Farmed salmon will destroy the wild salmon stocks worldwide, if nothing is done soon

                    Farmed Salmon Decimating Wild Salmon Worldwide  

James Owen

for National Geographic News

February 12, 2008

The growing global appetite for cheap farmed salmon is imperiling wild fish populations across the planet, scientists warn.

The first worldwide assessment of the impact of cultivated salmon on wild stocks found that where native populations encounter salmon farms, the 

The farmed fish spread diseases and parasites to wild salmon. Some cultivated escapees also interbreed with the native fish, reducing the ability of their offspring to survive, researchers say.

"The overall trend, over and over again around the world, is that salmon farming seems to have a negative impact on wild salmon," said lead researcher Jennifer Ford of Dalhousie University, in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

"The mortality from farming that we find is really large in many cases—more than 50 percent reductions every year," she added. "That is not sustainable for any populations."

A region with an annual farmed salmon harvest of 15,000 tons would suffer an average 73 percent loss in wild populations, the study found.

Many salmon farming regions now produce in excess of 20,000 tons a year, the study added.

Dramatic Declines

The new research used official government data from Canada, Scotland, and Ireland to compare the survival of wild salmon and sea trout in regions with salmon farms to adjacent, farm-free areas.

Researchers found a dramatic fall in salmon catches and abundance since the 1980s in areas of the North Atlantic and northeast Pacific where production of farmed salmon has increased over the same period.

Sea trout, which like salmon breed in rivers and feed at sea, were particularly hard hit.

Sea trout might be expected to experience higher mortalities than salmon, because they spend longer periods in coastal waters where fish farms are sited, the study said.

Continued on next page and read the rest of this interesting article HERE

And you should also check out this link, if you want to gain more relevant information about farmed salmon in general and if these farmed fish really is suited as food at all - use this direct link HERE 

Recovering River by Castabroad New Zealand

Craig Somerville from Castabroad in New Zealand have sendt me this little amazing story about a recovering river.

Mother nature can be very powerful - but also very generous!!

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Recovering of a favorite River

By Craig Somerville

At 4:40am on the 29th August 2007, the North branch valley of a river near Lake Wanaka, New Zealand, suffered a landslide subsequently blocking the river’s path. 

A wall of approximately 11million cubic meters of rock formed a dam creating a new lake 500m wide, 2 km long and 70m deep. This makes for a lake volume of around 23 million cubic meters. 

The location of the lake is near the source of the river affecting the several kilometers of pristine water downstream. The river was a well known favourite fishery amongst local fly fishing guides and recreationals alike, and with the landslide the river turned from an incredibly clear freestone paradise to a silt coated suffocated and tempremental spillway remoulded by a single destructive act of God. 

The fishing of course was completely wiped out for several years due to the aluvial silt and debris. The fly life dwindled unable to sustain itself with the once loose riverstones now being smothered. All in all a soul destroying moment for those of us that love what the river provided once upon a time. 

Well good news!... This year on one of our regular country-wide fly fishing reconnaissance missions we managed to find many (average 3-4lb) wild rainbow trout back in the damaged yet recovering river system. They were strong fighting fish happily feeding on cicadas falling from the overhanging NZ Beech trees. This was of course a great day to have but even more so a relief that the river was on track to recovery. Never (used loosely), will the river return to it’s original glory but there is hope. 

Unfortuanately, for you the reader that is, we will not reveal the name of the river because we think it in the best of interests for it to have as good a chance as possible at this slow recovery without increased angling pressure. I’m sure you will agree this is for the best? 

Potentially, there is a risk of the dam failing and the consequent flood would again destroy the river’s progress but maybe then the silt will be washed out. On the reverse side, the dam could hold forever, who knows? 

Craig Somerville of Castabroad New Zealand – www.castabroad.com 

Acknowledgements for factual material: 

Gavin Palmer (Otago Regional Council), Paul Hellebrekers (Department of Conservation),TimDavies (Canterbury University), Oliver Korup (Swiss Federal Institute for Snow andAvalanche Research) 

Great news - Shell retreats on Arctic drilling!!

It does matter to do something about the things we do NOT accept 

- I got this mail today from the NRDC showing a perfect example!!

Dear Mark

Great news: Royal Dutch Shell has announced it is postponing its plan to drill off the coast of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge this summer. 

This is a huge victory for Alaska’s embattled polar bears and other Arctic wildlife that are vulnerable to devastating losses if a blowout were to occur in the frigid Beaufort Sea. 

It is a victory that you made possible through your donations, your online activism and your absolute commitment to stopping Shell in its tracks. 

As you know, NRDC has waged a long, hard-fought legal battle to slow or stop Shell’s race to drill -- especially in the wake of last summer’s oil spill catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico. 

On one legal front, we joined with Earthjustice in challenging clean air permits that the Obama Administration issued to Shell last year. Those permits would have allowed Shell’s fleet of ships to emit tons of pollutants into the Arctic environment, harming both Native communities and wildlife. 

Last month, a federal appeals board ordered the Administration to withdraw the clean air permits and start the process all over again. 

Now, just weeks later, Shell has thrown in the towel on drilling this summer! 

You and I can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that the oil giant will not be launching its drill ship and icebreakers come June ... that there will be no oil spill in the sensitive, wildlife-filled waters of the Beaufort ... and that mother polar bears will come ashore in the Arctic Refuge this fall to give birth just as they’ve done for thousands of years -- undisturbed by drilling rigs, toxic pollution and a flood of deadly oil. 

We would hope that the Obama Administration will take this opportunity to rethink its rush to allow drilling in fragile Arctic environments. 

But if it does not, you can be sure that Shell will be back next year, leveraging its vast resources in yet another attempt to drill off the coast of the Arctic Refuge. 

And NRDC will be ready. Unlike Shell, we can’t afford to lose even once. That’s what makes your long-term support so absolutely critical -- and so decisive. 

Thanks to your support, we have helped derail Shell’s plans three different times since 2008. I expect no less next year. 

On behalf of everyone here at NRDC, I want to thank you again for helping to make this great victory possible. 

Sincerely,

Peter Lehner
Executive Director

For the Love of Wild Salmon by Alex Morton

For the Love of Wild Salmon, Get Salmon Farms Out
British Columbians show their love for wild salmon by handing out Valentine’s to their fellow commuters and his Majesty King Harald V of Norway

Vancouver, Victoria, Nelson, Duncan BC Canada
| Feb 14, 2011 | Valentine’s Day
Fishermen, First Nations, students and businesspeople are teaming up with Salmon Are Sacred and the Wilderness Committee to deliver a message to their hometowns and to the King of Norway. Dozens of people in Vancouver and Victoria are set to hit the public transit systems to hand out Valentine stickers that bear a simple message - For the Love of Wild Salmon, Get Fish Farms out. They plan on visiting the Norwegian embassy to request that Norwegian open-net salmon farms leave BC.

Many former participants of the Get Out Migration (a rally last May that saw thousands gather in Victoria to demand that open net fish farms be removed from BC waters) and the Paddle for Wild Salmon (the 100-person canoe journey down the lower Fraser River asking Justice Cohen to request fish farm disease data be released to the Inquiry into the decline of the Fraser River Sockeye) are gathering in teams to hand out Valentines to commuters.
These wild salmon people will be at some of the busiest skytrain stations in the lower mainland handing out stickers and reminding Vancouverites that they live on the edge of a wild salmon run that appears compromised by Norwegian open-net fish farms. Afterwards they will visit the Norwegian embassy at 11:30am to hand deliver the same message for the King of Norway. There is also an online event to email a “Valentine to King Harald V and PM Harper – salmonaresacred.org for more details.

Dr. Alexandra Morton said: “I applaud these people for their imagination and spirit, this is about our love for wild salmon.”
Laura Finch of Island Bagel, who will be handing out the Valentines in Duncan said: “I love real, local food, in particular, wild West Coast salmon and I’m giving out Valentine’s to spread this message to my community in Duncan”.
Anissa Reed, creative genius behind the Valentine sticker said: “I do this because wild salmon feed my home, the BC coast. I am tired of hearing about sea lice and mystery brain lesions, for the love of wild salmon these Norwegian corporations need to stop using our coast as a dumpsite.”
Alexis Baker, who coordinated the Vancouver event said: “The salmon farmers can spend all they want on their ads, but with actions like this, the public has a voice. We don’t want these open net feedlots in BC waters”

By Alex Morton - make sure to visit her website/blog for much more interesting reading about these problems. 

Do you have some extra cash for a Hardy auction on E-Bay?

Do you have some extra cash for a little Hardy auction on E-Bay?? - well then here is a chance to buy some goodies!!
I really would like to sit with these old journals in my hand a read for hours - but hey, I'm a fly fishing freak, so it's probably just me who is a bit crazy!!!!!!

You'll find the direct link to this auction HERE

Dangerous situations.

As a photographer I know that sometimes you have to go beyond you limits to get that one special shot.
I remember once in Cape Town I had been surfing for a couple of hours and then I needed something to drink badly, the salt water around the Cape makes you tung swollen and it feels like you have a "shoe sole" in your mouth, so fresh water is essential to have close by.
I walked to the car and our "stash of water" but here I found a BIG mother fuc.... of a baboon sitting on the roof of my car showing it's teeth every time I got close. Long story short - I had to struggle A LOT to get that water and at times I felt desperate and very scared, but I threw some some small rocks at the bastard and one of them hit this big bamboo right in the forehead (not to damage it of course, just scare it) and it finally moved away and I got the heavily needed water for my swollen tung!!!
Here it is a different story - in this case it's a hungry and probably very angry snow bear who want's to take a bite of the photographer,  a situation you don't want to find yourself in.

I'll let the pictures speak for it self.

Caught!!!!

Everyone loves wild salmon - don't they?? - By Alex Morton.

Everyone Loves Wild Salmon Don't They? from Alexandra Morton on Vimeo.

BREAKING NEWS ON BRISTOL BAY – THE MOMENT WE’VE BEEN WAITING FOR

Help Save Bristol Bay by taking action now - it is very important to show your support, so send this link to friends, colleges and family.

Use this link to get directly to the "Take Action pre-made mail message" fill in your name and send it today. 

It looks like this 

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Finally we are getting some good news from the Bristol Bay vs. Pebble Mine situation, heres is a press release from Sportsman's Alliance, and it is containing some fantastic news regarding the EPA announcement and plans to study the wild life resources in Bristol Bay.

If you want to read it - here it is :

Contact: Scott Hed; Director, Sportsman’s Alliance for Alaska

Sporting groups nationwide applaud EPA plans to

study Bristol Bay’s fish and wildlife resources

Sioux Falls, SD – Hunting and angling interests around the country have mobilized in recent years to protect the waters and lands of southwest Alaska’s famed Bristol Bay region. These groups are applauding today’s announcement by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that the agency is planning an assessment of the Bristol Bay watershed to better understand how future large-scale development projects may affect water quality and Bristol Bay’s salmon fishery. EPA initiated this assessment in response to concerns from federally-recognized tribes and others who petitioned the agency in 2010 to assess any potential risks to the watershed.

“The potential development in the region is scary for sportsmen,” said Scott Hed, Director of the Sportsman’s Alliance for Alaska. “Each year anglers and hunters make the trip to Alaska just for an opportunity to fish and hunt in the famous Bristol Bay watershed. Sportsmen and women from across the country have joined forces to stop plans by foreign mining interests that could turn the entire Bristol Bay region into a massive mining district. Today’s announcement by the EPA shows that the agency recognizes the threats posed by the proposed Pebble Mine project, and that it is better to address these very serious concerns up front rather than wait until it may be too late.”

Over 325 sporting groups and businesses oppose the mining plans in Bristol Bay. Sporting conservation groups and trade associations include Dallas Safari Club, Trout Unlimited, Federation of Fly Fishers, European Fishing Tackle Trade Association, Canadian Sportfishing Industry Association, American Fly Fishing Trade Association, American Sportfishing Association, Izaak Walton League of America, Wildlife Forever, Delta Waterfowl Foundation, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, Bull Moose Sportsman's Alliance, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, North American Fishing Club, North American Hunting Club, and the Campfire Club of America. Some of the most recognizable brands in hunting and fishing products have expressed their wishes to protect Bristol Bay as well, including Sturm, Ruger & Co., Savage Arms, Buck Knives, Hornady, Sitka, Filson, Orvis, Sage, Simms, ExOfficio, Patagonia, Scott, Hardy, and more than 150 others.

“This is an issue that unites the complete spectrum of the sporting community,” continued Hed. “When you have got catch and release anglers and makers of fly rods and reels working in concert with big game

hunters and firearm manufacturers, that’s a powerful set of interests – all in agreement that large-scale mining in the Bristol Bay watershed is simply the wrong idea in the wrong place. We look forward to working with the EPA and other decision makers as this public process to determine the fate of Bristol Bay moves forward.”

Background

Bristol Bay = International Fishing and Hunting Mecca

The stakes are high for sporting interests in southwest Alaska’s Bristol Bay region, an area that is home to the world’s largest wild salmon runs, as well as some of the greatest trophy rainbow trout fishing and remote wilderness hunting on the planet. It’s a wild, remote and rugged place that is in the crosshairs of a plan to develop a massive mining district on millions of acres of state and federal lands.

Commercial, sport, and subsistence fishing all depend on the wild salmon supported by Bristol Bay's healthy waters. For thousands of years, Alaska natives have lived off Bristol Bay's land, waters, and of course, its fish and wild game. Bristol Bay is home to the world’s largest commercial wild sockeye salmon fishery, with earnings accounting for nearly 33% of Alaska's total harvest earnings. The harvest and processing of Bristol Bay fish generates nearly $450 million a year and provides jobs for thousands.

For more information on the Sportsman’s Alliance for Alaska visit:

www.SportsmansAlliance4AK.org 

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Also make sure to check out the direct link to the EPA website here

Tampam - A new fantastic "must see" video out now

Tampam - A new fantastic "must see" video out now from the Winner of the 5th Annual Drake Video Awards 2010 ´´Best Fishing´´. Produced by Daniel Göz and Jan Bach Kristensen.
I can't show the actual embedded video here, but here is a direct link to it on YouTube
And to show you what you can expect from this amazing project, here is a couple of screen dumps from the movie - enjoy it, I really did!!

(PS. if you want to buy it , then here is a direct link)

Will we fishermen never change!!!

This little cartoon is from 1930 and I'm sorry to admit but thing are still the same today :O) 

Great Green Tackle t-shits

The direct link to the Green Tackle shop where you can buy these great t-shirt for approximately  20 $ 

why do we have salmon feedlots in British Columbia? - By Alex Morton

Dear Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia:

I am writing to ask you; why do we have salmon feedlots in British Columbia?

You are no doubt aware of the public response to salmon feedlots and hopefully you know it is in trouble in every country where it operates http://farmsalmonfacts.blogspot.com/.

Is the provincial government renting the seafloor to this industry to benefit the public with jobs?

British Columbians don’t eat farm salmon, so we are not doing it for food.

Jobs, however, are a good reason, but if jobs are the reason there is an obvious way out of this mess.  Clearly wild salmon have a future in BC and you don’t want to be a government that harms their enormous contribution to this province, as an increasingly rare and valuable asset.

We can only count “direct jobs” because the “indirect” salmon feedlot jobs may not actually be viable without the wild fisheries and the growing tourism industry.

                    Source                                                                                                    # of jobs

Recent Salmon Farm ad ……………………………………………………...6,000
Price Waterhouse Cooper April 2009………………………………….................2,800
Economic and Social Impact of Aquaculture in Canada (DFO, 2009)………2,220
Phone call to Seafood and Aquaculture Information specialist (MAL 2011). 1,259

This is quite a large range of numbers, but the fourth is the most current and from the provincial Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, who are the keeper of fish farm numbers.

Today’s seafood markets hinge on sustainability.  More and more stores are refusing to sell fish products listed as unsustainable. Fish species raised in tanks are given favourable ratings, while feedlots dumping their manure onto the seafloor are rated poorly.

In response, there are tank fish farms, of many species, springing up throughout Canada, not because they were forced to do this, but because they are making money.  There is a man in Quebec growing 15,000 heads of lettuce per week on the waste from the 600 pounds of trout he also raises per week (Northern Aquaculture Nov/Dec 2010). The waste that net pen operators pour into the ocean is actually a valuable product that can be used to make food and money. Just because the three big industrial operators don’t want to change, does not mean the industry isn’t changing around them. The Norwegian salmon feedlot corporations are dinosaurs harming their own industry with their aggressive unwillingness to evolve.

I don’t see a problem.  There are no losers here.  There are serious and valid concerns about impact of salmon feedlots in the ocean and it is big issue in BC.  We have 1,259 people in BC who know how to grow fish.

If jobs are the goal, don’t allow yourself to be bullied by corporate campaign supporters. It is your responsibility to BC to encourage a diverse, local industry that BC can be proud of, benefit from emerging markets and give people in the industry a future, as well as, benefiting the wilderness tourism industry and wild fisheries.

So my question remains why do we have salmon feedlots in British Columbia?

Direct link to this article by Alexandra Morton - HERE

Obama's salmon joke!!

"We live and do business in the information age, but the last major reorganization of the government happened in the age of black and white TV. There are twelve different agencies that deal with exports. There are at least five different entities that deal with housing policy. "Then there's my favorite example: the Interior Department is in charge of salmon while they're in fresh water, but the Commerce Department handles them in when they're in saltwater. And I hear it gets even more complicated once they're smoked."- from President Obama's State of the Union Address, January 25th, 2011.

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Well Mr. President I like your little joke, but what I rather want to hear is what kind of action you are preparing to take against all the problems the wild Salmon are facing. Fish farming industry polluting their surroundings and spreading deceases and sea lice, power dams blogging their way to important spawning grounds, illegal nettings, over fishing just to mention a few important issues. Words are fine but action are much more refined and important.

So help us make sure that Mr. Obama is not only using words - and jokes!!! 

Use this pre-made mail message to send The Obama administration and Members og Congress a clear message to take this further than just a "joke level" - do something now before it's too late - act for Christ sake!!!

Here is a direct link to this pre-made mail message from Save Our Salmon - it looks like this one underneath.

If you want to did in deeper and read some more stuff about all this then have a look at these articles published in variety of different medias.

Here is a link to the full backstory at the Save our Wild Salmon website, where you will find heaps of other interesting information.

.....and here it is the npr writing about it

(use this link to read the whole article)

...and here is a link to the full Los Angeles Times approach

....and one more link to The Huffington Post head story today

And finally you should check these two great links out 

1) The Osprey - direct link

2) The Osprey Blog - direct link

 - a really interesting blog also a good source of information.

Don't forget to visit this sign up formula - it's important.