Cohen Inquiry Live Feed

[IronNoggin]

Today at 1:00pm. Link can be found here: http://bc.ctvnews.ca/

Fingers Crossed...

Nog

[IronNoggin]

On NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Whonnock Boy]

Working. Missed it. Can you give us a play by play?

[Jack Russell]

Seemed to give the government a fail, but dodged the questions at the end. Cohen seemed to make his point but left it up to the government to follow the recommendations (most of which I did not hear).

[IronNoggin]

In a nutshell...

Move the management of fish farms away from DFO into a separate entity - DFO is in a Direct "Conflict of Interest" in their current role;

Fish Farm siting to be severely scrutinized, and removed in any area where there is any reason to perceive they could negatively impact wild stocks;

The latest changes to the Fisheries Act (especially regarding Habitat) are Problematic and should be revisited - Habitat is CRITICAL for sustainable fish populations;

DFO Pacific "must be adequately resourced", especially so Enforcement. Enforcement should be "scaled up".

More than a little critical of DFO (but did give credit where due to Front Line Troops) as expected. Also critical to some extent of the Harpo Regime regarding the omnibus bills and obscured changes to Habitat & the Fisheries Act.

Many recommendations regarding Directed & Focused Research.

All in all a rather Fine Job IMHO!

Copies of the Final Report are now online, and can be found here: http://www.cohencommission.ca/en/FinalReport/

It will be interesting (and likely Frustrating) to see the spin Harpo et al's paid MouthPieces put on this over the next little while. Given their current direction, seemingly completely opposite of what is recommended in the Report - I ain't holding my breath regarding anything remotely resembling Positive Change.

That said, KUDOS to Cohen for a job rather Well Done! 8)

Cheers,
Nog

[IronNoggin]

From Alex:

Hello

Justice Bruce Cohen just released his Final Report on his 3-year, $26 million commission into the 17-year decline of the Fraser Sockeye.

I want to share Cohen's incredibly strong wording within the confines of his mandate, which was specific to the Fraser sockeye. Clearly, however, Fraser sockeye are not different from other salmon in their vulernability to the array of farm salmon pathogens.

I will write more detail in my blog soon, but I wanted you to know the good news as soon as possible. The Cohen report includes:

Salmon farms have the potential to import exotic viruses and amplify endemic ones
There should be an immediate freeze on farm salmon production on the Fraser sockeye migration route
DFO should be relieved of their duty to promote salmon farms
Mitigation into the impact of salmon farms on wild salmon should not be delayed and should be carried out in the absence of absolute certainty
DFO must assess ALL research done on the impact of farm salmon on wild salmon and if found greater than minimal, the industry must be prohibited from operating on the Fraser sockeye migration route!
Siting criteria has to be revised to include wild salmon migration routes.

As this report is tabled, you should know the Province of BC is in the process of renewing many salmon farm leases. The Province of BC remains the landlord of the industry even though regulation has become federal. If BC offers this industry long term leases, Justice Cohen's recommendations and our $26 million will be wasted. The Province cannot at this point offer these lease renewals without consulting with the Fraser First Nations, because the salmon they have rights to are swimming through effluent from the salmon farms, Cohen is specifically reporting on.

I am actively researching exotic salmon viruses, but if these leases are renewed in the next few weeks, there will be little chance of the Cohen recommendations being acted on.

This report is the result of a massive amount of work, I especially thank my lawyers Lisa Glowacki and Greg McDade - they went the extra mile and beyond!

There is something you can do now. I have created a petition in honour of Cohen's work asking Permier Clark not to renew the salmon farm leases to the sea floor of BC.

If you step up and share it widely, there is a chance our children will have wild salmon in their lives, and honestly it looks like there are tough times ahead, they will need everything we can leave them.

www.change.org/NoSalmonFarmLeases (http://www.change.org/NoSalmonFarmLeases)

In celebration of hope and thanks to you Mr Cohen for seeing the difficult truths,

Alexandra Morton

SIGNED! :mrgreen:

[The Dude]

Waitin' for the "Spin" on this one, Nog.............. let's hope there's some good comes of it.

[f350ps]

Waitin' for the "Spin" on this one, Nog.............. let's hope there's some good comes of it.
My guess would be our very own Ozone will be here very soon just to get the spin started! K

[IronNoggin]

There was "no smoking gun". Of course not, the probability of any single "stressor" being the sole causal agent for the decline was and is infinitesimal. And Yes, the Report did indeed point at a myriad of factors that together most likely worked together in a cumulative effort to create the situation being studied.

Although Cohen did not "rank" these factors according to their level of threat potential, he did make some rather strong statements regarding aquaculture:

"In his three-volume report on the future of the sockeye fishery released Wednesday, Justice Bruce Cohen focuses 11 of his 75 recommendations on the province's salmon-farming industry, addressing issues like government management, the siting of open net-pen farms and the need for more research."

"While Cohen found there was no "smoking gun," no single event or stressor, responsible for the decline between 1992 and 2009, he found Fraser River sockeye faced a "likelihood of harm" from disease and pathogens on farms, especially in the Discovery Islands, located northeast of Campbell River, B.C., between Vancouver Island and the province's mainland."

And yes, he does indeed call for research to begin immediately to determine to what, if any extent the farms pose a problem. Something with which I strongly concur. However he follows by suggesting we follow the Precautionary Principle in this case (something many believe should have been adhered to well before the latest expansion was allowed to occur):

"In the Discovery Islands, the department should not issue any new open net-pen licences, cap production and limit the maximum duration of a licence to one year, starting immediately and at least until Sept. 30, 2020, said Cohen.

If the minister determines open net-pen farms pose more than a minimal risk to Fraser River sockeye, the farms should be ordered to cease operations, he said."

(Above quotes: http://www.globalnews.ca/report+into+decli...5508/story.html (http://www.globalnews.ca/report+into+decline+of+bcs+sockeye+fishery+critica l+of+salmon+farming/6442745508/story.html) )

Which also ties in with his apparent perception that there is more than likely reason for concern here:

"I therefore conclude that the potential harm posed to Fraser River sockeye salmon from salmon farms is serious or irreversible"

All of that said, aquaculture was indeed but one of many factors the Report considers. And I strongly agree with a poster on another forum: "the findings are a damning indictment of the politicization of the DFO and the lack of adequate funding for it to carry out it's mandate":

"It is "regrettable" that the government did not wait to see the conclusions of the inquiry before making changes to the federal Fisheries Act, Cohen told the media Wednesday.

"The amendments to the Fisheries Act cause me concern," ... "I find it difficult to avoid the conclusion that the legislative amendments in Bill C-38 lower the standard of protection for Fraser River sockeye salmon."

Contrary to his recommendations to protect salmon habitat, Cohen said the amendments contained in the Conservatives' omnibus budget legislation appear to expand the circumstances where fish habitat can be harmed.

"DFO's first priority must be the health of wild stocks," Cohen said repeatedly during a news conference."
http://www.globaltvedmonton.com/canada/sal...5004/story.html (http://www.globaltvedmonton.com/canada/salmon+inquiry+report+skewers+ottawa+approach+to+s aving+fraser+river+fishery/6442745004/story.html)

Fisheries and Oceans Canada should no longer be mandated to promote the industry and farmed salmon as a product but should act in accordance with its paramount regulatory objective of conserving wild fish
http://www.globalnews.ca/report+into+decli...5508/story.html (http://www.globalnews.ca/report+into+decline+of+bcs+sockeye+fishery+critica l+of+salmon+farming/6442745508/story.html)

"Former B.C. Supreme Court Justice Bruce Cohen took aim at the federal government Wednesday in his much-anticipated report on the decline of Fraser River sockeye. He said he was “troubled” by recent amendments to the environmental process and the Fisheries Act by Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative government.

“Many experts have emphasized the importance of protecting fish habitat, promoting biodiversity and adopting ecosystem-based management practices,” said Cohen. “However, the recent amendments to the Fisheries Act appear to be taking (the Department of Fisheries and Oceans) in a very different direction.”

He also noted “concern” over staff cuts in DFO’s Pacific Region habitat management program. The Conservatives cut $79 million, or 5.8 per cent, from DFO’s total budget this year.

In particular, Cohen noted amendments to the Fisheries Act shift emphasis from fish and habitat protection to the protection of fisheries. That change lowers the standard of protection for Fraser River sockeye salmon, Cohen said.

Cohen called on the federal government to properly fund and implement DFO’s own 2005 wild salmon and 1986 habitat policies.

The wild salmon policy is meant to restore and maintain healthy and diverse salmon populations and their habitats “for the enjoyment of the people of Canada in perpetuity.” But Cohen said he has no confidence the policy will ever be implemented without dedicated funding.

Cohen also concluded DFO is not achieving its goal of a net gain in productive fish habitat, or of “no net loss” of habitat, under the 1986 habitat policy."
http://www.vancouversun.com/mobile/busines...7848/story.html (http://www.vancouversun.com/mobile/business/news/Salmon+inquiry+commissioner+critical+Fisheries+cha nges/7477848/story.html)

“You can’t have healthy wild fish if you don’t have healthy habitat.”

DFO’s first priority should be the health of the wild stocks and aquaculture should be removed from DFO’s mandate, Cohen recommended.

“When DFO has simultaneous mandates to conserve wild stocks and promote the salmon farming industry, there are circumstances when it finds itself in conflict of interest because of divided loyalties,” he said.

Changes in salmon management are needed and DFO needs to conduct more research as there is a lack of data, the report says.
http://www.timescolonist.com/Report+calls+...7997/story.html (http://www.timescolonist.com/Report+calls+freeze+fish+farms+Vancouver+Island/7477997/story.html)

Most who have witnessed DFO's particular form of salmon "management" will obviously agree with Cohen - He makes some rather damning points regarding DFO and the Harpo Government's apparent disregard for the former's mandate and function. And most will also likely concur in that Something MUST Be Done to rectify that situation. I fear however that those two entities are scrambling to pay little more than Lip Service to Cohen's findings, and that his ideal reflected in the below statement will be all but ignored...

“I urge the federal government, in the interests of conserving the iconic species of salmon, to heed my findings and to implement these recommendations,” Cohen said at a news conference. “If implementing the recommendations is delayed, the ongoing threats to the stocks will make remedial action all the more challenging when it does begin.”
http://www.vancouversun.com/mobile/busines...7848/story.html (http://www.vancouversun.com/mobile/business/news/Salmon+inquiry+commissioner+critical+Fisheries+cha nges/7477848/story.html)

The government did not commit to implementing any of the recommendations, and Kamp defended the Fisheries Act changes.
"What we think the amendments to the Fisheries Act ... did is allow us to focus on the protection of the fisheries that Canadians value — commercial, recreational and aboriginal fisheries." http://www.bcfishingreports.com/forums/images/smilies/confused.png
http://www.globaltvedmonton.com/canada/sal...5004/story.html (http://www.globaltvedmonton.com/canada/salmon+inquiry+report+skewers+ottawa+approach+to+s aving+fraser+river+fishery/6442745004/story.html)

In closing this post, I suggest that Cohen is right: DFO NEEDS to be re-vamped, NEEDS to be adequately resourced, NEEDS a Dedicated Focus on Habitat and Science and that the Harpo government NEEDS to stop both reducing the level/competency of our Scientists, and muzzling them when their findings are counter to their own ongoing Agenda.

And while the aquaculture industry represents but one factor in the Report, I suggest Cohen's findings and concerns in this regard are well founded and should be adhered to: Precaution FIRST, Research second, and Reaction Swift should "the minister determine open net-pen farms pose more than a minimal risk to Fraser River sockeye".

Cheers,
Nog

[Whonnock Boy]

Thanks for the update Nog.

[IronNoggin]

For those who didn't get the chance to see the Press Conference: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qt49I2fadhg&feature=youtu.be