Tsimshian deliver 'no fish farms' message

The Allied Tsimshian Tribes (ATT) brought just one message when their representatives visited Norway in June, and it was a clear and emphatic one: Fish farms are not welcome in their territory.

That message was heard by a wide range of prominent people in the country, home to the world's leading fish farm corporations, and it was backed by delegates from southern B.C., the United States and Chile.

The visit attracted international attention and at the centre of it all was Allied Tsimshian Tribes representative Eugene Bryant, who found himself suddenly overwhelmed with the responsibility he bore.

"When I was over there, attending all these meetings and doing all these media interviews, it suddenly hit me as to how many people I was really representing," said Bryant. "Yes, I was officially representing the Allied Tribes but I was also, essentially, representing all First Nations who depend on the Skeena River and everyone, including non-First Nations, who depend on the North Coast's waters."

Fish farms pose a danger not only to the First Nations communities that have depended on the rivers and oceans for centuries, said Bryant, but to everyone, from the tourism industry to the service industry.

"Now I was speaking for small business and tourism, for sports fishermen, hotel operators and charter businesses; some that I normally don't fight for. I had to put my bias aside and speak with one voice," said Bryant. "Because nobody is going to come here to see a polluted, desert ocean. They come here to see a clean, pristine environment."

Along with delegates from Chile and the U.S, Bryant was joined by Chief Bob Chamberlin of the Musgamagw Tsawataineuk Nation, located in the Broughton Archipelago off the northeast coast of Vancouver Island.

The Broughton Archipelago is considered by fish farm opponents to be a prime example of the devastating consequences of fish farms. There are 27 fish farms in the area and more than half of them are located directly in the path of migrating pink salmon. In 2002, 3,600,000 pinks were expected to spawn but only 147,000 returned. Evidence suggests that the salmon were killed by the huge numbers of sea lice that open pen fish farms produce.

In his letter to Norway's king and prime minister, Chamberlin wrote the fish farms are causing "irreparable damage to the marine environment and pushing local wild salmon stocks to the brink of extinction," as well as negatively affecting the bi-valve, herring, eulichan, crustaceans and ground fish.

Although the delegation was unable to meet directly with the king and prime minister, they did manage to crash the annual general meeting of Pan Fish, the biggest fish farm company on the planet.

"We weren't invited to the AGM, of course, so we just showed up. We didn't know if they would let us in or not," smiled Bryant. "But they let us in and gave us 10 minutes to speak. You could see the chief executive (Atle Eide) wasn't impressed at all but I was optimistic with the response from some of the stakeholders we met with after the meeting, and of some of the local people."

The declaration Bryant presented on behalf of the ATT reads: "We, the First Nations of the Skeena River and its approaches, proclaim the waters of our traditional territories a fish farm free, wild salmon only, zone."

Currently, there are no open pen fish farms in Tsimshian territory, although a Pan Fish operation is being developed in the Tsimshian community of Kitkatla. That may change, though, as shortly after Bryant's visit to the company's AGM, Eide told a Norwegian newspaper that Pan Fish would not be making any new fish farm investments in B.C. that aren't welcome.

Also, shortly after the visit, a major shareholder, Fritt Ord, withdrew it holdings based on ethical standards.