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Coalition stands behind fi sh farms................................Pages
By Eric Plummer Ha-Shilth-Sa Editor
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Ahousaht, BC - In two and a half months salmon farms throughout the B.C. coast are due to expire, with no fi rm commitment yet from the federal government to renew these licences. But as uncertainty hangs over the controversial industry, the man speaking for Ahousaht’s Tyee is standing in support of aquaculture in his territory, with a claim that a failure from the government to support salmon farms in Ahousaht waters will betray commitments to reconciliation with First Nations. “Cermaq has done more for wild salmon conservation and restoration in our territory than the federal or provincial governments combined,” said Hasheukumiss (Richard George), who is standing in for his father, Ahousaht Tyee Ha’wilth Maquinna (Lewis George). Cermaq runs 14 sites in Clayoquot Sound, which are among the 79 salmon farming licences up for renewal on June 30. As Fisheries and Oceans Canada undergoes consultations with coastal First Nations this year on the future of salmon farming in the province, Minister Joyce Murray is operating under a mandate to make “a responsible plan to transition from open net-pen salmon farming in coastal British Columbia by 2025,” according to the directive delivered by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. For years environmental groups, as well as notable advocacy from the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, have been calling for the removal of ocean-based salmon farms to have the facilities placed on land. Many are concerned that the practice is a factor in the collapse of wild Pacifi c salmon stocks, as the close proximity of farmed fi sh act as a breeding ground for sea lice and other pathogens that can pass onto wild species as they migrate by net pens. But this year a coalition of Indigenous groups are standing behind the industry, warning that removing salmon farms from the B.C. coast would lead to economic devastation for the 17 First Nations who currently have agreements with aquaculture companies. Along with leaders from the Kitasoo Xai’xais, Tlowitsis and Wei Wai Kum First Nations, Hasheukumiss is defending what salmon farming has done for his community. Since 2006, Cermaq has run its farms in Ahousaht’s waters under a protocol agreement, which entails employment, environmental stewardship, wild salmon enhancement initiatives, benefi t sharing arrangements and community projects, which have helped the nation to progress economic initiatives in its territory. Nineteen Ahousaht members work for Cermaq, but since 2015 the relationship has also brought $325,000 for the Ahousaht Salmon Enhancement Program and $287,500 from the company for the Ahousaht Employment and Training Program. Another $595,000 in support came from Cermaq over the fi rst year of the COVID-19 pandemic, a period that brought lockdowns and curfews as Ahousaht worked to prevent infection from entering its remote community. Habitat restoration work, clean up projects, scholarships, sports and cultural events have also been supported as part of the agreement with Cermaq. “Right now we’re currently in the process of purchasing an $8-million resort to go to health and wellness, which is going to create not only 50 jobs, but also is going to do great, great work for our nation moving forward,” said Hasheukumiss during an event hosted by the Coalition of First Nations for Finfi sh Stewardship on March 21. “To protect these rights of our economic self-determination, our members, our nations call on the federal government to immediately reissue salmon farming licences in our territory.” Years of opposition over salmon farms east of Vancouver Island led to the cancellation of 19 licences in the Discovery Islands, which was announced by former fi sheries minister Bernadette Jordan in December 2020. The coalition warns that future closures will harm the social fabric of their communities. “Leaders in this coalition have seen and experienced the devastation that poverty can have in their communities, with high unemployment, addiction, and suicide,” reads a statement from the coalition issued in March. “Having long-term economic opportunities (like current agreements with salmon farming companies) that the nations manage is the foundation for the renewal of their communities.” While salmon farming presents employment opportunities that might otherwise be hard to come by in remote coastal communities, many fear that the practice has disrupted wild stocks. After peaking at over 40 million in the early 1990s, Pacifi c salmon catches have declined to under 10 million for most years over the last decade, according to the DFO’s State of the Salmon Program. Now three quarters of the salmon harvested in B.C. come from fi sh farms. “Sea lice is one of the biggest environmental concerns our nation has,” said Hasheukumiss, noting how Cermaq has closely monitored this pathogen in recent years. “This has been a big step forward holding Cermaq accountable.” Since 2016, Cermaq has funded a wild juvenile salmon monitoring program in
Photos submitted by Coalition of First Nations for Finfi Johnny Amos (far right) manages Creative Salmon’s Baxter Islet farm site in Tofi no Inlet in Tla-o-quiaht territory. Johnny, along with all his crew, live in the nearby Tlao-qui-aht community of Ty-histanis. From left: Isiah David, Donovan Hayes, Sean Hayes, and Connor Yellowbird. Al Titian (below) is a boat operator wit
Ahousaht is speaking up with an Indigenous group in favour of keeping salmon farms for the social and economic benefi t of First Nations
Photos submitted by Coalition of First Nations for Finfi sh Stewardship Tofi no Inlet in Tla-o-quiaht territory. Johnny, along with all his crew, live in the nearby TlaTy-histanis. From left: Isiah David, Donovan Hayes, Sean Hayes, and Connor Yellowbird. Al Titian (below) is a boat operator with Cermaq.
Clayoquot Sound, collecting samples of chum and coho from 18 locations near its farms in March, April and May during outmigration periods. Over 800 salmon were analysed each year, with lice detected on anywhere from 20 to 40.8 per cent of fi sh, the highest counts recorded in 2018 during Clayoquot Sound’s outbreaks that caused emergency measures in some farms. Last year 28 per cent of the salmon sampled had lice, an average of just over two motiles per fi sh. Cermaq has dealt with Ahousaht’s concerns by lowering the regulated threshold of three lice per salmon to 1.5 for farms in the First Nation’s territory. This applies to the period of salmon outmigration, running from February to the end of July. While the industry awaits a decision from the federal government, Hasheukumiss has been struggling to replicate the positive relationship he had with Jordan, as he met with the former minister in person several times. As the feds weigh diff ering infl uences vying to change the direction of salmon farming, the Ahousaht leader fears he may be “dealing with another minister that’s really pushing for the activist side, listening to the activists prior to listening to the Indigenous and our concerns moving forward.”
Bamfi eld Marine Science Centre video still Nova Harvest President J.P. Hastey uses stack farms to grow oysters in deep water in Barkley Sound.
Ocean farming produces shellfi sh seed
Oyster and clam farming is benefi Å ing the surrounding ecosystem, says company
By Karly Blats Ha-Shilth-Sa Contributor
Bamfi eld, BC - Regenerative ocean farming is taking place in Barkley Sound in the traditional territory of the Huu-ay-aht First Nations to maintain the sustainable creation of ocean products like oysters and clams. Aquaculture company Nova Harvest has been operating out of Bamfi eld since 2011, producing oyster and clam seed for local shellfi sh farmers while applying innovative, science-based solutions to support the development of the shellfi sh industry in the province. Nova Harvest operates a hatchery where they breed millions of oyster seed and an ocean-based nursery for the seeds to grow. The company uses regenerative ocean practices by growing the shellfi sh using no additional fresh water, fertilizer or feed. Indigenous people in B.C. have been farming renewable ocean crops like shellfi sh and kelp for thousands of years. When shellfi sh are farmed in protected coastal areas, they create additional habitat space for species like sea cucumbers, rock fi sh and juvenile salmon. The Bamfi eld Marine Science Centre (BMSC) has produced a series of documentary-style webinars focusing on climate action. In their fi nal webinar of 13, host Aneri Garg spoke with Nova Harvest staff to highlight the company’s regenerative farming methods. “The majority of what we produce is oyster seed for the B.C. oyster industry, we also do some Manila clams,” said hatchery manager Angela Fortune in the BMSC webinar. “We have ocean nurseries, a farm and a processing plant. With that we have three ocean tenures and have recently just started a joint venture/partnership with the investment arm of the Huu-ay-aht Group of Businesses.” Fortune said oysters and clams are the most sustainable protein on the planet and growing them has a net positive impact on the surrounding environment. “The biodiversity of an area surrounding a shellfi sh farm is incredible. All the diff erent animals around it like to settle in and grow, or the fi ltering of water that helps other species get light or increase water quality,” Fortune said. Once the oysters are large enough, they leave the main hatchery and move into Nova’s greenhouse nurseries. Then they’ll either be sold to customers, or if they’re staying local to the west coast, they’ll be put into a fl oating upwelling system. The fl oating upwelling system is a structure that fl oats at the surface of the water and acts as a nursery for the growing oysters. Held in tanks off each of the off shoot arms, oyster larvae are constantly feeding on the naturally occurring algae in the water. Nova Harvest also farms using a system called fl ip farms, which is a method of growing oysters in bins at the surface of the water along long lines of rope. Originating from New Zealand, this farming system helps keep water fl owing through the bins to keep oysters well fed. “Anywhere you put a hard substrate, life fi nds it and starts growing a system around it,” said J.P Hastey, president and founding member of Nova Harvest. “That’s what oysters are, just massive amounts of surface area. They’re removing nutrients from the environment, they also are supplying habitat or substrate for other things to live on, in and around and that’s kind of the ecosystem that gets created by these farms to provide that net benefi t to the system.” Another system Nova Harvest uses for farming oysters is called stack farms which consist of vertical stacks to grow oysters in deep water. “[Stack farms] are a lot more effi cient use of the water column in a specifi c area. You can get a lot more production out of your farm, being able to farm beyond just the water surface area,” Hastey said. “You have a lot more access to a lot more water, a lot more fl ow.” Hastey said his team is working with business partners, like the Huu-ay-aht, to develop a new technology to automate many of the components of farming. “That’s something we think is really important for developing the industry and growing more product,” Hastey said. “Our goal or vision is to have a scaleable farming model so we can grow really meaningful supplies of shellfi sh, so that means limiting handling at every step that we can. Workers aren’t doing jobs that machines should be doing, they’re focusing more on operator-type positions of the machines and that way we could handle more product and push more to the consumer.” Hastey said the more oyster farming Nova Harvest does in Barkley Sound, the better the environment will be around the system. “Regenerative farming is kind of a new term you’re hearing to describe this but it has been going on since the beginning of shellfi sh farming, which is something the First Nations did thousands of years ago,” he said. “[Oysters] are one of few things you can grow that have a net benefi t on the system…and that’s what’s really amazing about it.” Nova Harvest is also an anchor tenant at the regional food processing hub, The Dock +, next to Tyee Landing in Port Alberni.
The NBA-sized facility built on the former site of a student dormitory at the Alberni Indian Residential School
By Eric Plummer Ha-Shilth-Sa Editor
Port Alberni, BC - On a crisp, spring morning children from Haahuupayak Elementary school danced on the site where, generations before, their ancestors were housed at the Alberni Indian Residential School. A basketball court is nearly complete on the location where Peake Hall once stood, a structure built in 1954 to serve as a dormitory for the assimilationist institution, which took in First Nations children from across the West Coast and B.C.’s Interior. After being run for most of a century, the residential school closed in 1973, followed by the demolition of Peake Hall in 2009. On April 14 the Tseshaht First Nation celebrated the new basketball court, with traditional performances by the students before some residential school survivors who knew Peake Hall intimately. “It was a good feeling that it’s being put to a good cause,” said Wally Samuel, who attended the residential school as a child. “A good use, for an area where we had bad times.” The basketball court has NBA dimensions, with ten feet from the court boundary to the surrounding fence to provide a spacious area where spectator benches will be installed. “We still have lines to paint, lighting to install and benches,” said Tseshaht Chief Councillor Ken Watts. “We got a donation from a local fundraising group for that.” Supported by the First Nations Gaming Revenue Limited Partnership, Cisaa Forestry LLP, some internal funds and local donations, the court was built at a cost of over $75,000, during a time when the COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt the execution of building projects. “Everything from asphalt to the hoops to everything else has all been delayed for the past several months due to COVID,” said Watts. It was the pandemic’s eff ects on the First Nation’s ability to keep physically active that highlighted the need for such a facility. “Many members since COVID-19 have said, ‘Hey, our kids are sitting at home, they’re not getting out, they have to keep
Photos by Holly Stocking Students from Haahuupayak Elementary School dance on a new basketball court, on the site where a building from the Alberni Indian Residential School once stood. their distance’,” Watts noted, adding that an outdoor facility made sense as concerns of infection continued. “Many people in our community have been saying, ‘We need to create a space for our youth to participate in physical activity.’ Basketball being such a core staple of our community’s sports and recreation, that seemed like a logical fi t.” Next to the basketball court Caldwell Hall still stands. Currently being used by the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council, the former residential school building remains a reminder of the institution’s painful legacy. The Tseshaht have hopes of using the site for a future multi-purpose building that facilitates health and wellness-focused activities, but more details need to be worked through before any fi rm plans can be made, explained Watts. “The teardown of Caldwell Hall will happen, we just need to fi nalize when with Canada. But we also need to have some certainty that they’re going to help us rebuild,” he said, noting that other locations on the First Nation’s reserve could house a multi-purpose building as well. “We’re doing feasibility studies on a few diff erent properties to see if it can go there.” Although fi nishing touches like lines and benches have yet to be put in place, the basketball court was already being used by locals on the afternoon of the celebration. Watts said that when it is fi nally complete, residential school survivors will have the fi rst chance to bounce a ball on the new court. “Hopefully by the end of school we have the whole project done,” he said. “We have a ton of members who are interested in getting out there and playing. Before we do that, we want to provide space for survivors, and also make sure our kids are there.” “I look forward to seeing young people having fun there and learning how to be a team - teamwork and community activity,” added Samuel. “It’s great that it’s accessible to a lot of young people. One of the problems of sustaining sports is lack of facilities where people can go just drop in and play a sport.”
Phrase†of†the†week:†Hu%ak%uyi†q’iic^i>%it%iš†%a>†%uu%its†%iih=tup†
Pronounced ‘Who ugk oo you qwi chilth it ish alth ooh it’s iih tup’, it means, ‘The Whales fed us for a long time!’. Supplied by ciisma.
