View Submissions
Summaries of submissions received by the commission are listed below. Click on the name of a submission to read it in its entirety. The number attached to each submission is used for internal tracking purposes and does not reflect the number of submissions received to that point.
The commission accepts submissions in both English and French, and submissions are displayed below in their original language. Submission summaries, however, are available in both English and French.
A ‘comments’ feature has been enabled to allow readers to respond to submissions. The comments feature is moderated by commission staff, and only relevant and respectful comments will be approved. Comments should also be concise (no more than one page in length). Readers wishing to leave a lengthy comment are encouraged to submit their thoughts as a submission, instead.
The summaries, submissions and comments displayed below and on subsequent pages do not necessarily represent the views of the Commissioner.
Submission ListTo read a submission in full, click a submitter’s name/number. |
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Submitter: Area “A” Crab Association Community: UCLUELET Date Submitted: Oct 21, 2023 Summary: (The attached document was provided to the commission at the Nanaimo public forum as part of the submission by the Area “A” Crab Association.) |
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Submitter: Matt Macey Community: Comox, Date Submitted: Oct 21, 2023 Summary: It is frustrating that so many public submissions have targeted salmon farming. The commission should recognize that salmon farming is only one of many issues to examine. Urbanization, predation, non-retention fisheries, and, in particular, hatcheries, likely have a much more profound effect on wild salmon. The commission should conduct an extensive investigation of hatcheries and their threat to salmon abundance and biological diversity. |
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Submitter: Philip Claydon Community: Kamloops Date Submitted: Oct 20, 2023 Summary: Ensuring that future generations have the opportunity to enjoy, harvest and celebrate Pacific salmon requires transparent, accountable and well-funded leadership; an increase in the monetary value of fish; an active and effective system of volunteers to protect fish ecosystems and engage the public; the restriction of commercial fishing to selective methods and locations along the Fraser River; and the expansion of sport fishing opportunities. |
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Submitter: Joseph Lacuna Community: Vancouver Date Submitted: Oct 19, 2023 Summary: It has been proven that open net-pen fish farms on wild salmon migratory routes play a large part in the decline of salmon returns. If they are here to stay, fish farms should be moved onto land. |
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Submitter: Jean Clark Community: Enderby Date Submitted: Oct 18, 2023 Summary: It is imperative that the commission be allowed full access to all coastal fish farm disease data. Incomplete data will invalidate this aspect of the commission’s work and make it impossible to link years of decline with potential disease contamination by aquaculture. |
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Submitter: Kim Fulton Community: Armstrong Date Submitted: Oct 18, 2023 Summary: Education of the public is one of the keys for maintaining Pacific salmon runs. It is important that educational programs such as DFO’s “Salmonids in the Classroom” and “Stream to Sea” continue to be funded and supported. The precautionary principle must be applied to the aquaculture industry and the use of chemical compounds in consumer products. The environment must be made a priority over the economy. |
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Submitter: Ted Wild Community: Campbell River Date Submitted: Oct 18, 2023 Summary: The aquaculture industry provides much needed employment in B.C. communities. From an environmental perspective, fish farms appear to be doing what is necessary to protect the environment, and safety, testing, and monitoring appear to be among their top priorities. |
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Submitter: Gillian Sanders Community: Kaslo Date Submitted: Oct 17, 2023 Summary: The commission should investigate the disease records of fish farms near the mouth of the Fraser River to determine if there is a correlation between disease outbreaks and the decline of wild stocks. |
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Submitter: james macneill Community: vancouver Date Submitted: Oct 15, 2023 Summary: Ocean fish farming supports the coastal economy, particularly in areas hard hit by the decline of forestry, and it provides employment for First Nations and remote communities. Anti-fish farm activists are funded by U.S. groups whose purpose is the destruction of the aquaculture industry and the loss of B.C. jobs. It is disturbing that the media reports the claims of anti-fish farm activists as truth. The record 2010 return of Fraser sockeye shows that wild salmon can thrive in the presence of fish farms. |
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Submitter: James Mellors Community: Vernon Date Submitted: Oct 15, 2023 Summary: The commission’s recommendations, which will influence the future of wild salmon stocks, should be made binding on all parties. Other species and runs of salmon are likely being affected by the same factors as sockeye, and the commission should make secondary recommendations to address these species. Fraser sockeye runs were generally sustainable until fish farms were placed directly on their migratory routes. Reports indicate that fish farms transmit the IHN virus and sea lice to migrating wild salmon. It is concerning that aquaculture companies, many of which are foreign-owned, refuse to provide records of viral outbreaks. The aquaculture industry should adopt closed-containment technologies. |
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Submitter: Paul Kendrick Community: Campbell River Date Submitted: Oct 15, 2023 Summary: The size of the 2010 Fraser sockeye run suggests that salmon farms did not affect the 2009 run. Instead, sockeye are likely impacted by a variety of complex issues, such as ocean survival rates, water temperature, unusual plankton blooms, low dissolved oxygen levels, predation and competition from ranched Alaskan salmon. The commission should focus on scientific evidence rather than unsubstantiated opinion, and conduct its investigation in an open and objective manner. |
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Submitter: Ron Kyle Community: goldriver Date Submitted: Oct 15, 2023 Summary: Despite claims that the aquaculture industry is responsible for the collapse of wild sockeye, 2010 saw the best returns of wild salmon in perhaps 100 years. It should not be forgotten that the aquaculture industry, which provides healthy food and jobs, was started in response to the collapse of salmon runs due to overfishing, mining and logging near salmon streams, and environmental factors. |
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Submitter: Joel Durand Community: Campbell RIver Date Submitted: Oct 15, 2023 Summary: The 2009 annual fish health report confirms that BC farm-raised salmon are very healthy. Previous annual reports have been available online since 2003. If fish health and aquaculture is of interest to the commission, then it should investigate interactions between wild salmon and the billions of hatchery-raised salmon that are released each year. |
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Submitter: Ann Vansnick Community: Sayward Date Submitted: Oct 15, 2023 Summary: DFO harvest management should be investigated in the context of the annual release of billions of hatchery salmon into the Pacific Northwest. According to a new study in Marine Coastal Fisheries, the combined abundance of wild and hatchery fish leads to overharvesting of the wild stock. |
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Submitter: James Costello Community: Ucluelet Date Submitted: Oct 14, 2023 Summary: The opposition to salmon farming is attempting to mislead the public and harm the reputation of the salmon farming community. It is essential to remember that fluctuations in run sizes and concerns over declining stocks were present before the advent of aquaculture and were a key factor in its development. The Cohen Commission should consider all the factors affecting wild salmon and resist calls to focus on salmon farming as the culprit in the decline of some wild salmon populations. |
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Submitter: Elena Edwards Community: Mission Date Submitted: Oct 14, 2023 Summary: (The attached document was provided to the commission at the Chilliwack public forum as part of the submission by Elena Edwards.) |
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Submitter: Peter Harper Community: Campbell River Date Submitted: Oct 14, 2023 Summary: Critics of the salmon farming industry make statements on conjecture rather than science. The record return of wild salmon indicates that salmon farms do not harm wild stocks. Instead of salmon farms, the public should focus instead on the numerous environmental factors that are known to be detrimental to wild salmon. |
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Submitter: Donald Costin Community: Chilliwack Date Submitted: Oct 14, 2023 Summary: (The attached document was provided to the commission at the Chilliwack public forum as part of the submission by Donald Costin.) |
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Submitter: Upper Fraser Fisheries Conservation Alliance Community: Prince George Date Submitted: Oct 14, 2023 Summary: (The attached document was provided to the commission at the Prince George public forum as part of the submission by the Upper Fraser Fisheries Conservation Alliance.) |
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Submitter: Richard Wadden Community: Sechelt , B.C. Date Submitted: Oct 14, 2023 Summary: I have worked in the aquaculture industry for about 15 years. Some of my brothers and a sister in law have worked in this industry for longer. I consider ourselves to be ethical persons and we would not be in this industry if we thought we were doing harm. |