Chief Bob Chamberlain of the Kwicksutaineuk Ah-Kwa-Mish First Nation opined that this is not something they have done lightly and it is such a crucial struggle for their people. He also said that the class-action suit will involve a total of eight First Nations concerned about the detrimental impact of open-net salmon farming on their stocks.
It is fact that the salmon-farming industry has been the subject of long-standing concerns related to such issues as transmission of sea lice and disease to wild stocks, as well as pollution, and the escape of non-native Atlantic salmon to the wild. Chamberlain told that the concern is so serious and it is not monetary driven. He said that the groups are looking at safeguarding our wild salmon as our starting point and our end point.
Chamberlain also told that in this matter they have been patient and respectful, attending countless meetings while damage continues to be inflicted on the wild salmon by open net salmon farms. He explained that the groups have waited for provincial support for closed containment technology and we have advanced farm fallowing plans and schedules to no avail. B.C. is the world’s fourth-largest farmed salmon producer, worth almost $405 million in 2007.
