December 8, 2012
Very interesting mail from Alex Morton.
I Just received this mail from Alex Morton - it all sounds like a "very bad movie" - so sad for Canada.
Shame on you Prime minister - you will pay big time one day, karma has a strange way of catching up on you
Hello
Last December, my lawyer Greg McDade made a prediction that was recorded in the Cohen Commission testimony - that within 12 months the federal government would attempt to strip the lab I am using to test for ISA virus of its international status.
He was right. They are trying.
In response I went back to the wealth of information Justice Cohen and his Counsel Brock Martland gave us on ISA virus in BC and laid out what is known to the Director General of the Organization of International Epizootics (OIE).
7 labs have detected ISA virus in BC, 4 of them are federal government labs, whose results have been hidden, muzzled or misrepresented in government communications
Only 1 lab says 100% of his tests have been negative - Dr. Gary Marty, Provincial farm fish audit lab. His lab is now an outlier.
1 lab is non-government and thus harder to muzzle - that is the one the CFIA has gone after.
Last spring government drafted Bill 37 that would have made this research punishable by 2 years in jail.
The CFIA is clearly under pressure too.
The workers in the fish farm industry must feel uncertain about their future as does everyone depending on the wild fish economy. This virus is well known to damage their industry, which is already on its knees running out of food and customers.
I am asking the Director General of the OIE to cast an international eye on what is happening in BC, in hopes that we will be able to finish this work without escalating harassment.
Here is my letter to Dr. Bernard Vallat, DG of the OIE http://alexandramorton.typepad.com
I could really use your help. Everyone needs to speak up, there is a petition on the site above. Share widely so people know they can help.
If you want to know the extent of what is going on please read my blog. This is sheer nonsense, in a high-stakes game that everyone looses; the shareholders, trade partners, fish farm workers, the wild salmon economy, politicians the wild salmon of the North Pacific and everyone that comes after us.
Alexandra Morton
September 29, 2012
Don Staniford wins defamation case launched by salmon-farming company
When I read these news I really felt that
justice still has a chance out there in this insane world of money,
power and greed - Huge congrats to Don Staniford and thank you from the bottom of my soul for keep on fighting
for all of us in this very important matter.
PS. for more global information regarding this matter go to : Super Heros 4 salmon
Here is what the Calgary Herald wrote about this situation.
British-born activist Don Staniford has won a major victory against the global salmon-farming industry, the third time he's faced legal action over his campaigns.
Supreme Court of B.C. Justice Elaine Adair has dismissed a defamation case launched by salmon-farming company Mainstream Canada against Staniford.
The Norwegian-owned company had taken the activist to court over a 2011 campaign that included images of cigarette-like packages and statements such as "Salmon Farming Kills Like Smoking."
While Adair says the statements were defamatory and Staniford was motivated by malice, she says he honestly believed his statements were true and animosity wasn't his dominant purpose.
Mainstream Canada says it is disappointed and is reviewing the ruling.
Staniford faced his first legal threat from a Scottish salmon-farming company in 2001 that never went to trial, and he won a new trial that has yet to happen after appealing a defamation victory by B.C.'s Creative Salmon Company in 2007.
Supreme Court of B.C. Justice Elaine Adair has dismissed a defamation case launched by salmon-farming company Mainstream Canada against Staniford.
The Norwegian-owned company had taken the activist to court over a 2011 campaign that included images of cigarette-like packages and statements such as "Salmon Farming Kills Like Smoking."
While Adair says the statements were defamatory and Staniford was motivated by malice, she says he honestly believed his statements were true and animosity wasn't his dominant purpose.
Mainstream Canada says it is disappointed and is reviewing the ruling.
Staniford faced his first legal threat from a Scottish salmon-farming company in 2001 that never went to trial, and he won a new trial that has yet to happen after appealing a defamation victory by B.C.'s Creative Salmon Company in 2007.
___________________________
Here is what the Brandon Sun wrote about this situation.
By: Keven Drews, The Canadian Press
Anti-salmon-farming activist Don Staniford has won another victory against the global aquaculture industry, despite some harsh words of criticism levelled against him by a Supreme Court of B.C. justice.
Justice Elaine Adair has dismissed a defamation case launched by the salmon-farming company Mainstream Canada against the British-born Staniford over a 2011 campaign that included images of cigarette-like packages and statements such as "Salmon Farming Kills Like Smoking."
In her ruling published Friday, Adair said while the statements were defamatory and Staniford was motivated by malice, the activist honestly believed in what he was saying and animosity wasn't his dominant purpose.
The ruling left officials at Mainstream Canada, a subsidiary of the Norwegian company Cermaq, disappointed.
But Staniford, who was removed from Canada this past February for overstaying a visitor's permit, was in a celebratory mood.
"I am over the proverbial moon and feel extremely vindicated," he said during a phone interview from Spain. "All along I knew that Cermaq (was) whistling in the dark."
"This is a victory not just for Don Staniford against Mainstream Canada. This is a victory for environmental campaigners, social-justice campaigners across the world."
Laurie Jensen, a spokeswoman for Mainstream Canada, said the company will be reviewing the ruling, noting it's too early to say if it will appeal, and she defended the court action, saying it was the right thing to do.
"What we're seeing is a character of a person," she said. "And because, you know, he's not found legally responsible doesn't mean that, you know, he's getting away with things."
She said Adair's ruling supports many of the company's allegations, but she's disappointed the judge dismissed the court action over fair comment, a ruling she called "outrageous."
The court action was not the first faced by Staniford.
His first legal threat came from a Scottish salmon-farming company in 2001 but that never went to trial. He also won a new trial that has yet to happen after appealing a defamation victory by B.C.'s Creative Salmon Company in 2007.
The latest defamation case was launched by Mainstream Canada based on a Jan. 31, 2011 Global Alliance Against Industrial Aquaculture campaign.
Court documents state a news release sent to media included four mock-cigarette packages, all modelled after the Marlboro brand, containing statements like, "Salmon Farming Kills," "Salmon Farming is Poison," "Salmon Farming is Toxic," and "Salmon Farming Seriously Damages Health."
Images also appeared on the global alliance's website.
Many packages also included statements, such as "Norwegian Owned," and "92% Norwegian Owned."
Mainstream Canada, which has 27 fish-farm sites along the east and west coasts of Vancouver Island and is the second-largest salmon-farming company in B.C., argued there were more than 50 instances of defamatory words.
In fact, when questioned during the trial, Staniford wasn't aware of any research showing anyone had developed cancer after eating farmed salmon, Adair said in her ruling.
She said he admitted he didn't know whether a variety of chemicals were used on B.C. fish farms owned by Norwegian companies, but he identified emamectin benzoate as one such chemical.
Adair said Staniford did not know who used the chemical and couldn't identify a precise source.
"Staniford said that he did not know whether farmed salmon sold by Mainstream in B.C. is toxic to humans," she added. "He explained that he had not seen current data tests of contaminant levels in Mainstream’s farmed salmon, and so could not express an opinion."
But based on peer-reviewed science from the global salmon-farming industry, Staniford said the product "can contain cancer-causing chemicals and can carry an elevated cancer risk," noted Adair.
But the judge found Staniford believed what he said, although she called him a "zealot," challenged his credibility and noted his "closed-mindedness and deep prejudices make him an unreliable reporter of facts."
She also said "he will say almost anything to further his own agenda," and seems incapable of conceding error on some issues.
"He believes his own press, even when contradicted by other, contemporaneous documents."
In contrast, she complimented the company for its work of providing food for human consumption.
"They are conscious of the need to operate the business in a manner consistent with producing a product that is safe to consume and contributes to a healthy and nutritious diet," she said.
Adair ruled Staniford's defence of fair comment should succeed.
"I have found that he had an honest belief in the statements he made, and injuring Mainstream because of spite or animosity was not his dominant purpose in publishing the words in issue," she found.
Adair did not address the issue of damages before dismissing the case.
Staniford said the court case cost him about $100,000 even with his lawyer, David Sutherland, working at a reduced rate.
Jensen said the company had not yet tallied its court costs.
"Whether we won or lost, we did the right thing. People have to stand up to these people," she said. "Somewhere down the road, accountability will be made."
Staniford said he'll return to Canada as soon as he's allowed on March 1, 2013, and is planning a lecture tour around B.C. with Kurt Oddekalv, the leader of the Green Warriors of Europe, an environmental organization.
"I look forward to being welcomed into Canada," he said. "Already my supporters who threw a deportation party for me in Vancouver are planing a welcome party for me in Vancouver for the first of March."
Justice Elaine Adair has dismissed a defamation case launched by the salmon-farming company Mainstream Canada against the British-born Staniford over a 2011 campaign that included images of cigarette-like packages and statements such as "Salmon Farming Kills Like Smoking."
In her ruling published Friday, Adair said while the statements were defamatory and Staniford was motivated by malice, the activist honestly believed in what he was saying and animosity wasn't his dominant purpose.
The ruling left officials at Mainstream Canada, a subsidiary of the Norwegian company Cermaq, disappointed.
But Staniford, who was removed from Canada this past February for overstaying a visitor's permit, was in a celebratory mood.
"I am over the proverbial moon and feel extremely vindicated," he said during a phone interview from Spain. "All along I knew that Cermaq (was) whistling in the dark."
"This is a victory not just for Don Staniford against Mainstream Canada. This is a victory for environmental campaigners, social-justice campaigners across the world."
Laurie Jensen, a spokeswoman for Mainstream Canada, said the company will be reviewing the ruling, noting it's too early to say if it will appeal, and she defended the court action, saying it was the right thing to do.
"What we're seeing is a character of a person," she said. "And because, you know, he's not found legally responsible doesn't mean that, you know, he's getting away with things."
She said Adair's ruling supports many of the company's allegations, but she's disappointed the judge dismissed the court action over fair comment, a ruling she called "outrageous."
The court action was not the first faced by Staniford.
His first legal threat came from a Scottish salmon-farming company in 2001 but that never went to trial. He also won a new trial that has yet to happen after appealing a defamation victory by B.C.'s Creative Salmon Company in 2007.
The latest defamation case was launched by Mainstream Canada based on a Jan. 31, 2011 Global Alliance Against Industrial Aquaculture campaign.
Court documents state a news release sent to media included four mock-cigarette packages, all modelled after the Marlboro brand, containing statements like, "Salmon Farming Kills," "Salmon Farming is Poison," "Salmon Farming is Toxic," and "Salmon Farming Seriously Damages Health."
Images also appeared on the global alliance's website.
Many packages also included statements, such as "Norwegian Owned," and "92% Norwegian Owned."
Mainstream Canada, which has 27 fish-farm sites along the east and west coasts of Vancouver Island and is the second-largest salmon-farming company in B.C., argued there were more than 50 instances of defamatory words.
In fact, when questioned during the trial, Staniford wasn't aware of any research showing anyone had developed cancer after eating farmed salmon, Adair said in her ruling.
She said he admitted he didn't know whether a variety of chemicals were used on B.C. fish farms owned by Norwegian companies, but he identified emamectin benzoate as one such chemical.
Adair said Staniford did not know who used the chemical and couldn't identify a precise source.
"Staniford said that he did not know whether farmed salmon sold by Mainstream in B.C. is toxic to humans," she added. "He explained that he had not seen current data tests of contaminant levels in Mainstream’s farmed salmon, and so could not express an opinion."
But based on peer-reviewed science from the global salmon-farming industry, Staniford said the product "can contain cancer-causing chemicals and can carry an elevated cancer risk," noted Adair.
But the judge found Staniford believed what he said, although she called him a "zealot," challenged his credibility and noted his "closed-mindedness and deep prejudices make him an unreliable reporter of facts."
She also said "he will say almost anything to further his own agenda," and seems incapable of conceding error on some issues.
"He believes his own press, even when contradicted by other, contemporaneous documents."
In contrast, she complimented the company for its work of providing food for human consumption.
"They are conscious of the need to operate the business in a manner consistent with producing a product that is safe to consume and contributes to a healthy and nutritious diet," she said.
Adair ruled Staniford's defence of fair comment should succeed.
"I have found that he had an honest belief in the statements he made, and injuring Mainstream because of spite or animosity was not his dominant purpose in publishing the words in issue," she found.
Adair did not address the issue of damages before dismissing the case.
Staniford said the court case cost him about $100,000 even with his lawyer, David Sutherland, working at a reduced rate.
Jensen said the company had not yet tallied its court costs.
"Whether we won or lost, we did the right thing. People have to stand up to these people," she said. "Somewhere down the road, accountability will be made."
Staniford said he'll return to Canada as soon as he's allowed on March 1, 2013, and is planning a lecture tour around B.C. with Kurt Oddekalv, the leader of the Green Warriors of Europe, an environmental organization.
"I look forward to being welcomed into Canada," he said. "Already my supporters who threw a deportation party for me in Vancouver are planing a welcome party for me in Vancouver for the first of March."
September 13, 2012
I want to go there....NOW!!!!!
Check out this vid from "Where wise men fish" - great action, great location, what am I doing here in Denmark - I want to go there NOW!!!!!!
August 24, 2012
Support the Sea Shepherd - buy one of their t-shirts.
Thes giy's are doing a great job protecting our oceans and they need all the support they can get. One way to support "The Sea Shepherd" project is to buy one of their t-shirts - check out their collection through this direct link to their WEBSHOP
Want to join the Cove Guardians 2012-2013
August 10, 2012
From the Sea Shepherd website
The dolphins need you. Sea Shepherd is gearing up for our annual dolphin defense campaign Operation Infinite Patience 2012-2013. Cove Guardian volunteers are needed. We need volunteers to travel to Taiji, Japan and we need volunteers around the globe to engage the Japanese government.
From the Sea Shepherd website
Operation Infinite Patience: Cove Guardians 2012-2013
The dolphins need you. Sea Shepherd is gearing up for our annual dolphin defense campaign Operation Infinite Patience 2012-2013. Cove Guardian volunteers are needed. We need volunteers to travel to Taiji, Japan and we need volunteers around the globe to engage the Japanese government.
The dolphin slaughter continues in Taiji, Japan. We have slowed it down these past two years, but dolphins continue to be driven into the Cove for capture and slaughter. Until the slaughter ends, we will not stop! We will display our Infinite Patience.
The drive hunt season is set to begin on September 1, 2012, and continue through February or March 2013. Here is your chance to participate. We need volunteers to join us on the ground in Taiji. Want to be a Cove Guardian? We know that our presence on the ground costs the Japanese government a significant of money and the greater our presence; the more expensive it becomes for them.
The Japanese authorities are getting desperate. Just this past season Cove Guardian Erwin Vermeulen was detained by the Japanese Government for 64 days and forced to stand trial for a crime he did not commit. This trial cost the Japanese government a significant amount of money. The judge found Vermeulen not guilty and the government of Japan was forced to pay him $10,000 USD for wrongful incarceration. Acquittals are essentially unknown in Japan thus demonstrating how little evidence existed to support the case. Vermeulen donated all funds to Sea Shepherd.
If you cannot become a Cove Guardian in Taiji your participation is still critical. We need dedicated and passionate supporters all over the world to follow our tweets4taiji on Twitter and other information coming out of the campaign. Your continued efforts to contact the Japanese embassies and consulates and inform them of how offensive this slaughter is and how it damages Japan’s reputation is as important as ever.
We know that our presence and the communications to the Japanese embassies and consulates reduced the number of dolphins killed these past two years.
Not everyone who wants to crew for Sea Shepherd can take the time needed for an Antarctic campaign, nor is it possible for everyone who applies for ship’s crew to be selected. However, with very few exceptions, most Cove Guardian applications are accepted. While this is a relatively easy campaign to join, be aware that it can be emotionally difficult and financially expensive. It is not something to act upon lightly. It is important work and we must stand tall and strong in the face of this horrific slaughter -until it ends. Many Cove Guardian volunteers return to Taiji and others have gone on to crew on our ship-based campaigns.
Think you have what it takes to practice Infinite Patience in Taiji? Write to Scott West atcoveguardian@seashepherd.org and request a Cove Guardian application package.
August 3, 2012
New really great edition of Flymage out now
New really, really GREAT edition of Flymage out now - check it out this direct link
The guy's have created a really nice edition once again - huge congrats from Pool 32 to my "fellow publishing brothers" :)
Keep it coming guy's - you made an absolutely brilliant job, I really liked it.
Her is a couple of shot from an article about sea trout fishing in Denmark - which I of course liked a lot. Yehaaaa !!!
"Trutta" - Video Trailer from Flymage Magazine on Vimeo.
The guy's have created a really nice edition once again - huge congrats from Pool 32 to my "fellow publishing brothers" :)
Keep it coming guy's - you made an absolutely brilliant job, I really liked it.
Her is a couple of shot from an article about sea trout fishing in Denmark - which I of course liked a lot. Yehaaaa !!!
"Trutta" - Video Trailer from Flymage Magazine on Vimeo.
July 2, 2012
New great edition of Blood Knot out now.
They did it again !!! - New great edition of Blood Knot Mag is out now, this time it' is a green issue, which I really like, brilliant idea Guy's. It's filled up with information, videos, and great green content, and reaches from a fun side to a much more serious angle.
So if you haven't signed up yet - then what are you waiting for!!! - if free and it's very easy, just a couple of clicks and you are set to get some serious fly fishing content in your mailbox. Use these two direct links to this new really great Green edition and sign up page.
Loved this one - keep it coming :)
June 26, 2012
Very interesting mail from Alexandra Morton
Hello
The salmon farming industry is in deep financial trouble and their BC operations appear to be making their problems worse.
Here is what the CEO's and Analysts are saying. http://alexandramorton.typepad.com/alexandra_morton/2012/06/how-viable-is-salmon-farming-.html
Is government covering up the serious European disease issue in BC waters to protect an industry in deep trouble? I would be interested in hearing thoughts on the contents of this blog from anyone familiar with the world of global corporate finance.
Thank you.
Alexandra Morton
Here is what the CEO's and Analysts are saying. http://alexandramorton.typepad.com/alexandra_morton/2012/06/how-viable-is-salmon-farming-.html
Is government covering up the serious European disease issue in BC waters to protect an industry in deep trouble? I would be interested in hearing thoughts on the contents of this blog from anyone familiar with the world of global corporate finance.
Thank you.
Alexandra Morton
June 19, 2012
June 13, 2012
This place I simply have to visit one day
“The Tongass is America’s salmon forest and one of the few places in the world where wild salmon and trout still thrive. Some 65 percent of Tongass salmon and trout habitat is not Congressionally protected at the watershed scale, and is currently open to development activities that could harm fish. It’s time for Congress to better protect the richest resource of the Tongass: wild salmon.”
Tim Bristol
Trout Unlimited, Alaska Program Director
Trout Unlimited, Alaska Program Director
Check out their website : The Tongas
Getting ready for the fly fishing show.....
It's time to open the door to new exhibitors, but we wanted to give our "seasoned" exhibitors one more opportunity to reserve your space at the shows.
Search your desk for the 2013 Fly Fishing Show Exhibitor Contract and send it in now to reserve your favorite spot at each show location. Whether you require a larger booth space, a corner, and proximity to the casting pond (or bathroom), we'll help you get what you want.
Contact us if you have any questions. We look forward to hearing from you!
Sincerely,
Chuck Furimsky
The Fly Fishing Show
May 31, 2012
The BC salmon police did it again
The Bill 37 has been redrawn - "The BC Salmon Police" did it again.
Huge congrats from Denmark - absolutely great work.
But this is only one step on a long difficult journey. There are still lot's of problems to deal with, so please help this fantastic team of Wild Salmon Warriors.
You can help them by signing the petition using the link underneath.
(just click on this petition and it will bring you directly to the website)
...or donate to the continuing of salmon disease testing - by using this direct link...
Mail from Alex Morton - Victory - Bill 37 has been withdrawn, so far!!
Hello
Almost unbelievably Minister Don McRae's Bill 37 has been withdrawn. It remains on the order paper, but will not be revisited in this sitting of the BC Legislature! The Liberals have cancelled the fall sitting, so it won't come up for another year. Therefore, we are free to continue tracking these viruses, figuring out which ones are present and where and what they are doing. The threat of prison was extremely unpleasant, but we had decided to challenge the act had it passed - a number of lawyers thought it was unconstitutional.
I want to thank all of you who wrote letters, posted comments on the Salmon Are Sacred facebook page, signed thepetition (please keep signing). Lana Popham, Michael Sather, and Scott Fraser are fantastic wild salmon warrior MLAs, Bea Olivastri of Friends of the Earth wrote a press release on this Bill from Ottawa this morning, Andrew Gage of West Coast Environmental Law wrote a powerful critique of the Bill in a letter to McRae, Elizabeth Denham, BC Information and Privacy Commissioner also wrote a powerful letter to McRae laying out the implications of his draconian bill. Karen Wristen, Greg McDade, John Davis, Jeff Jones, David Sutherland, Vince Gogolek all lawyers whose response to the bill helped us sort this out. Thank you to everyone who donated - so glad we can use the money for testing now! Thank you Ethan Baron for the fantastic reporting that first alerted us and then further reported on McRae's comments about needing this bill ASAP in case of a summer epidemic that might require limits to free speech. Thank you to all the people of this coast who have seen enough and are speaking up to tip us about the situation out on the salmon farms right now. Thank you Anissa Reed!!! You are awesome, Thank you Sabra Woodworth for always being there.
We turned this terrible thing back, it was all of us, not one person less, perhaps democracy is still alive. It is SO rare to get good news, but this is huge. We can get back to work now to turn off the viral spills. We are truly a movement now, a beautiful, inspired creative, peaceful, diverse enormous, movement not afraid to use our voices. We just want wild salmon to survive, and to protect them we have become like them we don't give up, thank you, thank you, thank you all of you!
Very important to keep the change.org petition http://www.change.org/petitions/costco-safeway-loblaws-we-don-t-want-to-eat-salmon-flu-or-heart-viruses petition growing so the supermarkets will understand that we don't want diseased farm salmon to be sent all over the province on ice to supermarkets where the viruses could spread and people are eating them. I realize the word is that these viruses don't hurt people, but we do know feedlot influenza is dangerous and knowingly moving it all over the place is a bad idea.
The BC Liberals were set to push this bill through and we turned it back
Back to work
Alex
May 30, 2012
Mail from Alex - "Bill 37"
Hello
Minister Don McRae said today in the Vancouver Sun that he is "considering" an amendment to his bill 37 that will silence all of us working on disease in our salmon, as well people working on bird flu, mad cow disease, etc.
An insider reports: "Bill 37 will probably be pushed through this week.
There are still about 20 something bills to discuss; this bill isn’t expected to get back on the floor for debate. Instead the government will just declare that by a certain point in time all debate is over and all the bills are passed."
Who knew our system of democracy is this frail?
We are headed for Victoria to look the people who would do this to us in the eye as this goes down. I have over 600 samples in labs and I probably will not be able to tell you what is in our wild salmon, oolichans, steelhead and the fish in supermarkets without threat of two years in jail. The salmon farmers have started a petition to restrain me, clearly there are things we learning that are making government and the salmon farm industry very uncomfortable. They have the power, we have the voice.
I have given the BC leg schedule and link to the broadcasts. http://alexandramorton.typepad.com
I list a number of ways to be heard, please also consider signing this petition to the supermarkets who are selling salmon culled from viral outbreaks.
McRae would not be even considering making amendments to his bill if it were not the outcry to date. Please consider being heard and joining us in Victoria.
Alexandra Morton
Minister Don McRae said today in the Vancouver Sun that he is "considering" an amendment to his bill 37 that will silence all of us working on disease in our salmon, as well people working on bird flu, mad cow disease, etc.
An insider reports: "Bill 37 will probably be pushed through this week.
There are still about 20 something bills to discuss; this bill isn’t expected to get back on the floor for debate. Instead the government will just declare that by a certain point in time all debate is over and all the bills are passed."
Who knew our system of democracy is this frail?
We are headed for Victoria to look the people who would do this to us in the eye as this goes down. I have over 600 samples in labs and I probably will not be able to tell you what is in our wild salmon, oolichans, steelhead and the fish in supermarkets without threat of two years in jail. The salmon farmers have started a petition to restrain me, clearly there are things we learning that are making government and the salmon farm industry very uncomfortable. They have the power, we have the voice.
I have given the BC leg schedule and link to the broadcasts. http://alexandramorton.typepad.com
I list a number of ways to be heard, please also consider signing this petition to the supermarkets who are selling salmon culled from viral outbreaks.
McRae would not be even considering making amendments to his bill if it were not the outcry to date. Please consider being heard and joining us in Victoria.
Alexandra Morton
May 27, 2012
We Don't Want to Eat Salmon with Flu or Heart Viruses
COSTCO, Safeway & Loblaws: We Don't Want to Eat Salmon with Flu or Heart Viruses
Some supermarkets are keeping a very dirty secret.
Recently, I received positive lab test results showing that large supermarket chains are selling farmed salmon that are testing positive for salmon flu virus and the salmon heart virus. I am horrified to think that my friends are feeding their children infected fish. Food companies are required to tell you if a cookie has 2 grams of fat. Don't you think they should be required to tell you if a product is diseased?
I’ve worked as a biologist for the past 23 years and I know that hundreds of thousands of farmed salmon are crowded into pens in the ocean and this causes viruses to mutate and ‘go viral.’ Viruses spill out of these netpens and can infect the wild fish that we rely upon. We have strong scientific evidence to suggest that farm salmon viruses have led to the loss of millions, if not tens of millions, of wild salmon.
While fish viruses are not considered lethal to humans, we all saw how flu viruses in chickens and swine mutated to become a threat to humans. Viruses in feedlots are dangerous and people deserve the right to make informed choices about their food.
With hundreds of thousands of farmed salmon packed into a tight space, it is so easy for viruses to spread like "wildfire" on the farm and pouring out into the ocean infecting wild salmon threatening their survival.
Last weekend a British Columbia salmon farm killed 500,000 fish due to yet another viral outbreakand this week new major infections were reported in salmon farms in both British Columbia and Washington State. Fish from these infected farms could be sold in stores today.
If you were buying infected salmon, you would want to know, right? After next week you might not ever hear about it again. The provincial government of British Columbia, Canada is expected to pass a bill next week making it illegal for anyone to publicly report fish farm virus outbreaks in British Columbia. What country are we living in? How is it possible that it will be illegal for me to tell you that you are eating infected fish? It is Bill 37 Animal Health Act proposed by Minister Don McRae.
We must stop this. While stores like Costco, Safeway and Loblaws will not stop selling farmed salmon tomorrow, they have all the power to start labelling the fish they sell immediately.
Sign my petition asking them to label all farmed salmon with a history of viruses from the farms where they were raised or we will never buy fish from these stores again. Then ask everyone you know to sign on as well.
A click on this image of the Petition will bring you right to the sign up section.
C
May 26, 2012
Mail from Alex Morton - BC Government has chosen to make disease reporting punishable.
In response to the hundreds of you who wrote me about proposed Bill 37 http://www.leg.bc.ca/39th4th/votes/bills-list_hansard.htm that would make disease reporting a punishable offense, I have set up a petition athttp://www.change.org/SalmonFlu
By working with change.org we have the opportunity to reach the world. Because not everyone on earth is as attached to wild salmon as we are, I raised the human health aspect of this that has been dangerously over-looked. So many people, particularly my First Nation family and friends, are asking me about what these viruses are doing to us. I don't know, but several nurses and doctors have taken me aside after lectures a to share their concerns that influenza viruses are unpredictable and nasty. So I have simply asked COSTCO and Safeway to label farm salmon with the viruses in them, because the BC Government has chosen to make disease reporting punishable.
If Minister Don McRae gets his way and silences me and others, there is no way we will ever know what viruses are spilling into BC waters. The epidemic in Clayoquot has been quickly followed by announcements that the Ahlstrom site near Sechelt Inlet, owned by Grieg and stocked with coho is being "quarantined" for a viral outbreak, as well as, farms in the US. I have no idea how big this is going to get. I have no reason to believe any of the reports that this is IHN, we have not seen a single test result, but either way IHN is not good news.
Please donate to http://www.gofundme.com/SalmonDiseaseTestingFund if you want to participate in the testing or in the legal fees depending which way this thing goes.
I am updating my blog frequently to keep people informed about the epidemics alexandramorton.typepad.com
Please do everything you can to distribute the change.org petition. We clearly have no impact on the BC government - but COSTCO and Safeway will.
Thank you,
Alex
By working with change.org we have the opportunity to reach the world. Because not everyone on earth is as attached to wild salmon as we are, I raised the human health aspect of this that has been dangerously over-looked. So many people, particularly my First Nation family and friends, are asking me about what these viruses are doing to us. I don't know, but several nurses and doctors have taken me aside after lectures a to share their concerns that influenza viruses are unpredictable and nasty. So I have simply asked COSTCO and Safeway to label farm salmon with the viruses in them, because the BC Government has chosen to make disease reporting punishable.
If Minister Don McRae gets his way and silences me and others, there is no way we will ever know what viruses are spilling into BC waters. The epidemic in Clayoquot has been quickly followed by announcements that the Ahlstrom site near Sechelt Inlet, owned by Grieg and stocked with coho is being "quarantined" for a viral outbreak, as well as, farms in the US. I have no idea how big this is going to get. I have no reason to believe any of the reports that this is IHN, we have not seen a single test result, but either way IHN is not good news.
Please donate to http://www.gofundme.com/SalmonDiseaseTestingFund if you want to participate in the testing or in the legal fees depending which way this thing goes.
I am updating my blog frequently to keep people informed about the epidemics alexandramorton.typepad.com
Please do everything you can to distribute the change.org petition. We clearly have no impact on the BC government - but COSTCO and Safeway will.
Thank you,
Alex
May 23, 2012
Mail from Alex Morton - Are we dammed to hell?
IHN infected farm salmon transported through Alberni Inlet - one of the last farm-free migration routes left
I wanted to know what Mainstream is doing with their virus infected salmon so we tracked the boat electronically from the area near the infected farm at Dixon Bay where the boat was seen loading yesterday morning.
The boat arrived in Port Alberni at 2 am heavily loaded.
At 8 am trucks started coming alongside the boat, pumping out the dead Atlantic salmon infected with a disease the company is saying is IHN. However, I have not seen any tests to back that up I have been taught distrust of government and industry so not at all sure what these fish are infected with.
There was no containment around the boat, so if a pipe connection fails all the young salmon coming out of the rivers right now will be bathed in the virus. The Mainstream crew were hostile. However, after I told them several times that blood water was dripping from the hoses as the trucks pulled away, they used the caps and sealed them.
We followed the trucks and found they were dumping them nearby at the Earth, Land and Sea "organic" composting plant. Perhaps there is containment that is not visible in this picture to prevent it from flowing into the inlet, or being carried by the birds.
We alerted the local First Nation fishery biologist. Les Sam, the ex-chief and a councilman requested some of these fish for testing, to find out exactly what virus is in these fish and thus have the capability to track it in their fish. They had not been notified that their territory was being used to dump diseased Atlantic salmon. The mayor also showed up, apparently he had not been contacted by Mainstream either. Mainstream spent a lot of time speaking to him.
As we were going to ridiculous lengths just to find out where these fish are being dumped and what virus is actually in them, I got news that British Columbia is making this kind of ground-truthing illegal. In two weeks, I will be breaking the law if I inform you about a reportable disease like IHN and ISA. The lab reports will have to remain secret from you, and this Animal Health Act being proposed by Christy Clark's government seeks not only to override Access to Information, she also seeks to override the Offence Act opening the door to harsher penalties. The offence for failing to keep information confidential will draw the highest penalty.
We are headed for Dark Ages of pestilence and war lords. If this corporate dream legislation passes you won't be hearing from me anymore. Mainstream, Marine Harvest and Grieg, the three Norwegian operators in BC will have won. They can have massive epidemics of mutating viruses and you won't be allowed to know that you are consuming a side order of viruses in every bite.
I am in shock. We could try using democracy to stop this, but far far more people would have to engage than is typical.
As I write this the Ocean King Mort Packer is on her way for another helping of diseased farm salmon. Are we dammed to hell?
Sourse : Alex Mortons blog
May 15, 2012
PLEASE Help Dr. Alexandra Mortons Testing Fund
...it's urgent we find out how bad this situation really is.
Last fall we began testing salmon in BC for European viruses spreading worldwide in Atlantic salmon farms, which import millions of eggs into places like BC and Chile. We are using two of the top labs in the world and they are reporting a Norwegian heart virus in nearly 100% of the farm salmon (piscine reovirus) and two of the most deadly salmon flu mutations known in farm and wild salmon (ISAv). Because the Norwegian salmon farmers will not allow access to their fish, we are buying them in supermarkets. The heart virus can wash down your drain and enter your watershed. Canada, BC and the Norwegian salmon farming industry in BC continue to refuse to acknowledge our test results, allowing these viruses to spread and mutate. This type of behavior caused the $2 billion ISA outbreak in Chile that was eventually traced to a Norwegian hatchery. We need to continue this work to learn the spread and source of these Europen viruses. Extrememly expensive testing is required because we not only have to detect the viruses, we have to catch them alive to meet the legal framework in Canada. Our first lab bill was $25,000. These viruses spill out of salmon farms on Canada's biggest wild salmon migration routes where wild salmon are collapsing. We are testing farm salmon, Oolichans, steelhead, and as many salmon runs as possible to provide answers.
We are not funded by any foundation or corporations. We do this work simply because we know how important wild salmon are and that their fate is tied to our own. Please know that every dollar makes a difference.
More information at www.salmonaresacred.org
May 13, 2012
All the water on earth - in one place
If all the water on earth were collected in one place this is how much space it would take to shoe it - not much compared to the rest of our planet and yet we dump so much waste into it - a very strange behavior.
Therefore we should - TREAT IT WITH RESPECT!!!
Ilustration: Jack Cook, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; USGS.
May 8, 2012
May 7, 2012
HATCH - is out now, don't miss it
HATCH documents the worlds most extraordinary insect hatches and the fantastic fly fishing that accompanies them.
April 30, 2012
April 29, 2012
Salmon health alert
Salmon health alert
By SEAN POULTER, Daily Mail
Scientists Issued a devastating new warning last night about the safety of Scottish farmed salmon.
They said the fish is so contaminated with toxic chemicals it should be eaten no more than three times a year.
The chemicals, which have been linked to cancer and birth defects, come from the feed used in fish farms. The findings could have a shattering impact on the £700million-a-year Scottish salmon farming industry, which supports some 6,500 jobs.
Sales of salmon soared as farming brought prices down and the health benefits of oily fish emerged. It has overtaken cod as the best-selling fresh fish in Britain - and 98 per cent comes from Scottish farms.
Salmon farmers there branded the latest study "deliberately misleading" last night while the Food Standards Agency said the levels of pollutants were within safety limits used by Britain, the EU and the World Health Organisation.
Its chairman Sir John Krebs said the health benefits of eating oily fish outweighed any risk.
But Dr Jeffery Foran, an American toxicologist involved in the study, said neither he nor his family would eat farmed salmon again after what he discovered.
Poullutants
The project - based at the University of Albany in New York state - looked at pollutant levels in farmed and wild salmon bought in Britain, Europe and North America.
Previous small-scale studies had identified a contamination risk, but this is by far the biggest and most comprehensive study.
Researchers measured the levels of industrial pollutants - PCBs and dioxins - and agricultural pesticides such as toxaphene and dieldrin.
They examined 700 fish, some bought in London supermarkets and some direct from Scottish farms. The highest concentrations were found in fish from Scotland and the Faroe Islands.
Dr Foran said this may be because their feed contains oil recovered from the ground-up bodies of tiny sea life harvested in the North Atlantic - a dumping ground for decades for manmade toxins. Fish from Norway also performed badly.
The study, published in the respected U.S. journal Science, concluded: "The consumption advice is that no more than one meal every four months should be consumed in order to avoid an increased risk of cancer." Even smaller amounts, it suggested, could trigger harmful effects to brain function and the immune system.
Dr Foran said: "All the compounds we were looking for are classified as probable carcinogens. The evidence from comprehensive animal studies points to a range of cancers including liver, breast, lymphatic and thyroid.
"There are a variety of other health effects, particularly in relation to PCBs.
"They include reproductive and developmental effects. There are also neurological, brain function effects and immune system effects."
All the fish tested was in fillets, but the findings apply equally to smoked salmon. Almost all tinned salmon, however, is produced from wild fish which have only low levels of pollution.
"Benefits outweigh risks"
Despite the startling results of the survey, the FSA said it was sticking by its advice to consumers. Sir John Krebs said: "People should consume at least two portions of fish a week - one of which should be oily like salmon.
"There is good evidence that eating oily fish reduces the risk of death from heart attacks. We advise that the known benefits outweigh any possible risks."
Scottish Quality Salmon, which represents farmers, said the researchers had been wrong to use strict guidelines drawn up by the U.S. Environment Protection Agency rather than those used elsewhere in the world.
Technical consultant Dr John Webster said: "PCB and dioxin levels in Scottish salmon are significantly lower than the thresholds set by international watchdogs".
The organisation said its members apply "the most stringent independently inspected quality assurance standards in the world".
It said feed suppliers had taken steps to minimise PCB and dioxin levels, including sourcing fish meal and oils from seas which are less polluted and switching to plant oils.
But Don Staniford of the Salmon Farm Protest Group said: "This scientific study blows out of the water the myth that farmed salmon is safe, nutritious and healthy.
"It's official - salmon is now the most contaminated foodstuff on the supermarket shelf."
Dr Dan Barlow, head of research for Friends of the Earth, said: "We have long known that farmed salmon were more heavily contaminated with toxic pollutants than their wild relatives.
"We now know Scottish-raised salmon are among the most contaminated and that the levels of contaminants may be so high as to possibly detract from the health benefits of eating fish."
Pollutants are not the only problem facing salmon farmers. Recent studies have found contamination with radioactive waste from the Sellafield nuclear plant, while there are concerns about the use of malachite green to kill parasites and infections.
There are also health fears over feeding the fish chemicals which colour their flesh pink.
Scotland's estimated 300 salmon farms produce some 160,000 tonnes of salmon a year.
Almost three-quarters of the jobs in the industry are in remote rural areas with fragile economies.
These are boosted by an estimated £1million a week in wages alone.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-205547/Salmon-health-alert.html#ixzz1tS98WrtF
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