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DFO’s engagement report on transitioning from open-net pen fish farms: Georgia Strait Alliance responds
Today, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) released a summary of its engagement findings regarding the federal government’s commitment to transition open-net pen fish farms in waters off the coast of B.C. to closed-containment facilities on land by 2025. In response, the Executive Director of Georgia Strait Alliance Christianne Wilhelmson, says: “We appreciate that DFO has shared their engagement…
Read more »GSA responds to federal court dismissal of aquaculture operator injunction
Image by David Stanley, Flickr. Today, a federal court dismissed an injunction request from aquaculture operator Cermaq, which sought to reverse the decision by Fisheries and Oceans Minister Bernadette Jordan to negate two transfer applications that would restock farmed fish at Cermaq facilities in the Discovery Islands. In response to today’s decision, the Executive Director of…
Read more »Georgia Strait Alliance responds to judge ruling in favour of allowing restocking of three fish farms in the Discovery Islands
Image by Bureau of Land Management. Yesterday, the Federal Court ruled in favour of the two fish farm operators seeking an injunction to allow the continued stocking of farmed Atlantic salmon into open net-pens in three fish farms in the Discovery Islands. Georgia Strait Alliance was an intervenor in the judicial review in late March, as…
Read more »Georgia Strait Alliance response to Province’s sector targets to reduce climate emissions
Image by Li-An Lim. In response to the Province of B.C. splitting the economy into four sectors to establish targets for climate emissions reductions by 2030, Georgia Strait Alliance’s Energy Campaigner Andrew Radzik, says: “We applaud the B.C. government for setting a standalone target for the oil and gas industry. However, we are concerned with how…
Read more »Environmental organizations, scientist, in court to fight for fish farm phase out in Discovery Islands
Image by NPS Climate Change Response. On behalf of environmental organizations and an independent scientist, Ecojustice will be in court today to argue that aquaculture companies should not be allowed to transfer farmed fish into Discovery Islands fish farms, all of which are set to shutter by June 2022. The David Suzuki Foundation, Georgia Strait Alliance,…
Read more »Oak Bay Marine Group obtains its first Clean Marine BC eco-certification
Image by Derek Ford. Oak Bay Marina is the first of the Oak Bay Marine Group to achieve eco-certification in Clean Marine BC, which helps boating facilities to reduce the impact of recreational boating on the Salish Sea and beyond through the implementation of improved environmental measures, including the reduction and containment of toxins, collection and…
Read more »GSA statement on B.C.’s “climate gap” nearly doubling
On Wednesday, the Provincial government released its 2020 Climate Change Accountability Report. It shows that B.C. is far from meeting its legally-mandated 2030 climate goal. A major reason is because the oil and gas industry in B.C. now emits more climate pollution than all other industries in the province combined, while other industrial sectors have reduced their emissions. In response,…
Read more »Georgia Strait Alliance responds to the phasing out of all 19 fish farms in the Discovery Islands
Today, the federal government committed to phase out all 19 fish farms in the Discovery Islands, which is a critical migration route for wild salmon, by June 30, 2022. During the 18-month transition period, industry is to complete the harvesting of existing fish, while no new fish of any size can be introduced into open net-pens in this region. In…
Read more »B.C. Government breaks promise on key climate deadline
Image by Unsplash. The Province of British Columbia has missed its own deadline to complete the CleanBC plan, another in a long string of broken promises on climate action. The government had promised to unveil additional climate actions to meet its 2030 target by December 5, 2020. Despite Premier Horgan’s repeated assurances that Liquefied Natural Gas…
Read more »Seismic survey threatens endangered whales
Image by Rachael Merrett. As the oceans become quieter amidst the global pandemic, an application for seismic surveys off the West Coast of Vancouver Island threatens the recovery of endangered Southern Resident killer whales. This week, in response, a coalition of conservation groups has written to the federal minister of Fisheries and Oceans to inform her…
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