Conservative Leader Stephen Harper’s promise to invest $15-million in restoring salmon habitat in BC has put the issue on the campaign agenda.
And wild salmon activist Alexandra Morton says it’s an issue that definitely requires attention, and she’s going to push to make sure it stays on the agenda.
She says wild salmon are extraordinarily important to BC. “They bring in a lot of money in the commercial and sport fishery but, also, wilderness tourism is a 1.4 billion dollar industry in Canada and it’s based on salmon; whale watching, bear watching,” Morton says, adding that salmon are also vital to the health of the forests which helps combat climate change.
Morton also says politicians, regardless of party, need to recognize open-ocean fish farming is putting wild salmon at risk. “The single largest, reversible thing, that any government can do for wild salmon is get this Atlantic salmon farming industry off of the Pacific salmon migration routes.”
Morton says candidates who are serious about serving British Columbia need to include a wild salmon strategy in their platforms.
