagement #DFO #SalishSea #AreYouHerringThis
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