Posted by James From Ucluelet on May 22, 2010

I recently watched an episode where WFN presented a very unbalanced and negative presentation of salmon farming in B.C. I am an avid fisherman, both fresh and saltwater, and have been all my life. I am also employed in the aquaculture industry. The episode dealt with the impacts of sea lice on wild stocks and sided squarely with the activist view that the science is settled in the debate. This is far from the truth and many other marine biologists and scientists from other areas are currently in the process of researching this further. During the same episode a rally on Capitol Hill was shown against the overzealous and unscientific impact of foundations like Pew, Packard and Moore. These are the same groups that fund the anti-farming campaigns in B.C. and I feel it was a great disservice to the angling community to promote this agenda. I am amongst a very dedicated group of aquaculture workers in this province and country, we depend on clean waters to raise an excellent product. The market driven agendas of non-governmental organizations are felt all over North America and the world. By attempting to de-market farmed salmon in favour of "wild" ( predominately Alaskan ) salmon they are not doing the wild stocks any favours at all. If one tenth of the money they put in to these campaigns was put towards enhancement, restoration and education the wild stocks would be in a far better place right now. I am disappointed that WFN would promote these groups under the guise of being green and it ruined an otherwise enjoyable day of watching my favourite sport with my son.