Fisheries and Oceans Minister reflects on decision to close fish farms on B.C. coast in Canada

Canada’s Fisheries and Oceans Minister Joyce Murray recently made some big announcements to move Canada towards its goal of protecting 30 per cent of oceans and waterways by 2030. One significant for wild salmon and industrial fisheries was to close 15 fish farms on the Discovery Islands - a group of islands between Vancouver Island and the main coast of the province. The area is regarded as a major highway for wild juvenile salmon swimming towards the ocean. Many experts believe the decline in wild salmon is caused by fish farms, which exacerbate seas lice latching onto and killing the fish. For years, First Nations and environmentalists have been calling for the closure of the farms to protect the salmon population. Hot Politics host David McKie spoke with Murray about her “precautionary approach” to the situation. The abundance of wild salmon have been at record lows, said Murray. “There are so many stresses that they are under with climate change, habitat loss, illegal and ...