Submitter: Angela Koch

Community: Quathiaski Cove

Date Submitted: November 25, 2023

Summary:

Commissioner Cohen is the only hope for wild salmon and should not wait until next year to make recommendations. Fish farming is a disgusting industry and should be put on land.

Submission:

Dear Justice Cohen

Today when I looked at my emails, I saw we have yet another confirmed positive test for ISA in a Fraser river fish (Nov 23 2011) Instead of dealing with this disease and how we can best manage it we are instead being ridiculed and criticized by CFIA, DFO and fish farms. Seems they would rather give money to fish farms for advertising and our wild salmon are sadly left to fend for themselves. They won’t win, unless you do something about it, and right now it seems you are their only hope. Fish farms kill thousands of seals and sea lions, they feed their fish with our free wild fish (admitting bycatch in their nets) and dump their toxic and medicated feed and dung into our oceans, their solution to pollution, seems to be through dilution. It’s a disgusting industry and it would be so very much healthier if it were put on land. They wouldn’t have to use toxic chemicals, because there’s no sea lice on land, better for human consumption….they could sell their manure to gardeners and make a huge profit from that, one just has to go online to see other land based farms that have hydroponics which they say is making as much money as from their sale of fish….if they don’t want to go onto land, then that is their choice….but at least they have one…wild salmon do not!….please, please, please do the right thing….and don’t wait until next year, you have more than enough evidence to make recommendations now…time is definitely of the essence and wild salmon don’t have much left….thank you for your time and dedication into this matter.

Angela Koch