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Do fish farm jobs rank higher than tourist-based jobs?: Letter

It is understandable why Norwegian-based fish farmers prefer to do business in BC rather than in Norway. Open-net fish farms are banned in Norway.
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It is understandable why Norwegian-based fish farmers prefer to do business in BC rather than in Norway. Open-net fish farms are banned in Norway.

Why the We Wai Kai Nation supports Norwegian firms rather than Canada is less easy to understand. If it is for the jobs then there are “We Are Hiring” and “Help Wanted” signs all over town.

READ MORE: First Nations coalition urges Ottawa to stop closing salmon farms where they’re wanted

Closed-net fish farms or land-based fish farms haven’t been banned. So why the lawsuits? Why not conform to the law instead of demanding to break the law? Why not go back to Norway and break the laws there? I have been in Campbell River since 1965 when there was the blueback season beginning in April, the coho season beginning about six weeks later blending into the other species through to the fall.

Then, about 50 years ago the fish farmers arrived and wild salmon began to suffer. There were other factors involved, yes, but they don’t absolve the fish farmers from their part in the equation.

About 1980 we started seeing bumper stickers saying “Real fish don’t eat pellets” and that is just as true today.

Do fish farm jobs rank higher than tourist-based jobs like in hotels, motels, RV parks, fish guides, restaurants, fuel docks, sporting goods stores, etc? I think these complainants should if they lose their cases, be made to reimburse Canadians for all costs incurred by Canadians to defend our right to decide who does what in Canadian waters. Lawyers are expensive as are judges and MPs.

They put food in the ocean and then shoot the seals and sea lions that come to eat it as if these creatures should know it is privately-owned food. And get their damned nets out of our waters.

Marlowe Giesbrecht

Campbell River