"Once upon a time, there was a happy kingdom, ruled by a wise king with a merciful queen, and they had a beautiful daughter which usually sets the stage for a story in which the kingdom is invaded by ruffians, the king and his queen die, and the daughter is taken captive at least until the hero comes and re-establishes harmony.

British Columbia has a successful, well-managed fishery for blackcod. It is a fishery that is largely self managed, i.e., the fishers are in charge, and though there is no king, there is harmony, at least as far as such things go in the real world. Now there is talk of blackcod farming. If successful, this would increase supply and hence reduce prices but only Japanese buyers would benefit, not their Canadian suppliers. But more importantly, farming blackcod would generate a high risk of parasite infection, and disease, something that is not needed along the BC coast, where salmon farming has already generated a parasite problem the extent of which we are only beginning to uncover as it already did in Europe and everywhere else they are farmed.

Hopefully this report and the lessons it builds upon will help convince federal and provincial officials that in this case progress is served by not doing something by not encouraging the emergence of blackcod farming in British Columbia. So that, in our kingdom, there will be, for once, a happy ending."

Daniel Pauly, Director, Fisheries Centre UBC
Ecological and Economic Impact Assessment of Sablefish Aquaculture in British Columbia

Factory Farmed Sablefish in Clayoquot Sound?

TOFINO, BC- The Government is discretely opening the floodgates to farmed sablefish (also known as 'black cod') in BC. Salmon farming companies challenged due to infectious diseases, mass escapes and unpredictable market prices, are now preparing to switch from salmon to sablefish.

Clayoquot Sound has already seen a secret "trial" of farmed sablefish in 2001 and is under real threat from the expansion of factory sablefish farming. Almost a third of B.C.'s planned sablefish farming production - some 27,500 tonnes - could be in the Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.

If salmon farmers switched to sablefish tomorrow they could produce an estimated 78,000 tonnes of farmed sablefish - 16 times more than the wild catch of sablefish (4,500 tonnes) and even more than current farmed salmon production.


Figures compiled by the Canadian Sablefish Association and Friends of Clayoquot Sound reveal that since 2002 an estimated 26 sablefish farm licences have been issued in BC. to companies already farming Atlantic and Pacific salmon. Since the first sablefish farm licence was issued in 1995, the BC. Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has issued at least 49 licences with an average farm size of 1,600 tonnes each.

Just three Norwegian companies - Pan Fish (17), Cermaq (11) and Stolt (9) - already have 37 out of 49 licences to farm sablefish in the sounds and pristine waters of BC. Most of the sablefish farms slated for Clayoquot Sound - all owned by Norwegian multinational Cermaq (Mainstream) - are huge factory farms with the capacity of producing in excess of 2,500 metric tonnes.



Take action now to stop sablefish farming from doing to wild sablefish what salmon farming has already done to wild Pacific salmon. Send a letter to the B.C. and Canadian Government asking them to demand proper environmental assessments before this experiment with nature is allowed to proceed.

FOCS Investigate Interfor's Proposed Logging in Sulphur Pass, Clayoquot Sound

TOFINO, BC - On August 1st, Friends of Clayoquot Sound visited an intact wilderness valley in Sulphur Pass in northern Clayoquot Sound. The purpose of this Forest Watch field trip was to investigate proposed cutblocks and logging roads that Interfor had surveyed in this unnamed valley.

Interfor's approved logging plan calls for 13 kilometres of roads and 4 large cutblocks, spanning three intact (completely unlogged) valleys that drain into Sulphur Passage.

After boating to the mouth of the creek, we bushwhacked up to 350 metres elevation, to a slope covered with giant cedar trees, located in the middle of one of the proposed cutblocks. Although the road building permit was granted last October, we discovered that Interfor's on-the-ground survey is still at a preliminary stage.

The ancient temperate rainforest of Sulphur Pass lies at the interface between wilderness and development to the south, clearcuts and logging roads; to the north an unbroken sweep of intact forest, encompassing the Megin, Pretty Girl, Sydney, Hesquiat Lake and Satchie Valleys.

In 1988, Friends of Clayoquot Sound stopped a logging road from penetrating into Sulphur Pass and beyond. Today, 17 years later, we are equally determined to stop Interfor from pushing logging into this wilderness frontier. Interfor appears to be postponing activity for the time being, but we remain vigilant. We'll keep you posted!

Help Keep Clayoquot Sound's Salmon Forest Wild!

TOFINO, BC - As a grassroots organization, Friends of Clayoquot Sound does not accept money from the government or multi-national corporations. We depend on individuals like yourself for support to run our campaigns, to educate, and to inspire people to action.

Your support makes a difference!

With your donation to Friends of Clayoquot Sound, you will join a dedicated and dynamic team working to protect the landscapes and waters of Clayoquot Sound, encourage sustainable environmental stewardship and green business opportunities.

Contact us!

Friends of Clayoquot Sound
Box 489, 331 Neill St, Tofino BC V0R 2Z0
Tel 250-725-4218, Fax 250-725-2527
Email info@focs.ca | Web www.focs.ca