Washington bans net farms woot!

[boxhitch]

......... I'd say the wild salmon are a fairly important food fishery as well.

and this was just a season closure

Last year's closure of the commercial ocean salmon troll fishery off the West Coast is estimated to have cost $5.8 million to $8.9 million in lost income for fishermen, with the loss of 200 to 330 jobs, according to a new model that determines the cost of fisheries closures based on the choices fishermen make.

Scientists hope the model, described for the first time this week in Marine Policy, will help policy makers anticipate the economic toll of fisheries closures.

http://www.cbbulletin.com/440475.aspx

[Beachcomber]

I've heard rumours that the federal government holds a 10% stake in biotech royalties that they struck out for their contribution to the R&d responsible for the genetically engineered stock. If true, it goes a long way in explaining why our regulators are so accomodating toward these floating bio-hazards.

If that is true then Ottawa needs to needs to decide whether its involvement in the risk capital game creates an inherent conflict with its mandate to govern in Canadians' best interests. If the scenario I have outlined materialises (and it is in the process of doing so: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/busi...205736704.html), their options are less than worthless in the sense that they will have no economic value on their own and will have destroyed value in the form of one of our most valuable resources. Your description of these farms as floating biohazards is not a hard one to sell. One wonders if a federal/provincial government(s) determined to be seen as FN friendly and environmentally sensitive could endure a concerted media campaign against this industry?