Oyster prices may rise
Oyster sales from BC could grow this year as the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico impact fisheries in the region.
The BC Shellfish Growers Association estimated that sales could rise by 10 per cent despite higher prices for BCs oysters. A Louisiana oyster sells for about 10 cents while our oysters sell for about 30 cents.
Meanwhile, the Vancouver Island University's Centre for Shellfish Research estimates that BC’s current $38 million in sales could rise to $100 million by properly maintaining and managing the harvesting of clams, scallops, oysters, mussels and other species.
Fraser sewage needs investigation
Environmental groups from Canada and the USA have called on the Commission for Environmental Cooperation of North America to investigate allegations that Canada’s federal government allows the Iona sewage treatment plant, operated by Metro Vancouver, to discharge toxic waste.
The plant is located near the mouth of the Fraser River. Nine groups filed a petition in early May asking the commission to look at what it called “the failure of the Canadian government to adequately enforce its environmental laws.”
Bands call for minister to resign
Native leaders that represent 94 bands on the Fraser River have called for the resignation of federal Fisheries Minister Gail Shea.
The Fraser River First Nations said in a letter delivered to the government on May 4 that DFO policies have put declining stocks of chinook salmon in peril because commercial and sports fishermen are killing endangered chinook in the ocean, while native fishermen on the river are forgoing fishing opportunities in order to protect salmon.
One of the signatories to the letter was Tsawwassen First Nation.
The letter also asked that all sport and commercial fisheries for chinook be shut down in the ocean.
Land-based salmon farms make sense
Salmon farming on land makes sense environmentally, technically and economically.
That’s the word from a new report, partly funded by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
Dr. Andrew Wright, an independent consultant, writing about land-based farms said: “What I concluded is that closed containment is both technically and economically feasible, and extremely profitable when coupled with hydroponics, so you use the waste as the feedstock for an associated business beside it.”
The report was released on May 6 and challenged the fish farm industry view that closed containment is too costly.
Already a small, land-based system at Agassiz sells its coho to high-end restaurants around the Lower Mainland. And coho from a similar farm near Seattle is being sold under the SweetSpring brand to the 124 stores in the Overwaitea Food Group in British Columbia and Alberta.
Randy Fred, a Nanaimo-based publisher, plans to start publishing Face magazine about aboriginal life and culture this summer
