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Canada is losing another of its rich wild fisheries, wild Pacific salmon, and I fear that your government is becoming complicit in this loss. I am writing to urge you to protect the future of wild Pacific salmon by taking decisive action to reform Canada’s salmon farming industry. The overwhelming majority of global scientific research connects open net-cage salmon farming to the decline of wild fish stocks. It is time the Canadian government acknowledges this evidence and fulfills its mandate to protect fisheries and oceans. To continue to allow an aquaculture industry to operate with outdated net-cage technology is to allow needless risks to our invaluable wild salmon and ocean health. Research indicates that sockeye from many Fraser River stocks migrate near salmon farms in the Discovery Islands and are at risk of infection by sea lice. Your government can provide emergency protection for these wild salmon by removing net-cage farms from wild salmon out-migration routes—beginning with the farms in the Georgia Strait’s Okisollo Channel, BC’s ‘Wild Salmon Narrows’—and by placing a moratorium on any new open net-cage farms and any increases in total production on net-cage farms throughout BC. It is also time to recognize the economic opportunities in sustainable aquaculture through the development of closed containment technology. Make BC and Canada a leader in meeting the growing demand for sustainable aquaculture products by making a substantial investment in this technology. Your investment will have the support of countless Canadians as there have been repeated calls by BC’s regional governments, government-funded committees, community groups, major buyers in the marketplace and concerned citizens for government to fund closed containment development. Salmon farming companies themselves have supported the establishment of a government fund to leverage investment in closed containment technology development. Please commit your support for a reformed Canadian salmon aquaculture industry, one that safeguards the resources you are bound to protect while providing long-term economic opportunities in aquaculture. Your action today can help to ensure a sustainable future for Canadians, our wild fisheries and our ocean ecosystems.

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