--Your Address--
--Date—-

Right Honourable Stephen Harper
Office of the Prime Minister
Langevin Block
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A2
pm@pm.gc.ca
Fax: (613) 941-6900

Dear Prime Minister:

BC needs the Conservatives to listen to us. We care about wild salmon ­ we want a moratorium on fishfarm expansion!

Ottawa has three things wrong:

• 1) BC’s wild salmon aren’t gone. We have tens of millions of wild salmon.

   

• 2) Sea lice and disease problems in fishfarms can’t be managed. The existing pesticides aren’t effective. The industries own papers admit they need solutions. The evidence overwhelmingly shows fishfarms seriously harm wild stocks.

   

• 3) BCers don’t want to risk our wild stocks. We know there are profits to be made from fishfarming but survey after survey show we care about our wild salmon more. Wild salmon are an important part of our economy and they are part of West Coast culture.

   

The federal government has the responsibility to protect our wild salmon and our BC government has been following Ottawa’s lead. Please show leadership and put a moratorium on new fishfarms.

Sincerely

--Your Address--
--Date—-

Honourable Gordon Campbell, Premier
Room 156
Parliament Buildings
Victoria, BC
V8V 1X4
Fax: 250 387-0087
premier@gov.bc.ca (cc pat.bell.mla@leg.bc.ca)

Dear Mr. Campbell:

I am deeply concerned about the Liberal government’s plan to allow finfish farms near the mouth of the Skeena River.

I fail to understand why salmon farms should be located directly in the migratory path of wild Skeena salmon runs. Scientists and the media have confirmed that sea lice thrive in and around fish farms and endanger young wild salmon.

Using pesticides, fungicides, antibiotics and other chemicals to treat sea lice and a host of diseases and other problems caused by fish farming, is ineffective and only compounds the dangers facing these young wild salmon. I’m sure you are also aware that escaped farmed salmon further threaten the biological integrity of our precious wild salmon stocks.

I cannot condone these risks to our wild salmon and what the loss of this important natural resource would mean to future generations. I believe the questionable economic benefits of finfish farming to our communities do not warrant risking the valuable and irreplaceable wild salmon populations and therefore cannot be justified by the Liberal government or public officials.

I urge you to institute a moratorium on fishfarm expansion.  Certainly do not issue the Strouts fishfarm license.

Respectfully,

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