canada.com, February 9,2011
VICTORIA — Aggressive advertisements by an anti-fish farming group, comparing salmon farming to cancer, have been dismissed as immature and inappropriate by the B.C. Salmon Farmers Association.
The newly formed Global Alliance Against Industrial Aquaculture unveiled the ads — which use graphic images similar to those used in warnings against smoking — at an international seafood conference in Vancouver this week.
"Salmon farming kills around the world and should carry a global health warning," said Don Staniford, GAIAA co-ordinator. "We'll be rolling out the ad campaign later this month in newspapers across B.C. with donations from the general public, concerned fishermen and First Nations." The ads, which carry such slogans such as "salmon farming kills workers" and "salmon farming is just wrong."
They include the Norwegian flag and the words "Norwegian owned," which has brought objections from the Norwegian parent companies of some fish farming companies, Staniford said.
But Kurt Oddekalv, leader of the Norwegian environmental group Norjes Miljovernforbund (Green Warriors of Norway), said salmon farmers are ignoring scientific evidence of health and environmental risks caused by the industry.
"In Norway, the industry is on death row with infectious diseases, sea lice infestations, chemical resistance and escapes," he said.
Mary Ellen Walling, B.C. Salmon Farmers Association executive director, said the advertisements are upsetting.
"We are not planning to respond to those ads. We think they are quite immature, inappropriate and irrelevant. We are not taking them seriously at all," she said.
The Salmon Farmers Association has a website — bcsalmonfacts.ca — on which there is good dialogue on salmon farming, Walling said.
"We are quite pleased with the level of discussion," she said. "Concerns have been raised (about salmon farming) and we realized we really needed to improve communication with the general public."
Major B.C. salmon farming companies and feed companies have pooled resources with the association and are running television and print advertisements emphasizing farmed salmon as sustainable and healthy food.
"We also have serious discussions going on with environmental groups," Walling said.
Source: canada.com
