November 4 2002

NATIONAL NEWS

Over The Edge Pa

Hatcheries harming salmon stocks

Salmon species faces multiple threats

By Stephen Hui, The Peak

VANCOUVER (CUP) — A
new report raises serious
questions about the effects of
B.C. hatcheries on salmon
stocks.

Hatcheries release about
500 million salmon into the
province’s rivers every year.
The report Hatcheries and the
Protection of Wild Salmon,
produced by Simon Fraser
University’s Centre for Coastal
Studies and Continuing
Studies in Science, asks
whether hatcheries actually
have a net negative impact on
salmon stocks.

“There is too little scientific
knowledge to be able to make
really informed decisions on
the positive and negative
impacts of the hatcheries,”
said Professor Rick
Routledge, a biometrician with

the Centre for Coastal Studies
and School of Resource and
Environmental Management.

The report is the result of a
workshop that brought togeth-
er 40 people representing a
variety of stakeholder groups
at the university in June 2001.
A major concern raised at the
workshop involved the influ-
ence of hatchery salmon on
the genetic diversity of wild
stocks.

“You put hatchery fish under
a different, in many ways more
benign, selection regime,”
Routledge said. “That will pro-
mote different kinds of genetic
traits which, when they mix in
with the wild stocks, may make
the wild stocks less competi-
tive.”

The biometrician notes that
although there have been
instances where hatcheries

have rebuilt a stock on the
verge of extinction, “the other
side of the coin is that you may
change the genetic structure
of the population you are try-
ing to save, and you might in
fact make it less viable.”

Bill Bakke, director of the
Native Fish Society based in
Portland, Oregon, goes even
further, contending that “hatch-
eries are not at all good for
wild salmon.”

“Hatcheries haven’t been
able to compensate for the
loss of the wild salmon due to
dam construction and habitat
degradation,” Bakke said. “But
they are also acting as a bio-
logical interference with the
productivity and the health of
the wild salmon population.”

In addition to harming the
genetic composition of wild
salmon, the conservationist

PG P!RG Update

“saving the world in our

Well, you're really getting
your money's worth this year,
PGPIRG has more programs
and action groups going on
then ever before. Here’s a brief
update and some upcoming
events:

PGPIRG Compost
The numbers are in, and we

are currently collecting
approximately 1000kg of com-
postable materials per month
from the cafeteria, starbucks,
Tim Hortons and from the
buckets around the school. We
are predicting that we current-
ly collect approximately 70%
of the organic waste produced
on campus (not including resi-
dences). Lets try to get this
closer to 100%! Utilize the
compost bucket nearest you. A
trial run at compost pick-up in
the residences has begun,
and we hope that this trial will
result in an expansion of our
services, but it can only be
successful with your coopera-
tion. | would like to take this
time to thank the 14 committed
compost volunteers and, the
wonderful kitchen staff that
puts up with us.

Cosmic Lounge

Nov. 15, 2002, 8:00pm in the
Wintergarden

Open Mic

Bring your poetry, music, or
whatever.

All donations in support of
the PGPIRG action groups.

Everyone’s welcome.

Organic Food Co-op
The PGPIRG organic food

co-op has grow tremendously
since it began in early 2002.
We are currently providing
good quality organic food to
approximately 100 people per
week.

The food is distributed on
Thursdays, if you wish to
receive food you must sign up
at the PGPIRG office by the
Tuesday prior, the earlier the
better. Thanks go out to Pierre
and all his wonderful volun-
teers for providing us with this
great service.

Coffeehouse and Peace
March

A coffeehouse will be occur-
ring on Nov. 22, 2002, featur-
ing music and good time, a
location has yet to be chosen

spare time”

so stay tuned.

There will be a Peace March
on Nov.23, 2002. A location
and time will be released
shortly. Come join the cam-

paign.

Transportation Forum
Nov. 6 2002 7:00pm here at

UNBC Wintergarden.

Come and hear some of the
candidates for city council dis-
cuss transportation issues in
Prince George. There will be a
workshop after the forum to
discuss the issues further.

Here’s your chance to voice
your opinion and propose
some solutions.

Thank-you to all the
PGPIRG volunteers out there,
you’re doing a great job. If you
need any information about
our upcoming events please
swing by the office or call 960-
7474.

maintains that hatcheries can
degrade stream water quality
and spread disease. As well,
Bakke says fisheries quotas
are calibrated to hatcheries’
salmon returns.

“What’s happened is we’ve
over-fished our wild stocks in
order to capture the hatchery
salmon,” the conservationist
said.

According to Bakke, salmon
are being reared in hatcheries
on the Columbia River at a
cost of over $160,000 US per
adult to the catch. The conser-
vationist calls the hatchery
system a huge subsidy to the
fisheries.

“Hatcheries haven’t been
evaluated for their cost nor
their biological expense,”
Bakke said. “Once that’s done
| think the hatchery program
will be substantially changed.
But it’s going to take the public
to make that point because
that’s a political question.”

The national campaigns
director for the Western
Canada Wilderness

Committee argues that in addi-
tion to impacting salmon
species, hatcheries may alter
human behaviour.

“You start to get the argu-
ment that ‘well, of course we
can clear-cut in this water-
shed, of course we can strip
mine this mountain’, because
even if we do damage the

habitat, we can build a hatch-
ery,” said Joe Foy.

“Salmon hatcheries, in some
cases, are used to calm the
public’s fears over loss of nat-
ural habitat,” said Foy.

Hatcheries are only one
threat to salmon stocks, Foy
emphasized, listing roads
along salmon-bearing
streams, salmon aquaculture
and global climate change as
examples. Last month, the fed-
eral government announced it
was lifting its moratorium on
salmon farms, a move widely
condemned by environmental
groups as “unscientific.”

The Union of B.C. Indian
Chiefs also denounced the
decision, calling it a danger to
public health and the marine
environment as well as an
attack on First Nations’
Aboriginal rights and title.

“There is a very real danger
that our waters will be colo-
nized by Atlantic salmon.
These are the same waters
and spawning grounds First
Nations people have depend-
ed on for centuries for their
livelihood,” said Chief Stewart
Phillip, president of the union.
“With the wild salmon fishery
already in jeopardy, there is
now an even greater potential
for our wild stocks to be com-
pletely wiped out.”

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