Ban on fish farms in the Discovery Islands called ‘historic’

Ban on fish farms in the Discovery Islands called ‘historic’

Source: cheknews

12/19/2020

The federal government’s decision to put a stop to all 19 open-net fish farms in the Discovery Islands between Campbell River and Sayward, is being called, “historic.”

The new mandate means all of the fish farms must be empty of fish by June 2022. A happy surprise for those who have been fighting hard for this exact change.

“No, I was not expecting this,” said wild salmon crusader and researcher Alexandra Morton. “There has not been a decision on the side of wild salmon ever with the salmon farming industry.”

Even though the deadline to have all the farmed fish harvested is 18 months away, she expects 80 per cent of the fish will be gone by April 2021, just in time for next year’s out-migration of wild Fraser River salmon.