Fisheries

31/03/23
Author: 
Nicola Jones
Seaweed farmers harvest sugar kelp from a farm site in coastal BC. Seaweed farming is experiencing a boom around the world, particularly in northern climates where kelp is the crop of choice. Photo courtesy of Cascadia Seaweed.

Mar. 24, 2023

‘We made a big mistake with monoculture on land. Let’s not make the same mistakes’ in the ocean.

Offshore from Vancouver Island, a team hauls up a line laden with metre-long fronds of sugar kelp (Saccharina latissimi), a floppy, brown seaweed with crinkled edges.

08/03/23
Author: 
Michelle Gamage
Glass sponge reefs, only found in the cool waters of the Pacific northwest, help mitigate global warming and ocean acidification by absorbing 227 tonnes of CO2 every day. Image still from Moonless Oasis, a CBC documentary by Perpetuum Films about glass sponge reefs in Howe Sound.

Mar. 8, 2023

So why hasn’t the government cancelled oil and gas exploration permits that could damage them?

18/02/23
Author: 
The Canadian Press
Aquatic science biologist Shawn Stenhouse releases a Atlantic salmon back into its tank during a Department of Fisheries and Oceans fish health audit at the Okisollo fish farm near Campbell River, B.C. Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2018. A Liberal promise to transition salmon farms in British Columbia from ocean net pens to closed containment systems in just over five years is being slammed as careless by the aquaculture industry but applauded by a wild salmon advocate who says the sooner the better. THE CANADIAN PRE

Feb. 17, 2023

Canada will not renew licences for open-net Atlantic salmon farms, citing risks to wild salmon

Fisheries Minister Joyce Murray has announced the federal government will not renew licences for 15 open-net Atlantic salmon farms around British Columbia’s Discovery Islands.

Murray says in a news release the Discovery Islands area is a key migration route for wild salmon where narrow passages bring migrating juvenile salmon into close contact with the farms.

16/01/23
Author: 
Natasha Bulowski
Construction at the Clore crossing Coastal GasLink construction site in B.C. on Jan. 10, 2023. Photo courtesy of David Suzuki Foundation

Jan. 13, 2023

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans is investigating a complaint that Coastal GasLink failed to prevent sediment stirred up by pipeline construction activities from flowing downstream at a construction site on the Lho Kwa (Clore River) in B.C.

Sediment pollution poses a serious risk to salmon and steelhead eggs, effectively smothering them. Clore River is a large tributary of the Skeena River, which is an important habitat for both salmon and steelhead trout.

24/12/22
Author: 
Gidimt'en Access
Tsel Kiy Kwa

Dec. 23,  2022

TAKE ACTION NOW

Tsel Kiy Kwa

On December 8th we got reports that there was blasting happening less than 1km from Gidimt’en Checkpoint, one of our homesites on the yintah at 44km.

13/12/22
Author: 
Natasha Bulowski
Steller sea lions, such as the one pictured here eating a salmon, often frequent the Howe Sound and would interrupt construction of the Woodfibre LNG project unless changes are made to the project conditions, the company says. Photo via Shutterstock.

Dec. 13, 2022

The company says the animals’ ‘ubiquitous presence’ will cause ‘regular and prolonged full project shutdowns.’

Construction on the Woodfibre LNG project in Squamish is set to take off in 2023, but the “curious and gregarious” nature of sea lions could make the construction “neither technically nor economically feasible.”

04/11/22
Author: 
Matt Simmons
The Coastal GasLink pipeline crosses more than 700 watercourses on its 670-kilometre-route. The crossing of Ts'elkay Kwe (Lamprey Creek) involves blasting to clear a path and excavating a trench directly through the water. Photo: Gidimt'en Checkpoint

Nov. 2, 2022

Questions and concerns about salmon, steelhead and the health of the river remain unaddressed as TC Energy continues construction of its gas pipeline

At first, she didn’t know what was going on and her demands for answers just garnered the same response, she said: you’re in contempt of the injunction and subject to arrest. The standoff — in wet, cold conditions — went on for hours, according to Morris. At one point, she was walking towards her car when she said she felt something under her feet.

04/11/22
Author: 
Rochelle Baker
It's not clear what conservation measures are being proposed for the marine protected area network planned for Canada's West Coast, says Kate MacMillan of Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society’s B.C. chapter. Photo courtesy CPAWS BC

". . . the lack of information on specific protection measures for the BC Northern Shelf MPA Network means the blueprint to preserve sensitive ocean ecosystems risks becoming a string of “paper parks” — legally designated areas that don’t actually have effective conservation or stewardship measures."

Nov. 4, 2022

27/10/22
Author: 
Amanda Follett Hosgood
The Anzac River used to run clear, according to an environmental group. But this 2020 photo shows sedimentation following logging in the area. The group fears work on the Coastal GasLink pipeline could make things worse. Photo from Conservation North.

Oct. 27, 2022

Confusion Swirls Around CGL’s Environmental Risks

BC ordered Coastal GasLink to ‘cease’ variations from approved work plans. The company insists it hasn’t broken any rules.

Coastal GasLink maintains it’s not in violation of a compliance agreement it signed with the province aimed at reducing watershed damage along its pipeline route.

But the B.C. government ordered it to “cease” activities that violate the agreement on Oct. 14.

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