Wild Salmon Advocates Cheer Cohen Commission Report

Supporters of B.C.'s wild salmon were delighted with the release of the Cohen Commission report on the decline of Fraser River sockeye. Wild salmon advocates stressed that it's now up to citizens to put pressure on federal and provincial politicians to ensure that Cohen's 75 specific recommendations are carried out.

LINK (via:The Tyee)

Down Goes Fraser! Down Goes Fraser!

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)

New research shows sea lice from salmon farms infect Fraser River sockeye salmon

Sidney, B.C. - A new study published yesterday in the journal Public Library of Science ONE by researchers from Raincoast Conservation Foundation, Watershed Watch Salmon Society, and the Universities of Victoria and Simon Fraser provides the first link between salmon farms and elevated levels of sea lice on juvenile Fraser River sockeye salmon.

LINK

Here Comes the Judge

British Columbia Supreme Court Justice Bruce Cohen will chair a federal commission of inquiry into the collapse of Fraser River sockeye salmon runs, Trade Minister Stockwell Day announced Friday in Vancouver.

"Justice Cohen's mandate will be to investigate and report on the reasons for the decline of sockeye salmon in the Fraser River," said a news release from Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office.

LINK (Via:The Ottawa Citizen)

Down goes Fraser?

More than nine million sockeye have vanished from B.C. river. How it happened remains a mystery LINK

Sent to us by Robert at Casting Out Loud