Category: Salmon farming

Cermaq halts SCCS trial

Cermaq halted sea trials on their experimental Semi-Closed Containment system (SCCS) this fall. After operating the facility in Ahousaht Territory near Tofino for less than a year, Cermaq threw in the towel, citing “a technical

Clayoquot Salmon Investigation Crowdfunder!

There are 20 polluting salmon farms in the Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Region. Meanwhile, wild salmon in Clayoquot Sound are rapidly sliding towards extinction. Returning spawners counts are in single digits at many rivers near

Vote for salmon!

The federal election currently underway will be critical for wild salmon. The current federal government has pledged to remove open-net pen salmon farms from the BC coast by 2025. But rather than prepare for the

Don’t Renew in ’22

It came up in a couple of internal documents from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), but no-one had seen solid proof it was true. However, some sleuthing around on the DFO website and

Of jellyfish and mouth rot

We loaded our sampling equipment and camera gear onto Lennie John’s boat, and headed north into his home territory of Ahousaht—to Cermaq’s experimental semi-closed containment facility (SCCS). An hour later his boat slowed as we

Pesticide dumping in Clayoquot Sound

Salmon lice are a tiny crustacean which occurs naturally in the waters of Clayoquot Sound. Fish farms provide an ideal breeding ground for these parasites—with each facility presenting half a million farmed salmon trapped in

Discovery Islands out—Clayoquot next!

On December 17, 2020, the federal government announced that 19 salmon farms in the Discovery Islands would be phased out over the next 18 months. The genesis of that decision spans a period of 11

In the field with CSI

The smokey brown orange haze from this fall’s wildfires cast an apocalyptic hue over Cermaq’s Clayoquot Sound operations. In Tofino we track the vehicles; leaving town are semi-trailer after semi-trailer of finished product shipping out,

Crowdfunder Launched! Donate to earn prizes!

Wild salmon in Clayoquot Sound are rapidly sliding towards extinction—only 2 Chinook salmon returned to spawn in Tofino Creek last year. We’re working hard to save wild salmon! Fish farms are having major impacts on wild salmon populations. But momentum

Experimental Fish Farm Arrives in Clayoquot Sound

Bonny was cooking an elaborate brunch on a Sunday afternoon when the phone rang. It was Lennie John from Ahousaht First Nation. Tsimka Martin from Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation had been hiking up the hill at