First Nations leaders on the Sunshine Coast are calling for Ottawa to study the impact of Fukushima radiation

First
Nations leaders on the Sunshine Coast are calling for Ottawa to study the
impact of Fukushima radiation on the West Coast fishery. A March 2011 tsunami
in Japan resulted in a catastrophic failure of the Fukushima nuclear site and
radiation has been detected (barely) in BC coastal waters, said an ocean
science division manager with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO. The
federal government has tested fish species in 2011 and early 2012, but Canada’s
Food Inspection Agency reports that “further testing of imported or domestic
food products for the presence of radioactive material is not required.” In a
letter last month to Assembly of First Nations Chief Shawn Atleo, Tahltan
Central Council President Annita McPhee wrote “We cannot sit by and watch and
wait to see what the full impacts of the Fukushima disaster will be on our
salmon and our way of life. To date, we have not seen or heard of Canada taking
this issue seriously and working in a real way to address it.” Tla’amin
(Sliammon) First Nation Chief Clint Williams is also pushing for the testing.
“Our people really cherish salmon. It has always been part of our culture… We
want to make sure our food is safe. And it’s not just salmon either. It’s
clams, geoducks, sea urchins.”