Podcast appearances and mentions of Alexandra Morton

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents - French filmmaker Jérémy Mathieu's award winning documentary ‘Salmon Secrets,' will be coming to Gorge Hall at 1 PM on Sunday, January 12. This 40 minute film was produced by Clayoquot Action, whose co-founders Bonny Glamback and Dan Lewis will be speaking at the screening. Mike Moore, President of the Friends of Cortes Island (FOCI), stated,   “The film is hosted by FOCI and our streamkeepers who have just done an incredible job working with the highways department to put in new culverts so that the fish can go up beyond Whaletown Road and the Squirrel Cove Road. They've done a lot of work on salmon enhancement projects, but without ocean survival all of those efforts are in vain.” “One thing that we can do to improve ocean survival of the salmon is to remove the salmon farms that are in their way. We can't affect ocean nutrient levels and upwelling currents and plankton, which all feed the salmon when they're out in the North Pacific, but we can keep the salmon farms from transmitting diseases and lice to the wild salmon.” The trailer starts with Joe Martin, of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation, speaking a Nuu-chah-nulth word I cannot pronounce or spell. He said, “ It means that everything is connected. The mountains to the ocean and they're actually connected by salmon. All the Nuu-chah-nulth have survived with that. You don't see that anymore.” As the aerial view of a fish farm came into view, Dan Lewis explained, “The companies are Norwegian. They imported the eggs from the Atlantic Ocean from Europe and those eggs brought with them Piscine Orthoreovirus and the fish here had no defence against it.” Independent biologist Alexandra Morton is depicted staring into a microscope, “I have been looking closely at hundreds of juvenile pink and chum salmon every single year. By the time the juvenile salmon made it to the open ocean they passed four or five salmon farms and they were just dying, hundreds of thousands of them.” John K Forde, from the Marine Mammal Research Unit, added, “Right now the gray whales are having a catastrophic die off. In the spring, we're getting gray whales washing up on shore that are starving to death. If they don't have their food because it's been poisoned by Cermaq, then we won't have any whales through the summer months in this area. This is going to be devastating.” Morton added, “Orcas have culture, and to maintain their culture, they need to gather. For resident orca to gather, there have to be a lot of salmon. That's how they maintain not only their health, but their culture. In recent years, it's been really sad to see them come in. Sometimes they pace up and down, one little family, and then they leave.” You've just been reading a transcript from the trailer for ‘Salmon Secrets.' Dan Lewis was skiing at Mount Washington when Cortes Currents contacted him. He stated, “With this whole fish farm transition, we knew that there would be a compromise. When we looked at the war in the woods, and we were saying, stop clear cutting old growth. What they said was, well, why don't we try variable retention in old growth? We knew there would be some kind of half assed compromise like that being proposed.” “When Cermaq brought a semi closed containment system to Clayoquot Sound in 2020, we knew right away that's what they're going to be pushing for.” “So we've been focusing a lot of effort on that. Our goal is to make sure that there's nothing in the water at the end of this transition. Fish farms in the water, it doesn't matter what kind, they're not going to work.”  “We have an amazing videographer on our team, Jérémy Mathieu. He comes on our Clayoquot Action missions where we monitor the fish farms, and he's collected quite a bit of footage.”

Joining us on episode 35 of After the Breach podcast is special guest Alexandra Morton. She has been called "the Jane Goodall of Canada" because of her incredible thirty-year fight to save British Columbia's wild salmon. She joins hosts Sara and Jeff to talk about her journey from whale researcher to wild salmon activist and back to whale researcher. The episode begins with Alexandra talking about how she got started studying orca communication in California with killer whales Corky and Orky, sharing some fascinating stories from her time with them. She then discusses her move to British Columbia to study wild killer whales, including Corky's family. The conversation moves on to why she turned her attention to lead the fight to save the wild salmon these orcas depend on from the devastating impacts of open net fish farms and industrial aquaculture. Throughout the conversation she shares the challenges she faced, how she found a path to create change and begin the removal of open net salmon farms in B.C. She also shares a few ways people everywhere can help save wild salmon.  We conclude our conversation talking about what is next for her, including a return to her passion for studying killer whales. She tells amazing stories throughout the episode.   Links mentioned in this episode: Alexandra Morton: https://www.alexandramorton.ca/ Books by Alexandra Morton: Not on My Watch:How a renegade whale biologist took on governments and industry to save wild salmon:  https://www.amazon.com/Not-My-Watch-biologist-governments/dp/0735279667 Listening to Whales: What the Orcas Have Taught Us:  https://www.amazon.com/Listening-Whales-What-Orcas-Taught/dp/0345442881 Orcalab: https://orcalab.org/

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The future of fish farms in British Columbia is uncertain. On June 7, Judge Paul Favel supported the Ministry of Fisheries decision to not renew the licenses of 15 fish farms in the Discovery Islands, and denied a joint application by industry and the Laich-kwil-tach Nation for a judicial review. At the end of this month the licenses of the remaining 66 fish farms still operating in this province will expire.  It has been a month since the current  Fisheries Minister, Dianne Lebouthillier, reassured the industry that, “In the mandate letter, I'm asked to put in place a transition plan. It doesn't say that we have to close everything, that we have to close all the aquaculture centres. It really means working to put in place measures to protect wild salmon. I've confirmed that there will be no closure of aquaculture centres in 2025.” Independent biologist Alexandra Morton explained,  “The  recent decision by Judge Favell was a big surprise because DFO staff appear to have worked quite actively in support of the salmon farming industry, particularly the aquaculture management division.  That's why there's an ethics commission, right now, that was launched into how they're handling the science. They made it difficult for the minister to win this lawsuit.  They offered the companies the opportunity to pay for their licenses before the minister had made her decision. So in court, the industry lawyers brought up that the companies had paid for their licenses, they expected them.”   “For reasons like that, and many others, the lawyers cautioned us that we probably would lose this judicial review. We lost the last one as well. So the minister had to go back and make a new decision.  The companies launched a judicial review on the new decision and  we won. The industry is  almost certainly going to appeal the decision.”   “This is going to drag on and on and on, but what the decision did was it alerted the Canadian government to the fact that they can close the salmon farms. They do have what is needed. Their concerns are valid.”   When Judge Favel made his decision about the Discovery Island fish farms, he weighed the opposing concerns of two groups of First Nations.  Seven of the closed fish farms are within traditional territories of the Wei Wai Kum First Nation, We Wai Kai Nation and Kwiakah First Nations, collectively known as the Laich-kwil-tach Nation. Another of the closed farm sites, Raza Island, is off the northern tip of Cortes Island.  In a press release last year, Wei Wai Kai Chief Councillor Ronnie Chickite declared, “This court challenge is not about whether we support fish farming or not – it is about our inherent right as title holders to decide how our territory is used, and determine for ourselves if, when, and how fish farms could operate in the future. We strongly believe the minister's decision to not reissue licences in our territories was a political decision heavily influenced by nations who do not have title in our territory.”  Yet many Indigenous Nations are dependent on sockeye salmon that pass through the Discovery Islands en route to the Fraser River. Judge Favel reasoned, “The Minister owed a deep level of consultation to Indigenous peoples outside the Discovery Islands since the right and potential infringement is of high significance to the Aboriginal peoples and the risk of non-compensable damage is high. Fraser River salmon play a significant role in the exercise of Aboriginal rights by many Indigenous peoples and the risk to the health of the Fraser River salmon posed by fish farms in the Discovery Islands is unacceptably high. In contrast, the risk of non-compensable damage to the Laich-kwil-tach and Klahoose is low because the impact of a decision not to reissue licences is the loss of economic benefits from their territories, which is quantifiable and compensable.”

In today's episode, we will look at the story of Alexandra Morton, a whale researcher whose career took an unexpected turn when the whales all left. Join Clara and Emily on a journey up to British Columbia and learn about what might be causing the collapse of the wild salmon stocks. We explore the life story of a woman who persevered and made tremendous strides in research. References:Bartlett, S. (Host). (2022-Present). The Salmon People [Audio or Video podcast]. Canada's National Observer. The Salmon People podcast | Canada's National Observer: Climate News Morton, A. (2021). Not on my watch: How a renegade whale biologist took on governments and industry to save wild salmon. Random House Canada.Celebrity Wiki. (2020). Alexandra Morton. CelebsAgeWiki. Alexandra Morton Biography, Age, Height, Husband, Net Worth, Family (celebsagewiki.com)Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO). (2018, October 26). Atlantic salmon... a remarkable life cycle. Government of Canada. Atlantic salmon... a remarkable life cycle (dfo-mpo.gc.ca)Pacific Salmon Foundation (2024). Species & lifecycle. Species & Lifecycle | Pacific Salmon Foundation (psf.ca)PacificWild (2024). Pacific salmon species spotlight. Pacific Salmon Species Spotlight - Pacific WildDean, C. (2008, November 3). Saving wild salmon, in hopes of saving the orca. The New York Times. Saving Wild Salmon, in Hopes of Saving the Orca - The New York Times (nytimes.com)Morton, A., Routledge, R., Peet, C., & Ladwig, A. (2004). Sea lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) infection rates on juvenile pink (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) and chum (Oncorhynchus keta) salmon in the nearshore marine environment of British Columbia, Canada. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 61 (2), 147-157. Kibenge, M.J.T., Wang, Y., Gayeski, N., Morton, A., Beardslee, K., McMillan, B., & Kibenge, F. S. B. (2019). Piscine orthoreovirus sequences in escaped farmed Atlantic salmon in Washington and British Columbia. Virology Journal, 16(41). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12985-019-1148-2

Alexandra Morton is a warrior and a shining light who has fought and won her battle against fish farms.  She has committed her life to saving the wild salmon in her local area of Broughton Archipelago on Canada's pristine British Columbia coastline.   She joins Jim and Daire on the latest episode of The Last Salmon to talk about her life of activism, why everyone needs to join in the fight to save the salmon and how success like hers can be achieved. #thelastsalmon #FighttosavetheWildSalmon For regular updates follow the show on Instagram at Instagram.com/TheLastSalmon The Last Salmon is a new podcast hosted by renowned actor, Jim Murray, and award-winning producer, Daire Whelan, which offers hope and solutions to the tragic story that is unfolding for an iconic species in crisis - the wild Atlantic salmon.

Aged 13 I picked up a book in my school library. Listening to whales by Alexandra Morton. It changed my life, It brought me to British Columbia and it brought me to Alex!   Alexandra Morton settled in a remote area of the BC coast in 1984 to study orca vocalizations.  When impact of the industrial salmon farms flooding into the area became apparent, Morton began a 35-year effort to convince government to halt the damage by this industry.  She has published dozens of scientific papers on the impact , built the research station Salmon Coast to document the impact, filed 5 lawsuits and never lost, and then occupied the farms with First Nations for 280 days.  Nearly half salmon farms in BC have now been closed. Another round of consultations are underway on the fate of the remaining farms.  Salmon farming in BC is run by three Norwegian based companies, Greig, Mowi and Cermaq.  Morton's recent book Not on My Watch chronicles, among other things, the coverup of impact of farm salmon pathogens on wild salmon.  Show Notes: - https://www.alexandramorton.ca - https://www.clayoquotaction.org - https://psf.ca - https://bati4salmon.ca

Alexandra Morton has been called "the Jane Goodall of Canada" because of her passionate thirty-year fight to save British Columbia's wild salmon. Her account of that fight is both inspiring in its own right and a roadmap of resistance.Alexandra Morton came north from California in the early 1980s, following her first love--the northern resident orca. In remote Echo Bay, in the Broughton Archipelago, she found the perfect place to settle into all she had ever dreamed of: a lifetime of observing and learning what these big-brained mammals are saying to each other. She was lucky enough to get there just in time to witness a place of true natural abundance, and learned how to thrive in the wilderness as a scientist and a single mother.Then, in 1989, industrial aquaculture moved into the region, chasing the whales away. Her fisherman neighbours asked her if she would write letters on their behalf to government explaining the damage the farms were doing to the fisheries, and one thing led to another. Soon Alex had shifted her scientific focus to documenting the infectious diseases and parasites that pour from the ocean farm pens of Atlantic salmon into the migration routes of wild Pacific salmon, and then to proving their disastrous impact on wild salmon and the entire ecosystem of the coast.Alex stood against the farms, first representing her community, then alone, and at last as part of an uprising that built around her as ancient Indigenous governance resisted a province and a country that wouldn't obey their own court rulings. She has used her science, many acts of protest and the legal system in her unrelenting efforts to save wild salmon and ultimately the whales — a story that reveals her own doggedness and bravery but also shines a bright light on the ways other humans doggedly resist the truth. Here, she brilliantly calls those humans to account for the sake of us all.From the Archives: This live interview was recorded on  May 21, 2002 on the nationally syndicated radio program, hosted by Laura Lee (The Laura Lee Show) . See more at www.lauralee.com Also available in Spotify for download Laura Lee, Laura Lee Show, Conversation4Exploration. Conversation 4 Exploration, ConversationforExploration, Conversation for Exploration, Cuyamungue Institute

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - There have been numerous reports of Pacific White Sided Dolphins in our vicinity this past year. The most recent came from Powell River, where pods of around 200 dolphins were spotted from the shore on December 17th and again on December 28th. One of the reports from Campbell River mentioned more than 100 swimming through Discovery Passage. On their website, Wildwaterways Adventures describes this species in its list of wildlife that fill the Discovery Islands. According to the Times Colonist, “After 100 years of absence, large numbers of Pacific White Sided Dolphins are back in the northern part of British Columbia's Salish Sea.” Cortes Currents asked independent biologist Alexandra Morton if she has heard reports of them from Campbell River, Cortes or any of the other Discovery Islands. Alexandra Morton: Absolutely, there's whale watching vessels down there, I have friends that live down there. I've also seen them there myself. Pacific White Sided Dolphins have definitely been moving throughout the coast. There's a move to start harvesting them again and try to reduce their populations to protect wild fish. I don't see the wisdom in that. There's many reasons to harvest things, but we know from so many examples that when you kill the predators, you actually weaken the prey. Predators are so important. They remove the sick, they cleanse the population of pathogens that could reach damaging proportions. They are part of the ecosystem and I think we need to tread very, very carefully about removing predators. (Morton has a long association with Pacific White Sided Dolphins.) Alexandra Morton:  When I first moved to the Broughton Archipelago in 1984, nobody had seen Pacific White Sided Dolphins in that area. The old timers weren't aware of this species. I went to the Broughton Archipelago to study Orca, and to do that I had a underwater microphone piped into first my boat and then the house 24 hours a day. On Christmas Eve in that year, I picked up their vocalizations on our hydrophone. I didn't know what they were, and so went out on Christmas Day. I don't think my little boy was particularly thrilled, but anyway, I needed to see what species this was. I found seven Pacific White Sided Dolphins. In my arrogance, having just arrived in the area as a scientist, I assumed they were lost because Pacific White Sided Dolphins are generally considered an open ocean species where they're seen in groups of hundreds or even thousands. Over the next 10 years, I either saw them or heard them, or received a report from people about them being there, a couple of times every winter. It was only during the winter months. In 1994, the number of days that I detected dolphins on the hydrophone, or saw them, or got a report from a neighbour, reached almost 20% of the year. The number of dolphins escalated from that little group of 7 to over 500, even 1,000 on some days. More in podcast

The award-winning 2022 documentary Corky is the story of world's longest-held captive orca, the changing public sentiment about orcas in captivity, and the rise of sea sanctuaries. Christine Caruso, the producer and director of Corky joins us to discuss the film. Corky is a member of the Northern Resident killer whale community and was captured on December 11, 1969. We intentionally published this episode on the anniversary of her capture and highly recommend the film, available on Amazon (US & UK) and Vimeo (worldwide). The film is as powerful and emotional as Blackfish, but it is the personal story of Corky. We talk briefly about the Northern Residents, their similarities and differences from the Southern Residents that we see here in the San Juan Islands. They are two distinct populations of salmon-eating orcas. Christine's shares her background as a kindergarten teacher and tells the story of how she went from learning about Corky to making this amazing film.  It was her passion for Corky that lead her to the right people and the right places at the right times.  We then discuss some of the moments from the film, and Corky's life, that stood out for each of us.  Christine talks about her move from Marineland of the Pacific to SeaWorld. Her tankmate, Orky, also a Northern Resident, was being removed from their tank first. Christine talks about how Corky desperately tried to get into the sling with him, not wanting to be separated. Sara recounted Corky and Orky's daily sunlight ceremony, how they marked where the sun would rise each morning and celebrated. You gotta see the film to really get the mysticism of this. Jeff recounted a pivotal life changing encounter with a Northern Resident, A61, and learned in the film that he is Corky's cousin. Christine then talks about her experience of watching the audience go through Corky's journey at the screening at the Friday Harbor Film Festival in October. The film won 2 awards at it's first film festival, the Audience Choice awards for Tales from the Heart and On Demand Best Feature. We conclude our conversation with Christine by talking about Corky's future and the hope that she will be retired to a sanctuary, under human care, in her home waters. As featured in the film, there is already an ideal site waiting for her. We talk about what that would be like for Corky, to be able to feel the tides, the kelp beds, and be in acoustic range of her community. See links below how people can get involved and where you can see the film. Please watch the film and share with your friends. Help us to help Corky share her story. At the end of the episode we talk about recent sightings and some previews to our upcoming episodes, including Sara's winter adventure to Australia to spend time with the Bremer Canyon killer whales and our upcoming trip with CBA to the Silver Bank. If you are enjoying listening to our podcast, please follow/subscribe, leave us feedback/reviews and share with your friends! You can also find us on Instagram, Facebook and Youtube. Please send us feedback or questions at afterthebreachpodcast@gmail.com. For complete show notes, links and photos, please visit our website: https://www.afterthebreachpodcast.com/e/episode-10-corky/ Links mentioned in this episode: View Corky on Amazon (US and UK): https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0B5PNS12D/ View Corky on Vimeo (worldwide): https://vimeo.com/ondemand/corky Corky documentary Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/CorkyDocumentary Double Bay Sanctuary: https://doublebaysanctuary.org/ Keiko the Untold Story: https://www.keikotheuntoldstory.com/ Listening to Whales: What the Orcas Have Taught Us, by Alexandra Morton: https://www.amazon.com/Listening-Whales-What-Orcas-Taught/dp/0345442881 OrcaLab: https://orcalab.org/ Bay Cetology: https://baycetology.org/ The Whale Sanctuary Project: https://whalesanctuaryproject.org/ Nonhuman Rights Project: https://www.nonhumanrights.org/ Photos              

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - A new study published by the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, states that 70% of the samples taken from 56 fish farms had PRV-1. One of the co-authors is independent biologist Alexandra Morton, who explained, “The study was my concept and I funded a lot of the analysis and did a lot of the sampling myself. It was truly collaborative with Clayoquot Action sampling the Farms in Clayoquot Sound. An extraordinary man, Dr. Neil Fraser from Powell River got in his speed boat and went to the central coast. The Wild Fish Conservancy down in Washington State, sampled farms there. So it was a sustained effort by a lot of people, and then Dr. Gideon Mordecai did the analysis of the relationship between the different strains that we picked up.” Cortes Currents reached out to Dr Mordecai, lead author of this paper and a Research Associate with the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries at UBC. He is currently on vacation but emailed that he will be ‘happy to chat' after he returns. I also wrote the BC Salmon Farmers Association and was provided with a few immediate observations from Brian Kingzett, their Director of Science and Policy. I will read these out after discussing some of the findings of this paper. Some of the Discovery Island sites where Morton and her colleagues took samples are also within our broadcast area. So I asked Morton for any details she had about Raza Island, which is off the Northern tip of Cortes Island, and the Okisollo Channel, which is between Quadra and Sonora Islands.

In this episode we talk with Alexandra Morton, who's been called the Jane Goodall of Canada. After spending years studying the language of resident Orcas along a remote stretch of British Columbia she turned her attention to the salmon farms that displaced the Orcas and harmed the wild salmon they feed on.  Morton discusses Orcas, her decades long fight with the industry and ultimately how she –with Indigenous first nations - helped shut down the industrial fish farms. Plus she imitates what Orcas sound like when they're talking.   Rising Tide, the Ocean Podcast is co-hosted by Blue Frontier's David Helvarg and the Inland Ocean Coalition's Vicki Nichols-Goldstein. This podcast aims to give you information, inspiration and motivation (along with a few laughs) to help understand our ocean world and make it better. The ocean is rising, and so are we!Learn more at bluefront.org

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents -More than 11,000 Pink Salmon are said to have returned to the Ahta River this September. This is more fish than the river has seen for many years and Alexandra Morton believes this is because Glacier Falls and Burdwood salmon farms were removed from their migration route. She is not the only one suggesting that this year's numbers are a result of removing salmon farms from the Broughton Archipelago. In August, Chief Bob Chamberlain of the First Nations Wild Salmon Alliance told the Vancouver Sun they haven't seen these numbers in decades. Ruth Salmon, Interim Executive Director at the BC Salmon Farmers Association, calls this statement a mixture of ‘misrepresentation' and ‘speculation.'

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - “Last week, the Minister Fisheries, Joyce Murray, went on the road and she traveled the length of Vancouver Island talking to people, First Nations environmental organizations, scientists, about the transition of salmon farms in British Columbia. This is incredible. I've never seen a minister go on the road before, and I have so much respect for her for doing this,” said independent biologist Alexandra Morton. A BC Salmon Farmers Association spokesperson a list of facilities emailed that Murray visited: Cermaq Canada's Millar Channel farm and semi-closed containment site in Clayoquot Sound. One of Creative Salmon's Chinook farms and their processing plant in Tofino. MOWI's Shelter Pass farm in Port Hardy and their Big Tree Creek Hatchery in Sayward.  Murray is said to have met with industry and expressed an interest in co-developing a Transition Plan. According to the industry spokesperson, “The Minister is focused on a range of metrics driving the ongoing transition to reduce or eliminate risk to wild salmon rather than push a specific type of technology. Innovations achieved to meet specific metrics will depend on the preference of each Nation whose territories we operate in.”    Ruth Salmon, Interim Executive Director of the BC Salmon Farmers Association, issued a press release stating, “Salmon farming is continuously evolving, improving, and innovating, which can come as a surprise to those outside of the farming community. It was a pleasure to meet with the Minister and her team to not only discuss these improvements but showcase them, as she visited several farm sites and a hatchery.” Morton was concerned about the degree of industry influence: “The meetings were run by the Director of Aquaculture Management, and this person was reprimanded twice this year by her superiors for failing to include the science that DFO is doing that is showing significant impact of salmon farms on Pacific Salmon.” “She left this information out of a briefing to the Minister before she went in front of the standing committee on Fisheries and Oceans. She left it out of the report to the Committee of the Whole on DFOs 2022/2023 main estimates, basically the funding that DFO needs going forward. These are really high level government document that did not include important information about the salmon farming industry — that it is impacting, that it is harming, that it is spreading pathogens to wild salmon. One of these emails to this Director says, ‘This is a glaring omission that needs to be patched rapidly.' Has it been patched? I don't know.” “This person is now out on the road with the Minister. Is she filtering the information that is coming in from all of these people who are worried about the state of wild salmon and want these salmon farms removed from the ocean and put into tanks? We don't know.”

In our final porpisode with Kendra, we finish the last four chapters of Listening to Whales by Alexandra Morton. We highly recommend this book to anyone interested in whales or a story about perseverance. Warning: For some reason, we started talking about explicit around minute 28, so if you don't want to hear that, stop lis tening then.

This week Liam and Erica talked about the progress in regard to an oil spill as a result of the vessel sinking with 2,600 gallons of off fuel near SJI. They also discussed chapters 17-19 of Listening to Whales by Alexandra Morton. Note: We uploaded the wrong episode last week, whoops :)

This week Liam and Erica talked about the progress in regard to an oil spill as a result of the vessel sinking with 2,600 gallons of off fuel near SJI. They also discussed chapters 17-19 of Listening to Whales by Alexandra Morton.

This week Liam, Kendra, and Erica discussed topics related to Chapters 14-16 of Listening to Whales by Alexandra Morton including sustainability and evolving perspectives

Chris Bennett runs Blackfish Lodge, 300 kilometres north of Vancouver where Canada's West Coast crumbles into the Pacific Ocean. His guests are from all over the world. They come to see B.C.'s wildlife, but especially the salmon. Chris was out with a group of tourists when he looked into the water alongside his boat and noticed young salmon — called smolts — acting strangely. He drove down the coast with a few smolts in a bucket to show to Alexandra Morton, a neighbour who studied orcas. It was the first clue in a mystery of disappearing salmon, and Alex, an unlikely detective, stepped up.We are crowdfunding to cover the cost of this podcast. If you'd like to contribute, as little as five dollars per month can help support this work: https://www.nationalobserver.com/donate/podcasts.

If you take a boat along the coast of northern British Columbia, you'll see towering deciduous trees and snow-capped peaks, small islands, big islands and scattered throughout it all … fish farms. Dozens of them. Alexandra Morton remembers their arrival — remembers the Gold Rush when anyone who wanted a fish farm license got one. And she remembers how the government tricked coastal people into pointing out the best wild salmon habitat.We are crowdfunding to cover the cost of this podcast. If you'd like to contribute, as little as five dollars per month can help support this work: https://www.nationalobserver.com/donate/podcasts.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Large numbers of pink salmon are returning to our area this summer. “I am seeing these pink salmon return – their numbers appear huge, they are leaping everywhere, finning along the surface for hundreds of kilometers,” emailed independant biologist Alexandra Morton. Lara Sloan, a communications advisor with Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), wrote they are expecting a strong return to the Campbell River, based on the strong outmigration from the 2020 brood, cooler ocean temperatures and better food. She added, “The numbers of pink salmon in the Campbell River are similar to 2020 at this stage.” Streamkeeper Cec Robinson pointed out that there isn't a pink run on Cortes Island. “Sometimes on a big pink year, a few ‘vagabonds' stray into our creeks, but not on a regular basis.” A few showed up in Basil Creek during 2015. There have been some good pink runs on Quadra Island in recent years. A couple of dozen fishermen were strung out along the banks of the Campbell River, when Cortes Currents dropped by on July 28. One of them remarked that the pinks seemed unusually small. Sloan disagreed, “the fish are bigger than last year and 2020.” “The 2022 Return are from the 2020 Brood who went out in 2021 where ocean conditions had significantly improved and more conducive to improved salmon survival. Pink fry leaving the Quinsam in 2021 were estimated just under 11 million natural production along with just over 4 million of hatchery supplementation (Total Production of ~15 million contribution to the 2022 return).” Morton pointed to the removal of fish farms from the Discovery Islands, “These are the first generation of salmon to return after swimming through the salmon farm clearances in the spring of 2021. I counted the lice on pinks that spring and issued the huge thank you to Bernadette Jordan because they were so clean.” She added, “Clearly ocean conditions were exceptionally good, so this (strong Pink Run) is a combination of factors.”

In this week's episode Liam, Kendra, and Erica dove into chapters 5 & 6 of Listening to Whales by Alexandra Morton. They also covered recent SRKW news regarding the Biden administration weighing in breaching the Lower Snake River dams, a new K pod calf, and the recent declaration of vulnerability in 13 individual Southern Residents. More Sources: https://wdfw.wa.gov/sites/default/files/about/regulations/filings/2022/WSR%2022-14-068.pdf

Investigative journalists Douglas Frantz and Catherine Collins chats with Trey Elling about SALMON WARS: THE DARK UNDERBELLY OF OUR FAVORITE FISH. Topics include: The genesis of this book (0:49) How the farmed salmon industry is like Big Tobacco and Big Ag rolled into one (3:04) How embedded farmed salmon is in our food supply (5:27) Properly labelling seafood (7:16) The evolution of commercial salmon farming (8:21) The Canadian government's role in the rise in that country's open-net farms in the 1980s (9:51) Norway's Hydro Seafood and its role in expanding salmon farming (13:39) Sea lice and their damage on farmed salmon (16:19) The dangers of farmed salmon escaping back into the wild (18:15) The concern around Cypermethrin for fish and humans (19:30) Alexandra Morton as a hero in this terrifying story (23:30) How the farmed salmon industry responds to scientific findings critical of their business (25:36) The right way to farm salmon (27:15) The reliability of a store claiming its fish is wild caught (30:54) Comparing Omega 3 levels in farmed- vs wild salmon (32:32) Why salmon farmers add dye to the chemical pellets they feed their fish (36:43) What Canada's Cohen Commission uncovered about dwindling wild salmon populations (37:50) Whether Norway does a good job of protecting its salmon (41:10) The added issue of salmon farm litter (43:19) An ecological disaster perpetuated by Cook Aquaculture in 2017 (44:40) The Miramichi River as a reason for optimism in the fight for wild salmon (57:56) Whether Doug and Catherine are concerned about industry pushback (49:41)

Alexandra Morton is a biologist and an activist. For decades she has studied Orca communication and fought for the health of Wild Salmon on the west coast.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - It has been three weeks since a federal court ruled that former Federal Fisheries and Oceans Minister Bernadette Jordan breached the rights of B.C. salmon farmers to procedural fairness, when she ordered them to phase out their operations in the Discovery Islands by June 2022.  Now Cermaq Canada is returning to its site on Raza Island. This is just across from the northern tip of Cortes Island, and in the unceded territory of four First Nations. “People who live and work in the Discovery Islands have been sending me photographs of the Raza Island farm, which for some reason Cermaq is setting up. They've got the pens, they've towed houses down from the Broughton Archipelago and hooked them up. So far they don't have nets, but they have invested a lot of money dragging that equipment in there and setting it up,” explained independent biologist Alexandra Morton. A Cermaq spokesperson emailed, “We will not be entering smolts in our Raza Island site this Spring and we are awaiting the Federal Government and DFO's decisions on license reissuance, including the Discovery Islands region.  We have not received any clarification from DFO on their interpretation of the decision. Cermaq Canada wishes to seek agreements where possible, in any areas where we farm.”  Morton added, “I guess Cermaq is hoping that the minister is going to be pressured into granting them this license, but what is alarming to me is they're putting it in Homalco Klahoose territory. They decided to make this statement in territory where the nations spent a lot of money and time to get rid of them.” The Klahoose and Homalco are among the 102 First Nations that signed a joint letter calling for a transition of open-net pen fish farms out of BC waters. Cortes Currents asked what they think of Cermaq's return to Raza Island. Chief Darren Blaney of the Homalco First Nation emailed, “We have said no, and we are getting our lawyer to send a letter telling them we do not want them there.” The Klahoose and Homalco were among the seven Discovery Island Nations that Jordan consulted prior to making her decision about phasing out fish farms. The other two First Nations claiming Raza Island are also in the group Jordan contacted. “We Wai Kai and Wei Wai Kum were much more friendly towards Cermaq. Cermaq gave them the provincial tenures to their farms,” said Morton. They are listed as members of the Coalition of First Nations for Finfish Stewardship, which supports fish farms.

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents - As we get closer to June 30, when the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has to decide whether to reissue the licenses for 79 British Columbian salmon farms, independent biologist Alexandra Morton points to yet more problems. A recent Global and Mail article revealed the existence of a decade old Department of Fisheries (DFO) report about the ‘transmission of the PRV virus from farmed to wild salmon.' Morton said the fish farm industry has exceeded the three lice per fish threshold every week since the out-migration season began on March first. Two to five active farms have exceeded that limit every week, for the past five weeks. Morton claims that no sooner had the industry brought the lice on one farm under control, than another exceeds the limit. “DFO recognizes that sea lice breeding on salmon farms is a threat to young wild salmon because in the conditions of license, they asked the industry to stay below three adult lice per farm fish to protect the young wild salmon,” she said. A spokesperson for the BC Farmer's Association emailed,” During the out-migration window, sea lice counts must be conducted within the first week of the window – and once every 2 weeks thereafter. The results of each counting event must be submitted to DFO by the 15th of the following month. If the sea lice count exceeds the threshold of 3 lice per fish, DFO must be notified within 48 hours – and a plan must be presented describing the sea lice management measures that will be undertaken to reduce sea lice levels below the threshold level within 42 days.” Morton says this 42 loophole effectively eliminates the 3 lice per fish limit Much more

Sea Shepherd Captain, Paul Watson (@CaptPaulWatson), talks with Mark Leiren-Young (@leirenyoung) on getting political, remembering Rob Stewart, saving salmon with Alexandra Morton and the Sea Shepherd Navy!

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - On Monday a new study confirmed what environmentalists have been saying for years, sea lice have developed a resistance to SLICE the treatment fish farms most often use against them. “in many ways, this paper mark's a new era. First Nations are very keen to manage their territories. One of the extraordinary things about this paper is two First Nation Chiefs are co-authors,” explained independent biologist Alexandra Morton. “They didn't write the science, but they made it possible for this science to occur, which is one of the measures of whether you can be an author of a scientific paper.” The scientists who worked on 'Salmon lice in the Pacific Ocean show evidence of evolved resistance to parasiticide treatment' said this paper would not have been possible were it not for the Namgis, Mamalilikulla and Kwikwasut'inuxw Haxwa'mis Nations. This is the first time have been given access to raw bioassay data and it was only possible because First Nations were given a monitoring and management role over fish farms operating in the Brought Archipelago. “In a province with a long history of industrial exploitation of resources in Indigenous territories, these agreements and their outcomes represent a compelling example of Indigenous self-governance that may become more prevalent as First Nations endeavour to gain more control over industrial operations in their traditional territories,” wrote one of the authors. Brian Kingzett, Science and Policy Director for the BC Salmon Farmers Association, emailed, “Despite activists trying to paint this as a conspiracy the information has never not been confidential and has been reviewed and discussed with regulators for a long time.” In the recent BC Salmon Farmers report about sea lice monitoring in the Discovery Islands, Kingzett claimed, “Five years of sea lice monitoring has demonstrated that sea lice levels have been low with most out-migrating salmon not infected by sea lice. Additionally, we did not see sea lice levels change after decreased production of salmon farming in the region.” Morton said, “Wild salmon in the Broughton Archipelago have been in a population nose dive since salmon farming moved in and we all know why. Yes, climate change is catastrophic but these little fish are not making it to sea. They are covered with sea lice and we also now know they have been infected.” “These nations in the Broughton have hired some of the best scientists: pathologists, sea lice researchers.”

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The licenses for all 19 salmon farms in the Discovery expire in June. There will be only 7 farms left in the Broughton Archipelago by 2023, at which point their tenure ends unless they can obtain First Nation approval and Department of Fisheries licences. That leaves an estimated 79 salmon farms throughout the province and all of their licenses come up for renewal on June 30, 2022. A new ‘independent' report, prepared for the BC Salmon Farmers Association by the consulting firm Rias Inc states, “The licence renewal process in BC will determine the fate of the remaining 4,700 workers and $1.2 billion in economic activity generated by our sector in BC, as well as the additional $200 million in economic activity and 900 jobs across the country.” In a recent press release, Joyce Murray, Minister for Fisheries and Oceans, said, “We remain committed to responsibly transitioning from open-net pen salmon farming in all coastal British Columbia waters and introducing Canada's first-ever Aquaculture Act, which will respect jurisdictions, and provide more transparency and certainty within the industry.” Critics like independent biologist Alexandra Morton said the “handful of low paying corporate jobs” this industry provides as insignificant compared to the damage it causes to wild fishery stocks, communities dependent of fishing, and wilderness tourism. The Wilderness Tourism Association calls the continued existence of salmon farms a threat to their industry, which is dependent on a healthy wild salmon economy. The Rias' report calls for: -“Immediate engagement on 2022 site licence renewals, and the 2025 transition plan, by senior government officials with industry leaders and Indigenous partners, with a clear timetable to address these issues.” - “Increased transparency in decision-making for the future — for example, obtaining a licence re-issuance is complex and closed. All three governments should consider a dashboard type platform that allows the public to see what information/data companies provide as part of the process.”

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - MOWI Canada West is closing down its processing plant in Surrey and another fish farm has left the Broughton Archipelago. On December 17th MOWI Canada West announced it is closing its fish processing plant in Surrey because of a 30% loss in production volume as a result of the closure of fish farms. Rupinder Dadwan, MOWI's Human Resources Manager, said, “This is what happens when politics overrides science-based evidence. At the beginning of the pandemic we were deemed an essential service providing our country affordable and healthy food, and now we're forced to close our doors. Our Federal Government doesn't have to do this – it can choose fairness and engagement over divisiveness and exclusion.” One of the fish farms that MOWI is closing down is Wicklow Point in the Broughton Archipelago. Cortes Currents first learned of this through a Facebook video by a Broughton resident using the initials DLW. He was on the shore and filmed a tugboat towing some flat objects, possibly the fish farms pens. “Fish farm leaving the Broughtons, that's just beautiful. That's awesome, the best thing to happen all day,” said DLW. “You should try [putting fish farms] out in the open ocean, where they are going to have a less of an impact or better yet put them on land.” The BC Salmon Farmers Association have not responded to a request for an interview, or commented on DLW's suggestion that fish farms move out to sea. Independent biologist Alexandra Morton, who has been counting sea lice in the vicinity of the Wicklow Point fish farm since 2001, was available to comment. “I can see that [the Wicklow Point fish Farm] has left, which is incredible. It means that most of the migration route for the juvenile salmon in the Broughtons are now clear of salmon farms. Not all of them: the southern part is still loaded, but the Otter, Viner and Kakweken Rivers will benefit directly from the removal of that farm,” she said. “I have to say though, that the companies in the Broughton have done everything they can to lower their lice more or less successfully. They're probably trying harder in the Broughton than anywhere else in the world to lower their lice because of the Broughton Aquaculture Transition Initiative, which was signed in 2018. The way it works is that many of the farms had a scheduled termination date, but the last seven farms, some from each company, remain in limbo based on the decision of the three First Nations Leaders (‘Namgis, Mamtagila, and Kwiḵwa̱sut̓inux̱w). Morton also said she did not think DLW's idea of moving fish farms out to sea is feasible. She believes they would be placed where the currents are and there are already wild salmon there. “Get out of the water. Put them in a tank and let's just get it over with,” she said.

Field biologist Alexandra Morton has been on a 30 year crusade to save British Columbia's wild salmon taking on governments and industry. Her extensive research has shone a light on the detrimental impact of ocean based salmon farming off Canada's west coast. Alexandra Morton's latest book Not on My Watch has been described as a roadmap of resistance.

Field biologist Alexandra Morton has been on a 30 year crusade to save British Columbia's wild salmon taking on governments and industry. Her extensive research has shone a light on the detrimental impact of ocean based salmon farming off Canada's west coast. Alexandra Morton's latest book Not on My Watch has been described as a roadmap of resistance.

Eco-warrior, Alexandra Morton, on her fight to save wild salmon, being gaslit by the Canadian government and her adventures in Green politics. She also dares people to sue her over her essential new book - Not On My Watch:  How a renegade whale biologist took on governments and industry to save wild salmon.

Roy L Hales/ CKTZ News - Twenty businesses and organizations are recommending that the federal government not renew BC's fish farm licenses, when they come up for renewal next year. BC is the only West Coast jurisdiction that allows fish farms. There are no open net fish farms in Oregon. They have been banned in California, Alaska and Washington state. A total of 109 federal salmon farm licenses, held by MOWI Canada West, Cermaq Canada, Creative Salmon and Grieg Seafood, which will expire between June and September 2022. On June 23rd, independent biologist Alexandra Morton told Cortes Currents, “Myself, Watershed Watch and Clayoquot Action put out a news release to inform British Columbians that all of the salmon farm federal licenses are about to expire. Most of them are expiring next June and others later that summer. We want to let people know that the same process that happened in the Discovery Islands is going to be replaying in all the First Nations territories where this industry is sited.” The BC Salmon Farmers Association's response was to point to their recent press release about the study “Aquaculture mediates global transmission of a viral pathogen to wild salmon.” Lead author, Gideon Mordecai, told Cortes Current, “Our findings show that salmon farms are, indeed, a source of infection for wild fish. Viruses leave a genetic fingerprint. The genetic fingerprint shows that the same viruses that are on the farms are in the wild fish. All the evidence suggests that the virus is being transmitted from the farm to wild fish. I haven't seen any evidence that says that's not happening,”  In their response, BC Salmon Farmers wrote “Pathogen detection does not equate to disease … Given that there have been no major die-offs, or significantly high numbers of uncontrollable fish health events on farms, it does not stand to reason that BC farmed salmon are spreading highly infectious and harmful diseases to wild populations.” Lots more in the podcast Photo credit courtesy Alexandra Morton's website

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents -The aquaculture sector's response, to Alexandra Morton's report that there were low sea lice counts in the Discovery Islands arrived yesterday. A spokesperson for Cermaq Canada emailed, “We have once again this year hired an independent environmental monitoring organization to conduct wild fish sampling in the Broughton Archipelago, the Discovery Islands and the Clayoquot Sound region. We will not have the results of this work for several weeks, so at this point, and with no access to current data, we do not have any data with which to compare the results of the 2020 wild juvenile salmonid monitoring results. Once we have those results, we will be sharing them on our website at https://www.cermaq.ca/public-trust/public-reporting. As you will see, we have been completing this work annually since 2015.” A spokesperson for the BC Salmon Farmer's Association responded to Alexandra Morton's statement the sea lice numbers in the Broughton Archipelago were lower in 2020 (now that some of the farms have been removed). She claimed that “last year, some of the highest levels of sea lice were found in the Broughton area where salmon farms have been removed.” She sent me a link to the 2020 sea lice report from the Broughton Archipelago, where its says that sea lice were on 22.8% of the salmon tested. A chart for the years 2016 to 2020, shows that 2020 had the lowest numbers for the prevalence and abundance of the sea lice Lepeophtheirus salmonis in Chum Salmon, but it was a middling year for Pinks. This is the sea lice Morton says everyone is watching. 2020 had the second highest number for the prevalence of the sea lice Caligus clemensi on both Pinks and Chum, and the second lowest for abundance. These are industry statistics; Morton's sea lice numbers are much higher. In a previous interview, Dr Andrew Bateman explained why the Pacific Salmon Foundation believes open net fish farms should be removed from the Discovery Islands. However Bateman also said that if the open net pens were not on migration routes it was a different topic, and he did not know enough about Cermaq's semi-closed containment system to comment.  Carmaq's spokesperson replied, “We agree that the health and welfare of wild salmon populations is the priority. We are trialing the semi-closed containment system in the territory of the Ahousaht Nation in Clayoquot Sound, and one of the benefits experienced in Norway, and we are seeing similar results here in Canada, is the elimination of lateral transmission of sea lice between wild and farmed populations. We will be releasing further trial updates in the coming weeks.”

“As a company, we will continue to look for new innovation and technology which will improve the sustainability of salmon farming, reduce the impacts of our farming operations and create shared value and opportunity for local communities and organizations. The United Nations has shared that in order to sustainability meet the growing demand for protein, we will need to farm our oceans. Farmed salmon has one of the lowest carbon footprint of any farmed proteins, and is a healthy and sustainable choice. Cermaq Canada believes that farmed salmon has a role to play in supporting wild populations through knowledge sharing, capacity building and resource lending with local enhancement and restoration organizations, and support for ocean clean up and habitat restoration and enhancement.” Photo of salmon steak courtesy BC Salmons Farmer's Association

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Now that most of the fish farms have closed down, sea lice numbers in the Discovery Islands have plummeted 95%. “Most of the salmon farms are empty; All of the one south of Chatham Point are. Sea lice levels have plummeted over 95%. The Pink and Chum Salmon look gorgeous. This is due to the MInister's decision and the seven First Nations who prohibited her from restocking the salmon farm,“ said independent biologist Alexandra Morton, who returned home to Sointula Friday afternoon. Cortes Currents first learned of that there was no longer a sea lice problem on Wednesday, May 26th, when Angela Koch of Sierra Quadra gave the Strathcona Regional District Board a report from the Okisollo channel, which separates Quadra from Sonora and Maurelle Islands. “On Sunday I talked to a couple of people who monitor, they test the smolts for sea lice every year. They said they've seen a 95% reduction in sea lice. So last year each smolt that they caught had an average of 9 sea lice on them. This year, there was a total of 9 sea lice on 50 fish,” she said. These findings follow on last years report that the number of sea lice in the Broughton Archipelago, where fish farms are closing down, was significantly lower than areas where fish farms are still active. “Those are my numbers,” said Morton. Since April 1st, Morton says she has examined over 1,000 fish in the Discovery Islands and another 400 to 500 in Nootka Sound and Esperanza on the West Coast of Vancouver Island, “where the story is very different.” “Last year, 50% of the farms went over the 3 adult lice limit. This was a limit that was set in 2003, by the Provincial Government, to protect wild salmon. The sea lice outbreak was horrendous. The sockeye had an average of 9 lice per fish, which we know from the DFO's own research would have had profound impact on them,” she said. Morton cited a 2018 study by Dr Simon Jones and two other scientists from the Pacific Biological station in Nanaimo, “which found that when young sockeye get infected with sea lice, basically they couldn't keep the salt out of their bodies. They had a huge glucose spike, which is a serious stress response.” One of the areas that Morton visited was the Okisollo channel which separates Quadra from Sonora and Maurelle Islands. “One of the things that I realized now, with the farms all out of the Okisollo Channel, which is a very short body of water with a narrow ending at both ends, is that all three Norwegian companies were operating in that little body of water. There were four farms.This is the highest density of salmon farms anywhere on this coast and it is the only place where all three companies decided to operate side by side. You could not have picked a worse place because millions of salmon from the Fraser River funnel through those waters,” said Morton. “I've been doing this work on and off since 2005, with the incredible assistance of Jody Erickson and Farlyn Campbell from Sonora island. Those two are incredible fishermen. They have these nets that we use to collect the fish. Sometimes we look at them alive' sometimes we have to freeze them. In any case, I have looked at a lot of fish since 2005: a thousand this year, hundred last year. The difference is so obvious, there is no mistaking it.”

Alexandra Morton has got an extraordinary list of accomplishments under her belt! On the episode, we talk about her Canadian Best-Selling book, "Not On My Watch" which is available for purchase anywhere that you can find books. As well, we talked about her research and the significance of her successes in removing snake farming pens in B.C. Canada. Follow here on Facebook and on Instagram And also her Salmon Coast Field Station on Facebook Visit her website www.alexandramorton.ca for loads more information. Watch her TedEx Seattle talk for an amazing scientific breakthrough regarding genomic sequencing wild salmon. Buy her book - It's available anywhere books are found "Not On My Watch" Lastly, learn about what the Wild Fish Conservancy is doing through their website wildfishconservancy.org and follow them on Instagram --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/cupofhope/support

Alexandra Morton is a scientist, author and activist living on the coast of B.C. Not On My Watch is a disturbing look at salmon fisheries and what they do to the environment (and, by extension, it's about just how much our governments favor dollars over...I dunno, life, I guess). Angering, but in a good way? Hope you enjoy today's show.

Dr. Alexandra Morton has dedicated her life to researching and understanding B.C.'s complex and interconnected coastal ecosystems. Dr. Morton's new book “Not On My Watch” chronicles her effort and ultimate fight to get the truth out about the ruinous impacts of open pen salmon farming on wild pacific salmon. Her commitment to conduct science in the face of overwhelming opposition, and to speak truth to those in power bent on silencing her voice, is not only turning the page on an exploitative and destructive industry, but serves as a shining example of what it means to put nature first. Link below to hear Alexandra Morton discuss what she's sacrificed personally and professionally to protect wild salmon on The Blue Fish Radio Show:

Alexandra Morton talks to OTG about her new book, "Not On My Watch."

Dr. Raj Bhardwaj on variants; Rare triplets born to Quenel cow; Dawson Creek mayor worried about rising case counts and exposures in South Peace; More on opera music being played outside drop-in space; Trans-Mountain pipline will lose money, SFU prof argues; Vaccine flash mob in Masset after refrigeration unit fails; Biologist and activist Alexandra Morton releases new book about fight against fish farms; Long-term care home outbreaks.

'Not On My Watch' tells the story of how the biologist became one of B.C.'s best-known activists.

A site called SeaWestNews describes Alexandra Morton as “BC’s loudest anti-salmon farming activist,” and her writing as “rambling” and “conspiracy-laden.” Originally a whale biologist from California, Morton was shocked into activism when her research revealed the devastating results of industrialized salmon farming. Since then, she’s been subject to attack campaigns meant to discredit her, intimidated by sea Mounties, and surveilled by armed operatives in boats with tinted windows. And she’s exposed the salmon industry’s influence on the government department meant to protect the oceans. It's all documented in her book, Not on My Watch: How a renegade whale biologist took on governments and industry to save wild salmon. This episode is brought to you by the Rotman School of Management, Kilne and FreshBooks. Additional music by Audio Network. Support CANADALAND: http://canadalandshow.com/join See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alexandra Morton, an orca communication and behavior scientist turned salmon activist, returns to the Whale Scout podcast to discuss her just-released new book, “Not on My Watch: How A Renegade Whale Biologist Took On Governments and Industry To Save Wild Salmon.” An engaging speaker and storyteller, Alexandra shares the emotional, dynamic ongoing struggle to remove […] The post New Book, Not on My Watch – Interview with author Alexandra Morton appeared first on Whale Scout.

In this weeks episode Erica chatted with Alexandra Morton about her work conserving salmon populations. She shares her experiences with the Northern Resident Killer Whales as well as her insights on what we can do to conserve salmon along the west coast of Canada and the United States.

En este episodio te converso acerca de las diferencias observadas entre el comportamiento en orcas en vida salvaje y su comportamiento en cautiverio. En estado salvaje poseen una estructura social tan compleja o más incluso que la de los chimpancés. Poseen una rica vida familiar con relaciones familiares muy estrechas. Lo cual contrasta enormemente con su comportamiento en cautiverio. Que hace que el comportamiento sea diferente? Como se manifiestan esas diferencias? Siendo animales tan inteligentes, es esto una ventaja para vivir en cautiverio? Te invito me acompañes escuchando este interesante episodio, que termina como siempre con una conmovedora e increíble historia real. No volverás a ver a las orcas de la misma forma después de escuchar este episodio Fuente de información: Listening to whales por Alexandra Morton. Mentes Marvillosas por Carl Safina. Smithsonian Magazine.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - I decided to finish this hour off by redoining the story of a visit I took to a fish farm, four years ago. Some people will call this program one sided, which is what happens when you interview the people on one side of an argument. Prior to this, I interviewed Alexandra Morton on three occasions, and also reviewed her movie “Salmon Confidential Documentary.” On August 23, 2016, Morton joined members of the Musgamagw Dzawada'enuxw nation to board Marine Harvest's Midsummer farm in Kingcome Inlet, BC. The video embedded on Cortes currents shows what Morton found after lowered a Go Pro camera into the pens for ten minutes. “I was stunned. I saw a fish go by with a big tumour on its' head. This is one fish out of 800,000 in this pen. How many of the others have this? … Are they going to sell that fish for people to eat, or is that dogfood? I would worry about that,” she said. When I asked Marine Harvest about the incident, they invited me to visit their fish farm in Phillips Arms. This is one of the Discovery Island locations now scheduled to be phased out by 2022. In the audio above I describe the visit and how it relates to what I saw in Morton's video.

En este episodio te converso acerca de las diferencias observadas entre el comportamiento en orcas en vida salvaje y su comportamiento en cautiverio. En estado salvaje poseen una estructura social tan compleja o más incluso que la de los chimpancés. Poseen una rica vida familiar con relaciones familiares muy estrechas. Lo cual contrasta enormemente con su comportamiento en cautiverio. Que hace que el comportamiento sea diferente? Como se manifiestan esas diferencias? Siendo animales tan inteligentes, es esto una ventaja para vivir en cautiverio? Te invito me acompañes escuchando este interesante episodio, que termina como siempre con una conmovedora e increíble historia real. No volverás a ver a las orcas de la misma forma después de escuchar este episodio. Me invitarías un café virtual? ;) https://ko-fi.com/mentes_asombrosas Fuente de información: Listening to whales por Alexandra Morton. Mentes Marvillosas por Carl Safina. Smithsonian Magazine.

Roy L Hales / Cortes Currents - The licenses for 19 salmon farms in the Discovery lslands expired today. Bernadette Jordan, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is reissuing licenses for 18 months, during which time “no new fish of any size may be introduced into Discovery Islands.” “fish at the sites can complete their growth-cycle and be harvested,” but “all farms be free of fish by June 30th, 2022.” interview with Stan Proboszcz, Science Advisor with the Watershed Watch Salmon Society, as well as clips from previous interviews with independent biologist Alexandra Morton and Chief John Hackett, of the Tla'amin First Nation, as well as press releases from Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the BC Salmon Farmers Association about the closing down of open net salmon farms in the Discovery Islands. Photo credit: Protesting in front of Cermaq Canada in Campbell River on Sept 26, 2020 – Rod Burns photo

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents - There could be a federal election next Spring and Green party leader Annamie Paul is looking for promising candidates. Also, the Canadian Government is expected to release its proposed climate legislation on Monday. These were a couple of the ideas mentioned Saturday, when the North Island-Powell River Greens hosted a ZOOM conference entitled Annamie Paul in conversation. >>> Growing support She was joined by three Green candidates from the recent provincial election. Kim Darwin received a third of the votes in Powell River-Sunshine Coast. Alexandra Morton and Gillian Anderson received just under 20% in North Island and Courtenay-Comox, respectively.

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents - The most recent change to Elections BC's Preliminary Voting Results, at the time of this writing, was made at 2:53 PM on October 28, 2020. Though the numbers changed, the list of winners has not. The NDP appear to have been elected in eleven Vancouver Island ridings, and Green party MLAs were re-elected in the other two.  NDP challenger Adam Walker is still a thousand votes ahead of the Liberal incumbent in Parksville-Qualicum, the closest race on Vancouver Island. The last Liberal riding appears to have gone NDP. In our North Island riding: Michele Babchuk's lead has widened, so that she is now close to 4,000 votes ahead of her closest challenger. That is now Liberal candidate Norm Facey, who replaced Alexandra Morton as the  runner up. This increases the number of ridings where the Liberals came in second to four; the Greens are runners up in the remaining seven ridings.

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents - The final count will not be finished for another three weeks. However as of 1:58 AM this morning, Elections BC reports that 45.03% of the known electorate voted NDP, 35.41% chose the Liberal and 15.30% the Greens. John Horgan won his majority, Michele Babchuk is our new MLA. and the only real surprise was the Green party numbers on Vancouver Island. Sonia Furstenau and Adam Olsen have both been re-elected. The Green party has also won its first seat on the Mainland: West Vancouver-Sea-to-Sky. >>> North Island Driving around Cortes Island recently, it's not surprising to learn that there was a three race in North Island. We may lean further to the left than most of British Columbia, but every lawn sign I saw was Green. Alexandra Morton is currently in second place. As she is less than a hundred votes ahead of Liberal candidate Norm Facey, this could change, but it is also a pattern repeated in other eight Island ridings*, as well as Powell River-Sunshine Coast. >>> The rest of Vancouver Island and Powell River Nanaimo-North Cowichan, Chris Istace trails Doug Routley (NDP) by 1,001 votes. Oak Bay-Gordon Head, Nicole Duncan trails Murray Rankin (NDP) by 1,647. Victoria-Beacon Hill, Jenn Neilson trails Jenn Neilson (NDP) by 1,777. Powell River-Sunshine Coast, Kim Darwin trails Nicholas Simons (NDP) by 2,166. Victoria-Swan Lake, Annemieke Holthuis trails Rob Fleming (NDP) by 2,739 Esquimalt-Mtechsin, Andy MacKinnion trails Mitzi Dean (NDP) by 3,136 Nanaimo, Lia Versaevel trails Sheila Malcolmson (NDP) by 3,857. Langford-Juan de Fuca, Gord Baird trails Premier John Horgan (NDP) by 3,887. Mid Island-Pacific Rim, Evan Jolicoeur trails Josie Osbourne (NDP) by 4,537. It seems unlikely that the Green Party will take any of these seats from the NDP after the final count, but the Liberal party finished second in most of these ridings in the 2017 provincial election. This is not the first election where the Green party has shown promise. In the weeks prior to the last federal election, 338Canada's projections showed them leading in four Vancouver Island ridings. This melted down to two on election day, which has been the pattern up until now. 1:54 This time, the numbers suggesting potential for a Green shift come from election results. One of the questions on a recent Angus Reid poll was what would be your second choice? The Green Party was 20% ahead of second place NDP. (Greens 34%; NDP 14%; Liberals 10%; “Another party” 18%; Undecided 22%) If there is a marked Green shift in the next election, or the one after that, most analysts expect it to be strongest on Vancouver Island.

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents - The leaders of BC's two largest political parties were in Campbell River over the week-end. Andrew Wilson criticizes NDP forestry Standing on a flat-deck truck in the Discovery plaza, Saturday, BC Liberal leader Andrew Wilkinson criticized the NDP's failure to address the forestry crisis. “Last year and earlier this year, we had an eight month strike at Western. Most of you felt that – hard. If you were in Port McNeill: you watched coffee shops shut down permanently; you watched people's trucks get towed away; you watched people lose their homes,” said Wilkinson. “And what did the NDP do for that eight months?” “They did nothing – because they couldn't be bothered to pay attention to these communities. They couldn't be bothered to come out to the meetings.” “And how many of you were at that meeting with [former MLA] Claire Trevana that made it onto Youtube? We were talking about that on the way down here. It was an embarrassment. When the elected MLA for North Island, where the beating heart if this economy is coastal forestry, can say nothing more than ‘Yes I hear you, I will go and ask my boss in Victoria.” “And did she do anything in Victoria? – nothing happened.” “So you folks, rightfully, got a little fed up. You took your trucks down to Victoria, on February 18th of this year, and said ‘enough is enough.' You circled the legislature. You showed them that you are proud of what you do. You showed them the investment you make in these massive machines, to do the work you do.” “What happened?” “Claire Trevana wouldn't come out to see you. The Minister of Forests wouldn't come out to see you. They were having a cabinet meeting in that building to the west of where you were parked. And they sat there and looked out the window because they were too embarrassed to come out and saw hello.” “That's just plain wrong. Does anybody here with a horn in their truck agree that's just plain wrong?” prompted Wilkinson. NDP Forestry The NDP responded with a press release, in which they pointed out that the number of jobs in the forestry sector dropped 40% when the Liberals were in power, and 45% less logs were processed. In their 2020 election platform, the BC NDP have promised to work with First Nations governments, labour, industry, and environmental groups to “implement recommendations of the Old Growth Strategic Review” to protect old-growth forests. The Ancient Forest Alliance pointed out that Premier Horgan did not promise to implement all of the panel's recommendations and he may choose to “implement only those recommendations that have the least impact on the logging industry's short-term economic interests.” Salmon Farms One of the unknowns in this riding, is what effect will having a relatively high profile candidate like Alexandra Morton do for the Green party? So perhaps it is not surprising that when John Horgan spoke at the Campbell River Museum Sunday morning, he had a lot to say about wild salmon and fish farms. Horgan said BC is currently partnered with the federal government on the $143 million BC Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund, which he promises a re-elected BC NDP government would work to double. As for salmon farms, “The vast majority of responsibility is with Ottawa. British Columbia issues the licenses for tenures, which is basically the land under the sea that the fish farms are attached to. So our responsibility in this area is limited, but we can in fact pull tenures. so [in 2017] we sat down with industry, indigenous leaders in the Broughton Archipelago, as well as communities, and we've now closed, I think, a dozen farms in the migratory route of the salmon through the Broughton,” said Horgan. He added, “We've made a commitment that if the industry does not have buy-in from indigenous populations as well as communities by 2022, we'll start to phase out those farms as well.”

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents - One of the reasons that Alexandra Morton is running for the Green Party in this election is that “over the last twenty years, I've seen the politics and policies that are killing off the wild salmon of this coast are also destroying our communities.” However fish farms are overseen by the Fisheries and Oceans Canada, not the provincial legislature. So I asked Alexandra what can an MLA do about fish farms? How is the province involved? “The licensing for salmon farms is federal, but it is the province that is the landlord. So they're giving the tenures for the foreshore leases. I noted in the announcement that DFO made on the 28th of September, where they were talking about taking out the Discovery Island farms due to the Cohen Commission recommendation, they said they would be going forward in discussions with First Nations and also the province of British Columbia. So, the province is deeply involved in this,” she explained. “They are also involved in the effluent that comes out of fish farm processing plants. For example at Brown's Bay, where we found piscine reovirus (PRV). It is multi-jurisdictional but it is definitely in provincial hands as well.” When does the lease come up? “The leases are variable. Unfortunately, most of the tenures in the Discovery Islands are in the +2030 - which is a bit disappointing because twelve years ago the province of British Columbia came out and said that after 2023 the First Nations would have final say on whether these tenures would be renewed. But all the tenures are extended to the point where I believe the Fraser sockeye will simply go extinct. 2:00 What can the province do about effluence? “They are also involved in the effluent that comes out of fish farm processing plants. For example at Brown's Bay, where we found piscine reovirus (PRV). It is multi-jurisdictional but it is definitely in provincial hands as well.” “In terms of the effluent and pouring the blood water from these industrial aquaculture operations into the Discovery Channel, which is where one third of Canada's wild salmon are migrating - it's such a bad idea. I believe that pipe just has to stop. It has to go into some kind of recycling facility. It has to be loaded into trucks, dewatered, dried out, turned into fertilizer - something other than just pouring it into the ocean.” “I've been involved in this debate for quite awhile, with several processing plants. They deny that they are releasing live sea lice eggs or pathogens. Yet when divers go down and put plankton nets over these and bring them up to me, they are indeed loaded with pathogens and live hatching sea lice eggs. So, eyewitnesses to that.” What's the provinces role with the pipes? “The provinces role with the effluent pipes is they are in control of what comes out of these fish farm processing plants. Plain and simple. It goes into the ocean, which is a federal environment, but the pipes themselves and the act of pouring effluent out of the plants and directly into the ocean, is a provincial jurisdiction.”

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents - The giant trees that most of us associate with the term old growth now only make up 3% of the forests, but they are still being logged on Vancouver Island. The market is being flooded with young second and third growth timber that possesses a large percentage of sapwood. A Cortes builder (and Vice President of the of the Cortes Community Forest Cooperative) explains why you do not want to use this wood on the outside of your home. The BC Liberal candidate, Norm Facey, declines to comment. His party frames this issue in terms of jobs. Green candidate Alexandra Morton says we are running out of resources - houses, salmon, timber, but "it doesn't need to be that way if we plan for these things and work together on it." NDP candidate Michele Babchuk talks about government policy.

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents - A quarter of a million British Columbians pay more than 30% of their income for rent. The statistics are worse on Cortes Island, where it applies to almost half of the tenants, and improves the closer you get to Campbell River. In response to the COVID crisis, the NDP Government provided a rental supplement of between $300 and $500 a month, but that ended on August 31st. The Green party just announced they would earmark $500 million for rental relief, and prioritize funding people who pay more than 30% of their income - but it is extremely unlikely the Greens will form the next government. So what do the candidates in our riding have to say about the affordable rental crisis? BC Liberal candidate Norm Facey did not comment. NDP candidate Michele Babchuk said, “It is an important issue in our riding Roy, and both the Liberals and the Greens opposed previous rental rebates. Andrew Wilkinson has opposed every major action we have taken to support renters: our COVID eviction plan; capping rent increases to inflation to save the average renter in BC about $333 a year; the speculation tax that turned about a thousand empty condos into homes for people. He thinks renting is just a whacky time and he would get rid of those caps on rent increases and the speculation tax. That's just going to cost people more money.” She added, “A John Horgan government will continue supporting people, Roy, and we'll have more say about that, especially about renters, in our plan coming up this week.” Green candidate Alexandra Morton took a less partisan approach, ”If I am elected, my goal is to talk with people because I don't have all the answers, but I know there are wise people in every community. We need to discuss these things because there is a human migration headed our way - both from COVID, families who are trying to get out of the city and were locked down because of COVID and would like to have a yard, and of course we are both looking at and breathing the smoke from fires in California. So there are people moving our way. I think it is very important that communities have this discussion and come up with plans and solutions that work - so we are not simply overwhelmed.” Photo credit: Vincent Van Gogh's bedroom in Arles (1889)- courtesy Art Gallery ErgsArt via Flickr (Public Domain)

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Alexandra Morton is now the official Green candidate for North Island. She described her reasons for entering politics, and what needs to be done, in a quick ZOOM interview. “The reason I'm running is that, over the last twenty years, I've seen that the politics and policies that are killing off the wild salmon of this coast are also destroying our communities.” “At this point, I think everyone is very worried as to what we are leaving to our children, the ones who come after us. They aren't going to nearly as much as we got. I think it is time to figure out how to do things differently … We need to figure out how we can thrive and the environment around us can thrive. So our kids get a chance.” “There has to be solutions.” “Obviously I am very informed about salmon and I know there is no reason to lose these fish. It is so frustrating to watch the mismanagement just go on and on.” “In fact, we can have an aquaculture industry. We could have a very successful, cutting edge aquaculture industry. We have people that know how to grow fish, but it has to get out of the ocean and get onto land - like it is elsewhere.” “Then with the wild salmon, the ones in the ocean, there is some phenomenal science in DFO that can actually read their immune systems. So the fish then start to ‘talk' to us and tell us what is going on. That is so exiting, it goes back to the legends of the people who were here first. They always said the salmon could talk. Now we get a chance to catch up with them and be able to do that as well. We can ‘hear' the fish say, ‘this is what is going on with us.' Then we can try to change our behaviour and go back to the fish and say ‘did we make it better for you or not.” “Now I know that salmon aren't the only issue for the North Island.” “So I'm going to be on a steep learning curve. I want to hear from people. I don't really want to complain. We're past that. I want to know the issues and what people think are the solutions.” . “I'm a hard worker. I'm ready to learn. I have a very open mind.” “For the people who are worried about splitting the vote, I know, I hear you - I've been one of those people.” “We have seven years to change climate change around. I don't really know what we are saving ourselves for.” “As far as I am concerned, the current NDP Government has done some really good things. They've taken us through COVID as much as is possible. A lot came at them, things that governments have never faced before. I watched a government actually listen to science, which to me - was astonishing. I appreciate that they have spoken to us as adults because we are adults. We can take it. Also, the NDP government - when the First Nations in the Broughton Archipelago said salmon farms are going to get out, there is no two ways about it and here is how it is going to work - they went along with it.” “But on many other issues, I think they need help because if there is one thing I know, it is how hard it is to deal with these big corporations.” [Corporations] “ … have a model, which is growth. They are based on share price, not even necessarily the sale of the fish, they are based on share price. They are have toi simply get bigger and bigger and bigger - and that is not going to work in the natural world.” “They just need strict rules from government and I am sure they will comply. They will carry on under new rules that have to do with sustainability - because we are all heading for the cliff.” “This effort to become MLA of this fabulously rich North Island riding where I have lived for 37 years is very exciting to me.” “I'm really looking forward to hearing from people.”

Roy L Hales/Cortes Current - The word is out. Sue Moen, who ran for the Green party in the last provincial election and had hoped to do it again, informed Cortes Currents on Tuesday. The Green candidate in North Island will be independent biologist Alexandra Morton. Morton proclaimed her intention to run on Facebook four days ago, “I am seeking nomination to run for MLA for North Island as a Green Candidate. I need 175 signatures by 1st ferry on Wednesday. I will be at the Li'l Wild Gift Shop at the new dock (in Sontula) from 12-2:30. You can sign, or give me an earful!” That meeting occurred yesterday. The Norwegian based website salmonbusiness.com has been observing events and posted that “the anti-salmon farming activist” has “more than double” the number of signatures required on her nomination. As of this morning, the Green party has yet to announce Alexandra Morton is their candidate and Morton has not returned Cortes Currents queries, but the Tyee ran the story yesterday. Sue Moen is quoted saying, “I admire and respect Alexandra and think she'll be a wonderful candidate and I will work with her to get her elected.” Dallas Smith, who ran as a BC Liberal in 2017, told the Tyee, “I think Alexandra will definitely take away from the NDP in this one.” Alexandra Morton said the NDP has done some good things, but the best election outcome would be a minority government “with a Green rudder on it.” photo credit: Sointula by Paul Hamilton via Flickr (CC BY SA, 2.0 License)

Alexandra Morton is one of the leading biologists on the West Coast and is a long time advocate for protecting wild salmon from the destructive impact of open-pen fish farms. Listen to her wisdom. Once you've heard the podcast, go check out Salmon Confidential at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTCQ2IA_ZssAnd please consider supporting this podcast, and my musical endeavours, on a monthly basis at https://www.patreon.com/lukewallace

In this alarming episode Dr. Alexandra Morton provides us with a clear warning of the imminent extinction of our beloved pacific salmon if immediate action is not taken to remove open-pen fish farms from our coastal water ways. Dr. Morton has dedicated her life to the research and understanding of our complex and interconnected coastal ecosystems. She has clearly documented the serious deleterious effects of the fish farms, in particular the devastating effects that sea lice have on out-migrating juvenile salmon. I encourage everyone to support her research and voice in protecting this precious resource. Please take a moment to visit her sites and make a donation: Pacific Coast Wild Salmon Society Raincoast Research Society And whatever you do - do not purchase farmed salmon ever! They are toxic to consume, and toxic for our salmon and waterways, Stay Connected - Subscribe Today

Hear from Alexandra Morton, author of Listening to Whales: What the Orcas Have Taught Us. The book chronicles her life and the story of raising a young family following Northern Resident orcas in British Columbia. Beginning studying dolphin communication, then the captive killer whale Corky, and finally Corky’s family in the wild, Alexandra Morton weaves […] The post Orca Month Book Club Interview with Alexandra Morton, Author of Listening to Whales appeared first on Whale Scout.

Celebrating virtual Orca Month, join the Orca Month Book Club! Read three great orca books: Orca: The Whale Called Killer by Erich Hoyt, Listening to Whales, What the Orcas Have Taught Us by Alexandra Morton, and Endangered Orcas: The Story of the Southern Residents by Monika Wieland Shields. To jump start your reading, Colleen Weiler […] The post Orca Month Book Club with Erich Hoyt, author of Orca: The Whale Called Killer appeared first on Whale Scout.

Melanie Wynne joins Tony Pilkington on FIVEaa with special guest Alexandra Morton from Hurtigruten to talk sustainable and expedition cruising through Norway, plus travelling around Australia, the wonders of South America and more!

We had a chat with Josh Thome, a National Geographic Explorer and filmmaker, who has a film called “Hear the Call” showcasing in the Best of VIMFF screening at the Eagle Eye Theater on November 20th. Hear The Call: Salmon Nation: https://vimeo.com/273028796 VIMFF FB Event link: https://www.facebook.com/events/184651122432176/?active_tab=about Synopsis: In Hear the Call: Salmon Nation, singer Ashleigh Ball of Hey Ocean! travels with filmmaker Josh Thome to BC’s remote coast to meet Alexandra Morton, one of the worlds most celebrated marine biologists for her work with BC’s keystone species, salmon. Exploring the coast with Alexandra, Ashleigh is amazed to learn about the elaborate role salmon play in weaving together the entire coastal ecosystem. She is equally disturbed to learn that the wild salmon are being decimated by disease and pollution introduced from Atlantic salmon farms.

Our Southern Resident Orcas are in trouble and we can help...but we need to change the way we live and act fast. Learn about becoming an advocate for the animals.Read more →

This week on The Woman Behind The Business® Talk Show We Have Two Powerhouse Ladies Who Can Boost Your Companies Performance And Profitability. People Use To Equate Beautiful Women As Being Just That... Something Pretty To Look At ... But Left Much To Be Desired In Areas Of Intellectual Stimulation. Today, We Have A Number Of Women Who Gracefully Prove That Ignorant Theory Wrong...In Studio With Me Is One Of Those Women. Former Reining Miss Black America 2014, Alexandra Morton, Is Also The Owner Of An Award-Winning Business. She Has Been Recognized Twice At The United Nations, As An Impact 100 Award Nominee, Which Highlights American Entrepreneurs Under 35, With Companies Grossing $100,000 Or More.Then, Denise Minor Is The Woman Behind “Mindspring Metro Dc” A Boutique Leadership And Professional Development Firm That Works With Organizations And Individuals To Achieve A Higher Level Of Performance. They Utilize A Wide Array Of Tools, Assessments & Delivery Processes To Garner Results For Their Clients..Prior To Launching Mindspring, Denise Spent Over 28 Years In Public Service As A Special Agent With The Federal Bureau Of Investigation.Enjoy this segment and others online at WBBTalk.com/talkshow and be sure to follow us on all social media platforms @WBBTalk

This week’s episode centers around the devastating impacts of salmon farming on the Pacific coast of British Columbia.  This week’s guest, Alexandra Morton, is an expert in salmon farming and the viruses perpetuated by this destructive aquaculture practice-- she has written 26 papers on the topic alone and is a leader in the movement to halt salmon farming off the coast of British Columbia.

Alexandra Morton (@alex4salmon) is one of Canada’s most famous eco-activists. The best-selling author’s fight to save the west coast’s wild salmon attracted the attention of the Sea Shepherd Society and  launched Operation Virus Hunter – a mission to publicize Morton’s research into open sea salmon farms. Tune in if you care about oceans, orcas, salmon […] The post Alexandra Morton on wild salmon, sick salmon & the Sea Shepherd appeared first on MLY.

The Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion could wipe out the Southern Resident Orcas. The orca's unofficial lawyer, Dyna Tuytel from Ecojustice (@ecojustice_ca), is challenging their plans in court. “I feel like I’m fighting on my client’s behalf, but that we are all fighting on the Orcas’ behalf."   Skaana connects you to stories about our environment, oceans, and orcas. You can use the affiliate links below to support the pod. Join the Pod…… https://www.patreon.com/mobydoll Skaana home….. https://www.skaana.org Facebook……….. https://www.facebook.com/skaanapod/ Twitter…………... @leirenyoung The Killer Whale Who Changed the World… http://amzn.to/2pRNU1q

The Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion could wipe out the Southern Resident Orcas. The orca’s unofficial lawyer, Dyna Tuytel from Ecojustice (@ecojustice_ca), is challenging their plans in court. “I feel like I’m fighting on my client’s behalf, but that we are all fighting on the Orcas’ behalf.”   Skaana connects you to stories about our environment, […] The post Dyna Tuytel talks about Ecojustice, Alexandra Morton, the Species at Risk Act and the National Energy Board appeared first on MLY.

Avec les retrouvailles entre Philae et Rosetta ces derniers jours, on savoure avec vous l'échange que nous avions eu avec Pierre Chastenay, au moment où le petit robot Philae se posait à la surface de la comète "Tchouri" après son largage par Rosetta, en novembre 2014. Élyse Caron-Beaudoin nous présente Alexandra Morton, biologiste indépendante, spécialiste de l'étude du déclin des populations de saumons sauvages du Pacifique dans sa chronique "environnement et toxicologie". Une nouvelle chroniqueuse s'invite dans vos oreilles : Madame Cosinus, ou Julie Dirwimmer, prend le micro pour un slam de poésie scientifique ! Ce soir, c'est la psychologie de l'atome dont il est question.Et on reçoit Julie Macherez, vice-Présidente de la Fédération interuniversitaire des doctorant.es en psychologie pour la demande de rémunération de leur année d'internat. Pétition par ici ! On termine par l'agenda scientifique de ces prochaines semaines.

Over the past year, Deconstructing Dinner has spent an increasing amount of time focusing on the discussions that take place on food and farming within Canada's parliamentary committees. Today, we visit with a previously unexplored committee on the show - the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans, where, in the past few months, the subject of salmon farming has been a focus of attention. Among the many issues addressed within the Committee, host Jon Steinman deconstructs dialogue that took place on resistance among sea lice to the anti-parasitic drug - SLICE. The drug is an open-net cage salmon farmer's primary and most effective control to keep lice levels down and reduce their threat to juvenile wild salmon. Sea lice experts around the world believe it's only a matter of time when sea lice in British Columbia will develop resistance to the drug. Despite a graph released by the B.C. Ministry of Agriculture and Lands that is suggestive to some biologists of possible drug resistance, government officials have exhibited their own resistance to these said warning signs. On another front, Steinman also deconstructs the federal Department of Fisheries & Oceans (DFO) - a government body who receives a lot of criticism among marine conservation groups for what they and the Attorney General of Canada believe of the Department's dual mandate is a conflict of interest - a mandate to protect wild salmon and promote salmon aquaculture. Deconstructing Dinner uncovers some glaring mis and disinformation on a DFO web page that lends a more tangible example of these seemingly confusing and conflicting roles of the DFO. Voices Craig Orr - executive director, Watershed Watch Salmon Society (Coquitlam, BC) - Craig Orr has been a professional ecologist for more than 30 years and helps Watershed Watch in its efforts to conserve water and salmon habitat, and to minimize impacts to wild salmon from mixed-stock interception fisheries, aquaculture practices, and climate change. Craig also currently serves as Chair of the Pacific Marine Conservation Caucus, Science Coordinator of the Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform, and as an environmental advisor to Kwikwetlem First Nation. He recently served as Associate Director of Simon Fraser University's Centre for Coastal Studies, Chair of BC Hydro's Bridge Coastal Restoration Program, Vice-Chair of the Habitat Conservation Trust Fund, a member of the Vancouver Foundation's environment committee, and as a director of the Fraser River Sturgeon Conservation Society. Mark Sheppard - senior aquatic animal health veterinarian, British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture & Lands (Courtenay, BC) - The B.C. government supports the development of the aquaculture industry. While the B.C. government has overseen the industry since the federal government allocated responsibility in 1988, that regulatory regime is now in a transition to federal authority following the B.C. Supreme Court case Alexandra Morton et al vs the A.G. of British Columbia and Marine Harvest Canada. Alexandra Morton - biologist, Raincoast Research Society (Echo Bay, BC) - While studying orca whales up until the 1990s, Alexandra watched as the salmon farming industry appeared in the Broughton Archipelago where she calls home. As she observed the arrival of industrial salmon farms, the whales she studied disappeared. She believed the cause was salmon farms, and when 10,000 pages of letters to all levels of government failed to elicit meaningful response, Alexandra realized that she would have to scientifically prove that salmon farming had driven out the whales and caused epidemic outbreaks of bacteria, viral and parasitic infections in wild salmon. By partnering with international scientists and in some cases commercial fishermen, Alexandra has documented the loss of the whales, thousands of escaped farm salmon, lethal outbreaks of sea lice, and antibiotic resistance near salmon farms. Lawrence Dill - professor emeritus, department of biological sciences, Simon Fraser University (Burnaby, BC) - Dill's major research interests are in the development and testing of cost-benefit models of behaviour, and experimental studies of the decision rules used by animals to ensure adaptive behaviour in various contexts. The emphasis is on understanding how behaviours maximize individual fitness; this is achieved by experimental analyses of the benefits and costs of the various behavioural alternatives available to the animal. Dill studies marine invertebrates, fishes (marine and freshwater) and cetaceans (whales and dolphins). Fin Donnelly - member of parliament, new westminster - coquitlam, port moody, New Democratic Party of Canada (NDP) (Coquitlam, BC) Gerry Byrne - member of parliament, humber - st. barbe - baie-verte, Liberal Party of Canada (Corner Brook, NL) Scott Andrews - member of parliament, avalon, Liberal Party of Canada (Conception Bay South, NL)

On May 8, 2010, Deconstructing Dinner descended upon the grounds of the Legislature of British Columbia in Victoria where one of the largest rallies of its kind was taking place. The rally was organized as part of the 2.5 week long "Get Out Migration" calling for the removal of open-net salmon farms along the B.C. coast. Between April 21 and May 8, biologist Alexandra Morton travelled from the community of Echo Bay in the Broughton Archipelago and proceeded on foot down Vancouver Island where hundreds of supporters joined her as they approached the BC Legislature. An estimated 4,000 people attended the rally. Voices Alexandra Morton - biologist, Raincoast Research Society (Echo Bay, BC) - While studying orca whales up until the 1990s, Alexandra watched as the salmon farming industry appeared in the Broughton Archipelago where she calls home. As she observed the arrival of industrial salmon farms, the whales she studied disappeared. She believed the cause was salmon farms, and when 10,000 pages of letters to all levels of government failed to elicit meaningful response, Alexandra realized that she would have to scientifically prove that salmon farming had driven out the whales and caused epidemic outbreaks of bacteria, viral and parasitic infections in wild salmon. By partnering with international scientists and in some cases commercial fishermen, Alexandra has documented the loss of the whales, thousands of escaped farm salmon, lethal outbreaks of sea lice, and antibiotic resistance near salmon farms. Bob Chamberlin, chairman, Musgamagw Tsawataineuk (Gilford Island, BC) - Chief Bob Chamberlin is from the the Kwicksutaineuk-Ah-Kwaw-Ah-Mish First Nation on Gilford Island, BC. He is the chairman of the Musgamagw Tsawataineuk Tribal Council and has been actively involved in efforts that oppose open-net salmon farms. Stewart Phillip, president, BC Union of Indian Chiefs (Penticton, BC) - Grand Chief Stewart Phillip is from the Penticton Indian Band and is the Chair of the Okanagan Nation Alliance. Stewart is serving is fourth three-year term as the president of the BC Union of Indian Chiefs. Darren Blaney, former chief, Homalco First Nation (near Campbell River, BC) - The Homalco First Nation is a member of the Naut'sa mawt Tribal Council. Rafe Mair, commentator, Rafe Mair (Lions Bay, BC) - Between 1975 and 1981, Rafe served as an MLA for the riding of Kamloops and later became a popular radio talk-show host until 2005. Since then, Rafe has been a vocal opponent of the privatation of BC's rivers and creeks and of open-net salmon farms. Vicky Husband, environmentalist (Victoria, BC) - Vicky is one of British Columbia's best known environmentalists. Past Conservation Chair for the Sierra Club of B.C., she is tireless in her drive to protect her province's natural heritage, especially the coastal rainforest and marine ecosystems and their inhabitants. She has been a leader in numerous conservation debates, including working for the protection of the ancient rainforests of Clayoquot Sound, and establishing Canada's first grizzly bear sanctuary, on B.C.'s north coast. For the past five years, Vicky has also focused on salmon and other fisheries- management. She is a member in the Order of British Columbia and the Order of Canada. Billy Proctor, fisherman (Echo Bay, BC) - Billy Proctor was a commerical fisherman for 60 years and has been a resident of the Broughton Archipelago for 74 years. Fin Donnelly, member of parliament New Westminster-Coquitlam, Port Moody, NDP (Coquitlam, BC) - Fin is the NDP Critic on Fisheries and Oceans. He has introduced legislation to ban tanker traffic along BC�s sensitive northern coast and transition all fish farms to closed containment. Prior to being elected, Fin played a key role in calling for and securing the Cohen Inquiry into the collapse of the Fraser Sockeye Salmon. He served on Coquitlam City Council for 7 years and was the Executive Director of Rivershed Society of B.C. for 13 years. Fin twice swam the Fraser River (1400km) to promote sustainable living.  

Farming in the City XIII (Backyard Chickens X) In November 2009, a panel discussion on urban agriculture was hosted by Backyard Bounty and the University of Guelph. The event was called Opportunities for Action: An Urban Agriculture Symposium and Deconstructing Dinner partner station CFRU recorded the panel. This episode hears from two of the panelists who both share innovative urban agriculture projects: the Carrot City exhibition - a collection of conceptual and realized ideas for sustainable urban food production, and the Diggable Communities Collaborative - a community garden initiative that demonstrates the importance of partnerships and the ways in which regional health authorities and local governments can support and implement local food system and urban agriculture planning. Rounding off the show - regular contributor Bucky Buckaw and his Backyard Chicken Broadcast. Bucky dispels the myth that backyard chickens attract rats and he shares insights on raising roosters - an often prohibited presence even within municipalities that do allow backyard chickens. Updates on 'Norway, British Columbia' & 'A Dinner Date With the Olympics' Much has transpired since our previous episodes of our Norway, British Columbia series on BC salmon farms. Updates include news of the transfer of regulatory power between the Province and the federal government; criminal charges filed against Marine Harvest and upcoming rallies/events in Vancouver. Also updates on the Coca-Cola torch relay which passed through Deconstructing Dinner's hometown of Nelson, BC shortly after our January Olympic broadcast. Guests/Voices Mark Gorgolewski co-curator, Carrot City (Toronto, ON) - Mark is a Professor and Program Director for the graduate program in building science in the Department of Architectural Science at Toronto's Ryerson University. He is a Director of the Canada Green Building Council and has worked for many years as an educator, architect, researcher and environmental consultant to the construction industry in Canada and Europe. Recently he was co-curator of the exhibition Carrot City � Design for Urban Agriculture. He has also coordinated one of the winning teams in the CMHC Equilibrium Housing Competition to design a sustainable, net zero energy housing development, and is co-recipient of the 2007-2008 ACSA/AIA Housing Design Education Award. Katherine Pigott manager, healthy communities & policy team, Region of Waterloo Public Health (Kitchener, ON) - Katherine has worked at Region of Waterloo Public Health since March 2000. A key part of her role has been the development of a comprehensive local food systems planning approach in Waterloo Region as Manager of the Healthy Communities and Policy Team. Katherine has over twenty years experience in community based program development, planning, and systems change that has spanned economic development, health promotion and environmental planning. She serves of the Board of Directors of the Association of Health Centres of Ontario and on the Steering Committee of Food Secure Canada. Bucky Buckaw - host, Bucky Buckaw's Backyard Chicken Broadcast (New York, NY) - Bucky Buckaw gives advice on raising backyard chickens as just one example of how a locally based economy can work. Through this segment, he informs listeners about the downside of factory farming and what kinds of toxic chemicals you can expect to find in the resultant livestock. He promotes organic gardening and composting, and supporting local farmers. Alexandra Morton - scientist/researcher, Raincoast Research Society (Echo Bay, BC) - While studying orca whales up until the 1990s, Alexandra watched as the salmon farming industry appeared in the Broughton Archipelago where she calls home. As she observed the arrival of industrial salmon farms, the whales she studied disappeared. She believed the cause was salmon farms, and when 10,000 pages of letters to all levels of government failed to elicit meaningful response, Alexandra realized that she would have to scientifically prove that salmon farming had driven out the whales and caused epidemic outbreaks of bacteria, viral and parasitic infections in wild salmon. By partnering with international scientists and in some cases commercial fishermen, Alexandra has documented the loss of the whales, thousands of escaped farm salmon, lethal outbreaks of sea lice, and antibiotic resistance near salmon farms.  

In October 2008, host Jon Steinman spoke with wildlife biologist Alexandra Morton who was in the midst of taking the Province of British Columbia and Marine Harvest Canada to B.C. Supreme Court. Morton was challenging the ongoing regulation of the industry by the Province, arguing that the Province is not constitutionally permitted to do so. Instead, it was argued that the Federal government is responsible for regulating salmon farms. Justice Christopher Hinkson came to his decision on February 9, 2009. Morton was victorious. Deconstructing Dinner invites Morton back onto the show to share the outcomes of that decision and what has transpired since then. Also lending their thoughts to the B.C. Supreme Court decision is Otto Langer - a former federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) biologist who applauds the decision but remains highly skeptical of the DFO's capability to now manage the farmed salmon fishery. The episode also examines a perplexing letter sent to Deconstructing Dinner not long after our January 2009 episodes. As part of those January episodes, Deconstructing Dinner shared recordings from our October 2008 tour of a salmon farm site and hatchery owned by Marine Harvest - the largest salmon farming company in the world. It appears the company was not happy with those broadcasts and subsequently sent a letter to us outlining a number of rather odd requests. Guests/Voices Otto Langer - former Biologist, Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) (Richmond, BC) - Otto is a 32-year veteran of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada who quit his job in 2001 after becoming unhappy with the direction the department was heading. He then became the Director of the Marine Conservation Program for the David Suzuki Foundation and one of DFO's most outspoken critics. Otto is now retired. He is considered one of Canada's leading authorities on the issue of open net cage salmon farming. Otto also authored a chapter in the book, "Stain Upon the Sea: The Battle for the West Coast Salmon Fishery" (2001). Alexandra Morton - Scientist/Researcher, Raincoast Research Society (Echo Bay, BC) - While studying orca whales up until the 1990s, Alexandra watched as the salmon farming industry appeared in the Broughton Archipelago where she calls home. As she observed the arrival of industrial salmon farms, the whales she studied disappeared. She believed the cause was salmon farms, and when 10,000 pages of letters to all levels of government failed to elicit meaningful response, Alexandra realized that she would have to scientifically prove that salmon farming had driven out the whales and caused epidemic outbreaks of bacteria, viral and parasitic infections in wild salmon. By partnering with international scientists and in some cases commercial fishermen, Alexandra has documented the loss of the whales, thousands of escaped farm salmon, lethal outbreaks of sea lice, and antibiotic resistance near salmon farms. Bill Harrower - Manager of Regional Operations for Aquaculture Development, Province of British Columbia, Ministry of Agriculture and Lands - (Courtenay, BC) Aquaculture is a significant contributor to the provincial economy, and most aquaculture jobs are located in coastal communities. Farmed salmon is B.C.'s largest agricultural export product. Bill Harrower has worked with the Department since the 1980s. Barb Addison - Manager, Big Tree Creek Hatchery, Marine Harvest Canada (Sayward, BC) - Big Tree Creek is one of five hatcheries currently being managed by the company. It's in the process of a $3-million expansion.  

We speak with provincial New Democrat aboriginal relations and reconciliation critic Bob Simpson about his new portfolio, as well as British Columbia's forest fire conditions. Marine biologist and prominent conservationist Alexandra Morton weighs in on the results of the recent election. And our rabble-rousing panel - Don Anderson, Eleanor Gregory, The Tyee's Andrew MacLeod and Bob Russell - debate the week that was in provincial and federal politics.

In October 2008, host Jon Steinman was toured around a salmon farm along with delegates of the 2008 conference of the Canadian Farm Writers Federation. The tour was sponsored by the Province of British Columbia's Ministry of Agriculture & Lands and the British Columbia Salmon Farmers Association (BCSFA). The farm is owned by Marine Harvest Canada and located off the shore of East Thurlow Island - about a 45-minute boat ride from Campbell River, BC. The farm is home to 500,000 Atlantic salmon. On this part III of a multi-part series on salmon farming along the BC coast, Steinman poses some probing questions to the tour guides. Helping balance the positive and promotional role of the BCSFA and the Province, the episode will also hear from Alexandra Morton of the Raincoast Research Society. Morton is one of the most vocal critics of open-net salmon farms and played a pivotal role in helping introduce the long-standing and contested debate of whether or not salmon farms are harming wild salmon populations. Morton was given the opportunity to respond to the comments made on the tour by the guides. Of interest are the number of startling discrepancies that were discovered between what conference delegates were told versus what Morton has discovered through her research. It was a timely tour to embark upon as it was only days earlier when Morton was in BC Supreme Court in Vancouver challenging the legal and constitutional authority of the Province to regulate salmon farms in the marine environment. Morton, alongside a group of petitioners, argue that the regulating of salmon farms in BC waters should constitutionally be within the purview of the Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans. This episode will introduce this case, which is currently awaiting a decision. Guests/Voices Alexandra Morton - Scientist/Researcher, Raincoast Research Society (Echo Bay, BC) - While studying orca whales up until the 1990s, Alexandra watched as the salmon farming industry appeared in the Broughton Archipelago where she calls home. As she observed the arrival of industrial salmon farms, the whales she studied disappeared. She believed the cause was salmon farms, and when 10,000 pages of letters to all levels of government failed to elicit meaningful response, Alexandra realized that she would have to scientifically prove that salmon farming had driven out the whales and caused epidemic outbreaks of bacteria, viral and parasitic infections in wild salmon. By partnering with international scientists and in some cases commercial fishermen, Alexandra has documented the loss of the whales, thousands of escaped farm salmon, lethal outbreaks of sea lice, and antibiotic resistance near salmon farms. Paula Galloway - Member and Community Relations, British Columbia Salmon Farmers Association (BCSFA) (Campbell River, BC) - The BC Salmon Farmers Association was established in 1984. The Association is the voice of the province's salmon farming industry, a forum for communication, a vehicle for lobbying, and a point of contact for stakeholders and the public. Prior to her role with the BCSFA, Paula worked with EWOS - an international feed company serving the aquaculture industry. EWOS is owned by Norway's Cermaq. Bill Harrower - Manager of Regional Operations for Aquaculture Development, Province of British Columbia, Ministry of Agriculture and Lands - (Courtenay, BC) Aquaculture is a significant contributor to the provincial economy, and most aquaculture jobs are located in coastal communities. Farmed salmon is B.C.'s largest agricultural export product. Bill Harrower has worked with the Department since the 1980s. Barb Addison - Manager, Big Tree Creek Hatchery, Marine Harvest Canada (Sayward, BC) - Big Tree Creek is one of five hatcheries currently being managed by the company. It's in the process of a $3-million expansion.