The Courier-Islander, 10th October 2008

My name is Derek Kyostia, a former consultant-based Salmon Stock Assessment Biologist and now employed as an Interpretative Naturalist on Northern Vancouver Island.For nearly six years, I have had the distinct pleasure of introducing international clientele from around the world to a very unique area on the adjacent Mainland that boasts (or should I say formerly boasted?!) one of the densest concentrations of grizzly bears on the coast.In the six years that I have had the privilege to frequent this area, salmon populations have fluctuated from year to year as one might expect. However, this year I have witnessed what could only be described as a catastrophic collapse of the pink salmon return.

Less than 10,000 pink salmon returned this year to a system that, within the last decade, has hosted an annual escapement of nearly one million fish! Unfortunately, to the best of my knowledge, this event was not forecast, nor has it been exclusive to this locale, but rather coast wide.For several weeks following historically observed return dates, we continued to lead ourselves to believe that the situation couldn’t possibly be this bad and, as a result, perhaps it didn’t receive the media attention that it deserved. However now, with the termination of our season imminent, we have come to realize that the situation is indeed this bad. The prognosis for this winter’s survival and next year’s recruitment into the bear population is nothing short of critical.Pink salmon, the smallest, and historically the most abundant of the five pacific salmon species, could be described as the sacrificial lamb of the coast, providing fodder for the countless fauna and fertilizer for the diversity of flora that inhabit our coastal watersheds.Salmon are a keystone species, the blood vein on which the vitality of our delicate West Coast food web depends. The repercussions of a West Coast salmon collapse are far beyond the inconvenience of our not enjoying sustenance from the sea, but rather the continued survival of flagship species such as orca, eagles, wolves and sea lions in addition to the plethora of less-recognized species that reside below them.How long are we going to continue to play politics with this invaluable resource?I understand that the issue is currently overshadowed by a potential global economic crisis and election campaigns on both sides of the border, but this is undoubtedly a timely matter. It would be naïve to think that commercial fish farm operations are solely responsible for this cataclysmic decline. However, in addition to former years of ill-practiced forestry; a blatant mismanagement of the fishery; impending climate change; pollution; and natural climatic phenomenon such as El Nino and La Nina, if there is any doubt as to the contribution of fish farms to this decline, then why isn’t the government reacting?It would seem to me that the simple solution is immediate implementation of closed containers which would effectively serve to eliminate escape of these exotic species into our waters; minimize chemical and fecal pollution to the environment; reduce the senseless destruction of what are perceived as predators in the vicinity of the farms; and, finally, remove any potential for cross-contamination of sea lice onto juvenile wild salmon as they migrate seasonally from their natal streams to offshore waters.This issue is a needless embarrassment to this country and one of great importance for the biological and socio-economic longevity of this province.Kudos to Alexandra Morton and others like her who have a sound appreciation for what is truly at stake and have thus dedicated their lives to this cause, particularly at such great personal sacrifice.http://www.canada.com/courierislander/news/letters/story.html?id=49e5b66b-9532-48ad-9edb-b2c6ed79450e&p=2 The Surrey Leader, 9th October 2008Cast a salmon-friendly voteRecent studies show that large sea lice populations attracted to fish farm pens are decimating juvenile wild salmon stocks as they migrate past the fish farms. Regulation of fish farms was transferred from the Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans to the B.C. government in 1988 because DFO believed there was no impact of fish farms on wild salmon.The B.C. government commissioned a Special Committee on Sustainable Aquaculture in 2005 and its final report of May 2007 recommended a sea-based closed containment system to replace the current open nets that expose the farmed salmon to sea lice. The Committee also strongly recommended no salmon farm development for B.C.’s north coast, north of Cape Caution, where wild salmon are still abundant in the absence of fish farms..The B.C. government has not acted on these recommendations. The preservation of wild Pacific salmon is essential to maintenance of the coastal ecosystem and to the commercial and sports fisheries. On federal election day, vote for the candidate that commits to transferring regulation of fish farms back to DFO and whose party commits to enforcement of a sea-based closed containment system for farmed fish south of Cape Caution.Glenn Ursel, Surreyhttp://www.bclocalnews.com/surrey_area/surreyleader/opinion/letters/30718399.html  +