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I urge you to close the active open net-cage farms in the Wild Salmon Narrows, a critical wild salmon migration route in British Columbia’s northern Georgia Strait. The global body of independent peer-reviewed science is clear: open net-cage salmon farms put wild salmon at risk of disease and parasite infection and jeopardize the health of ocean ecosystems. In BC, not only are the Broughton Archipelago’s juvenile pink and chum salmon being affected by sea lice, but recent science indicates that net-cage farms in the northern Georgia Strait are putting Fraser River sockeye at risk of sea lice infection. This may have contributed to this summer's catastrophic collapse of the iconic sockeye run. The call to close salmon farms along wild salmon migratory routes also has the support of esteemed scientists who gathered at Simon Fraser University in December 2009 to discuss potential causes of the Fraser River Sockeye collapse and urgent next steps to protect this important species. Their recommendations included “immediate measures to experimentally remove salmon farms from sockeye migration routes.” The Province and DFO have the responsibility to protect the health of wild salmon, and the jobs and communities that depend on them. I implore you to remove all five active fish farms in the channel north and east of Quadra Island, and revoke the four inactive fish farm tenures to the south in Hoskyn Channel. There have been repeated calls for closed containment research and development funding from regional governments, government-funded committees, community groups, concerned citizens, and even support within the salmon farming industry itself. Please take this opportunity to make BC a leader in sustainable aquaculture by clearing the Wild Salmon Narrows of fish farms and making a substantial investment in closed containment. I look forward to your immediate action on this matter.

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