The Pebble Partneship recently tried to make the argument that last year's Fraser River sockeye run was proof positive that hardrock mining and salmon can co-exist. What they failed to mention was that in 6 of the last 11 years the fishing season has been closed due to poor returns.
Now a scientific review undertaken by the Cohen Commission has determined that Fraser River sockeye are faced with a soup of 200 chemical contaminants.
The report, by McDonald Environmental Sciences Ltd., a Nanaimo-based research firm, identified numerous chemicals in surface waters and in bottom sediments that posed potential risks to sockeye, including nitrate, chloride, sulphate, arsenic, mercury and selenium.
It said some of the chemicals exceeded toxicity levels for fish and it noted that “water quality conditions have degraded over the past two decades.”
So much for that argument.
LINK (Via: The Globe and Mail)