Study calls for co-ordinated effort to stem run-off toxic to salmon

[Derby]

Subject: Vancouver Sun: Study calls for co-ordinated effort to stem run-off toxic to salmon


https://vancouversun.com/news/local...inated-effort-to-stem-run-off-toxic-to-salmon

 

[UkeeDreamin]

Another gift from Harper that keeps on giving - remove DFO and their local offices from regulating and enforcing water quality in fish bearing water and transfer it to ECCC, who is only resourced to regulate mega-projects that trigger the federal EA process. Not surprising at all that this issue has worsened in the past decade plus. Shameful that Canada, formerly a global leader in fish and fish habitat (including water quality) protection, has regressed at a time when so many pacific salmon stocks are at risk due to cumulative pressures.

Climate driven ocean productivity/survival issues; continued, if not accelerating, freshwater habitat loss; on going degradation of water quantity and quality (not just point and non-point source pollution, but also significant temp/DO and sediment issues in most Interior systems); predator-prey balance issues; poor hatchery practices unnecessarily diluting wild stock gene pools (ie by marking less than 10% of our hatch fish, it guarantees a high percentage of hatchery origin fish are unethically labelled as “wild” (and thus used) simply b/c an adipose is present); non-selective harvest (gill nets!) still being endorsed by DFO (Dumb F@ckers Org) when at risk/endangered stocks present; and harvest/interception rates still far beyond what most of the at risk stocks can sustain, to name but a few issues .... If we refuse to make some sacrifices to address at least half of these issue, we shouldn’t feign surprise when the inevitable extinctions begin to happen.

Cheers!

Ukee

 

[SpringVelocity]

"Study points to insufficient top-down enforcement and inconsistent approach to rainwater management"

BC Ministry of Environment again. Just another reason the professional reliance model should be completely scrapped, and former overhaul of leadership in the ministry must be done. It floors me how this ministry keeps getting away with it.

MOE needs more enforcement staff. Also the Feds need more Environment Canada officers . They are completely underfunded/understaffed.

 

[UkeeDreamin]

"Study points to insufficient top-down enforcement and inconsistent approach to rainwater management"

BC Ministry of Environment again. Just another reason the professional reliance model should be scrapped, and former overhaul of leadership in the ministry must be done. It floors me how this ministry keeps getting away with it.

Province only regulates or enforces if absolutely forced or shamed into it. MoE regularly allows industry to write their own permits, conditions and all, for Cripes-sake!!! Giving the appearance of regulating and enforcing (to be fair to MoE, DFO has adopted a similar desk-top review by inexperienced and under qualified staff approach to “regulation” - which is essentially just paper pushing permitting ...) is far worse than doing nothing at all as it hides what’s actually occurring from the public eye!

Cheers!

Ukee

 

[agentaqua]

Totally, Ukee. Same thing for forestry impacts, as well. Anything for a buck that goes into my pocket Harper. He pulled the feds out of PNCIMA after Enbridge complained about worrying they might be left out of Kitimat, too - along w gutting the Fisheries Act, the Ports Act, the CEA Act, and the list goes on. And we are still undoing that toxic legacy. And there are still a few posters who figure voting Conservative will solve all their issues.

 

[SpringVelocity]

Province only regulates or enforces if absolutely forced or shamed into it. MoE regularly allows industry to write their own permits, conditions and all, for Cripes-sake!!! Giving the appearance of regulating and enforcing (to be fair to MoE, DFO has adopted a similar desk-top review by inexperienced and under qualified staff approach to “regulation” - which is essentially just paper pushing permitting ...) is far worse than doing nothing at all as it hides what’s actually occurring from the public eye!

Cheers!

Ukee

Fully agree. It isn't that the industrial site themself are necessarily bad its just there is clear lack of enforcement by MOE. They let companies hire independent contractors, and MOE doesn't monitor like they should. They monitor some sites quite well some they don't.

Last time I checked with local Federal Environmental Canada officer was stretched so thin. There was like one officer for island. A few for mainland. His office if you can believe it is the MOE building. Even when Trudeau came into power they still haven't fixed some of the critical things in fisheries act to give more power to these officers. So how dangerous is that? The MOE is understaffed and hardly enforces anything, and really is the lead on water.

Sorry to go but its been a thorn in my side since the Shawnigan Lake Quarry fiasco. Perfect example of MOE incompetence. Not surprised by what Derby posted honestly.

You look at Fraser right now everybody so focused on the fish returning, but yet no one asks about water quality at all? Why the silence? Fraser is the most industrialized waterway. That right there is something we can control.

 

[UkeeDreamin]

Just like I’ve been saying about the Big Bar slide: all this $$$ and effort even though DFO knows they have no clue how bad the habitat and water quality/ quantity is u/S in the critical spawning and rearing streams. It is WAY worse than they assume - a decade of largely unregulated agriculture, forestry, mining, etc plus massive fire and flood destabilization. Much of the Chilcotin system, for eg, is absolutely F@cked!

Totally agree that Trudeau, and his merry band of unethical Libs, haven’t made many meaningful improvements- the FA changes were minor in their impact to the resource compared to the massive field level staffing cuts, field office closures, Policy and Operational Direction changes - areas where little, if any, meaningful changes have been made.

Cheers!

Ukee

 

[agentaqua]

Excellent and also depressing insights, SV & UD. Gonna have to up my Scotch allowance if I want to continue reading this thread...