Clayoquot Sound, British Columbia, to petition Norway to end salmon farming

Indiegogo.com reports, November 2015: Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Reserve near Tofino, British Columbia, is the Last Great Rainforest on Vancouver Island — world famous for monumental cedars, bears, wolves and whales. It is home to the Hesquiaht, Ahousaht and Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations.

Wild salmon are the lifeblood of these ancient forests and cultures, providing food and fertilizing the ecosystem which sustains life.

Wild salmon are being put at risk by industrial salmon farming — Clayoquot Sound has 20 open net pen fish farm sites. Salmon farms are polluting, and magnify pathogenspathogens A virus, bacterium or parasite which causes disease is a pathogen. Disease causing pathogens live in the environment, and both humans and animals are hosts to them. Pathogenic viruses, bacteria and parasites are present in sewage, originating from humans and animals, and thus it is essential that sewage is given proper treatment in order to disable (kill) these pathogens before the end-products of sewage treatment (solids and water effluent) are returned to the environment. such as sea lice and viruses. Wild salmon are in exceptional decline everywhere feedlots are in operation around the world, from Norway to Scotland to Canada.

Clayoquot Action will be travelling to Norway this January to put pressure on Norwegian salmon farming giant Cermaq. We’ll deliver a clear message: get your polluting fish farms out of the pristine waters of Clayoquot Sound! To sign the petition, click here.

Clayoquot Sound British Columbia1

Joe Martin of Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations, John Rampanen from Ahousaht and Kelsemaht First Nations, and Bonny Glambeck & Dan Lewis from Clayoquot Action in Tofino.

You can help send us north of the Arctic Circle to Alta, to attend a wild salmon conference where we’ll meet with the President of the indigenous Sami Parliament (Norway) and build alliances with the cutting edge of Norway’s wild salmon movement.

Then on to Bergen, the global capital of salmon farming, to meet Norwegians working to get salmon farms out of Norway’s waters, and to the capital of Norway to deliver a petition from Alexandra Morton asking Norway to divest from dirty salmon farming companies.

Salmon farming is a global industry based in Norway. It’s time to develop a global response to protect wild salmon. This trip will link indigenous people from Canada and Norway, and environmental advocates from both countries as well.

Opposition to salmon feedlots in Clayoquot Sound is growing. Just this fall members of Ahousaht First Nations occupied Cermaq’s new salmon feedlot at Yaakswiis and camped out there until the company towed it away. The Ahousaht chiefs made it clear that as long as there are Ahousaht people alive, there will never be a fish farm at Yaakswiis.

The momentum has begun. It’s time to pull together to remove salmon farms from the waters of Clayoquot Sound. You can be part of this!

What We Need & What You Get
This project is two-thirds funded thanks to Mountain Equipment Co-op and a private donor. Now we need to raise another ten thousand dollars to cover the cost of travel to and within Norway.

Local businesses in Tofino have generously donated some fantastic perks to help raise the needed funds. Perks include stickers, art cards from local artists, t-shirts, limited edition prints of Tla-o-qui-aht artist Joe David’s Salmon People, limited edition giclee reproductions of Leanne Hodges’ Clayoquot Wolf painting, and a Tofino Getaway package including two nights beachfront accommodation, gourmet meals, and adventure outings.

 

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What if we exceed our goal?
By joining Clayoquot Action’s Indiegogo community you will be helping to get salmon farms out of Clayoquot Sound. After Norway there will be much more action on behalf of wild salmon! If the goal of raising ten thousand dollars is exceeded, there is so much more to do. Here’s a few items from the top of our to-do list:

  • $5,000 will fund the making of a short documentary about this trip, which will be distributed online for free.
  • $15,000 will launch Clayoquot Action’s Salmon Farm Watch program, which will closely monitor salmon farming activities in Clayoquot Sound, with frequent field visits.
  • $45,000 will hire a full-time salmon farm campaigner for a year to increase pressure on Cermaq to get their farms out of Clayoquot!

Who is Clayoquot Action?
Clayoquot Action is a Tofino-based conservation society committed to protecting the biocultural diversity of Clayoquot Sound. Our goals are accomplished through public education, citizen research and monitoring, and advocacy. Clayoquot Action stands for democratic rights, indigenous rights and the rights of Mother Earth.

To sign the Petition
Visit the petition site: www.change.org/p/to-the-citizens-of-norway-divest-from-dirty-salmon/u/14234674

Want to learn more?
Check out Clayoquot Action’s website.

Other Ways You Can Help
Please help us promote this campaign — share this page with your family and friends!

Source: Indiegogo.com, November 2015. For further details, also visit www.indiegogo.com/projects/wild-salmon-delegation-to-norway#


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