Media Releases

East and West Coast conservation organisations today expressed united concern over the undermining of the Canadian ‘organic’ label by a new organic standard that would allow net-pen aquaculture products to be certified. More »

The Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform (CAAR) is vehemently opposing plans by Marine Harvest to increase production on salmon farms directly in the path of out-migrating juvenile Fraser River salmon. In an April 17, 2012 letter to DFO’s Regional Director General, CAAR demanded that any amendments to aquaculture licenses to increase production levels of farmed salmon in B.C. waters be denied. More »

Although the final draft Salmon Aquaculture Dialogue (SAD) standard pushes improved performance in the net cage industry, it does not adequately protect wild salmon and the environment, according to the Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform (CAAR). More »

Certifying a net-cage farm as ‘sustainable’ given the well-documented negative impacts that they are having on the marine environment, especially wild salmon, does not make sense particularly given the latest ISAv developments. More »

A joint website – which details the unprecedented collaboration activities between these parties, including: combined monitoring efforts, data sharing agreements, shared research objectives and joint results – will go live today, 10 November 2011. More »

The Wild Salmon Narrows Declaration, signed by 54 local, provincial and national organizations is calling for the removal of open net-cage salmon farms from the Wild Salmon Narrows (WSN) in the northern Georgia Strait. More »

Over 50 organizations, businesses and fishermen from across Canada and the U.S. today submitted a joint letter to the Canadian General Standards Board (CGSB) opposing proposed draft Organic Standards for Finfish Aquaculture. The Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform (CAAR), together with the other signatories, is calling on the CGSB to overhaul the weak draft and develop organic aquaculture standards that are in line with basic organic principles. More »

Mainstream Canada has submitted a tenure application to the Provincial Government for a new open net-cage salmon farm located in Fortune Channel on the east side of Meares Island. If approved, and then licenced by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, the site would add about another 600,000 farmed salmon to a “core aquatic protected area” of the Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. CAAR is calling on the Provincial Government to deny this tenure application and to place a permanent moratorium on net-cage tenures in BC. More »

Mainstream Canada is restocking their Venture Point salmon farm in Okisollo Channel. With the recent reactivation of the Conville Bay farm in Hoskyn Channel (sublet by Grieg Seafood from Marine Harvest), the big three salmon farm companies in BC are ignoring the desperate need for an emergency migration route in the Wild Salmon Narrows. More »

Today Living Oceans Society and the Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform (CAAR) released a new report – Better than the Rest? A Resource Guide to Farmed Salmon Certifications. Largely written for retailers, this guide assesses the five eco-certifications on the market, two certifications in draft and the organic labels in use and in development for farmed salmon. Unfortunately all five eco-certifications fail to fully meet the requirements of credible standards. More »