The Wild Salmon Defenders Alliance participated in a rally at MLA Rick Glumac’s constituency office with organizers from the Watershed Watch Salmon Society and other concerned citizens. Multiple rallies were also held at the same time in the lower mainland and on Vancouver island. We are demanding that the NDP-Green provincial government cancel the tenures to fish farms in the Broughton archipelago which are due for renewal in just a few days on June 20/18. We were honoured that Ronnie Dean-Harris welcomed us to the territory of the Kwikwetlem First Nation and joined us in singing the sacred songs celebrating wild salmon, the eagle and spirit bear. We also wish to thank the raging Grannies of Maple Ridge who came out and sang their unique version of “Where have all the salmon gone?”.

MLA Rick Glumac came outside to speak with us about his own concerns for wild salmon and told us that the government will be discussing the fish farm tenures tomorrow. We encouraged him to be a strong advocate for wild salmon, and help BC join Washington, Oregon, California and Alaska to make the entire Pacific coast a fish farm free zone.

Eddie spoke about the irrefutable science coming from both Canada and the USA which shows that fish farms are harming wild salmon. He stated that the Fraser river and USA Nations are in solidarity with the Vancouver Island Nations working to evict fish farms from their territory. Other speakers shared their concerns about endangered orca, who also need wild salmon to survive, and the terrible impact that poor salmon returns are having on Indigenous communities on the coast and all the way up the Fraser river.

Many thanks to the Watershed Watch Salmon Society for organizing multiple rallies at the Premier’s and key Ministers’ offices today!

WSDA vows to continue to hold rallies at government offices until they remove open net pen salmon farms from the Salish sea once and for all!