Submission 0102-OLNEY

Submitter: Heather Olney

Community: Black Creek

Date Submitted: June 25, 2023

Summary:

The joint letter by Alexandra Morton and Brian Riddell published on June 24 in the Campbell River Courier Islander was highly inappropriate, as Morton has been granted standing and Riddell is on the commission’s Scientific Advisory Panel. The timing of Morton’s honourary degree from SFU also appears to be inappropriate, since members of the Scientific Advisory Panel are from that university. Morton’s claims about the fish farming industry are incorrect; care is taken by the industry to ensure that no damage is done to the environment.

Submission:

Within the past two days two things have happened that I feel are entirely inappropriate considering the timing of them. First of all Ms Morton and Brian Riddel have published a joint letter in the Campbell River Courier Islander newspaper dated Thursday June 24 refuting an article in the Fiancial Post written by Terence Corcoran entitled ” This Science is Fishy ” regarding sea lice numbers and returns of pinks to the Broughton last year etc. I think this is highly inappropriate as Ms Morton is a biased activist who has been granted standing and Mr Riddel is on the committee appointed by Judge Cohen. There should be no joint action taken by members of the panel of experts and the individuals granted standing for submissions. Further to that SFU just granted Ms Morton an honourary degree now giving her the title Dr. Morton. As members on the committee of experts are also comprised of scientists deemed expert from SFU this makes it appear that Ms Morton is being highly favoured by the committee of experts appointed by Judge Cohen. The timing of this doctorate is indeed questionable. Appears the deck is being stacked as it were.

As the wife of a Marine Harvest employee I have visited fish farms on the vessel my husband is captain on and know first hand by having seen with my own eyes many things Ms Morton claims are out and out lies. We are ex commercial fishermen. My husband was born in Alert bay and is a status Indian. His grandfather was James Sewid who was given the Order of Canada for his work in the seventies sitting on the conference of the sea proceedings that took place in Venezuela.

My husband knows the Broughton like the back of his hand and also knows the care that is taken to ensure no damage is done to the environment by his industry. Marine Harvest requires everyone in it’s departments to re-cycle all recycleables to avoid any garbage being put into the environment.Every possible care is taken to insure the health of the pen stocks and to make sure no damage is done to wild. The proof has been shown in 2009 returns of pinks.There has been a steady decline in rate of lice in the Broughton on wild and pen stocks which gives issue to why Ms Morton immediately seized the opportunity to blame salmon farms for the non return of sockeye when proven wrong about her claim Broughton pinks would be extinct by 2011. I feel the issue of the two things I’ve mentioned above should be investigated as inappropriate.Thank you, Heather Olney

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Comment List

Name: Priscilla Judd

Date Created: July 2, 2023

Comment:

I am surprised that the Commission has published this letter which attacks the person (Alexandra Morton) and not the issue and uses inflammatory language (“out and out lies”etc.) to make emotional arguments.

Assuring us that farmers take “every possible care to insure the health of the pen stocks and to make sure no damage is done to wild.” doesn’t address the inherent problems associated with fish farming on the BC coast and environmental degradation doccumented by Ms Morton and others.

See an article about fish farms in Chile and what Max Planck scientists say about Norwegian fish farming

http://www.thefishsite.com/fishnews/12514/environmental-scandal-in-chile

Name: Mary rRssell

Date Created: July 21, 2023

Comment:

Heather Olney must only listen to her husband! Like at Greig Seafoods’ public meeting on Quadra Island last summer, where the fish farmer hollered to the crowd re the use of Slice, “You could drink the stuff!”. Slice is a nerve poison so toxic it was banned for use in water and on human food before the industry demanded its use. Similarly, this year on demand, Health Canada quietly removed the 68 day withdrawal time between treatment of the fish with Slice and the slaughter of the fish. Asked for the data supporting the change, HC replied that the information was with the drug company, was propritary, and not available to the public. Responsible and accountable? By its track record we can believe scarcely one word coming from the Govt/DFO/Industry machine whose agendas have become the same: the expansion and ‘success’of currently destructive open netcage regimes. DFO must come clean, and champion our Canadian closed containment systems, needing only encouragement to flourish.

Name: priscilla judd

Date Created: August 10, 2023

Comment:

The company that makes Slice in China – says that Slice is “high toxic to fish”

Name: Heather Olney

Date Created: October 14, 2023

Comment:

In reference to the comments by Priscilla Judd Numerous people have listened to Alexandra Morton’s exaggerated claims regarding sea lice and the environment. The past few years of study by other scientists indicate that sea lice levels are down. Furthwer to that pink salmon are not endangered nor will they be extinct by 2011 as claimed by Morton and others that support her theories. I think the only emotional arguments here are those put forth by people who follow Morton and her supporters blindly without any experience of aquaculture nor ever having attended a farm site in person to see what really goes on rather than listening to the rhetoric that is put out by Morton and others being funded by American interest groups. One needs to question what “interest ” means when applied to these US based funding groups and why they are funding things in Canada. As for slice canadian and American websites for North American slice products indicate it is approved and deemed safe.