saltcod
Active Member
Well, I got a response from patagonia. My question to them was what is your company position on the recent Chinook widespread non-retention regulation in southern B.C.?
Here is their response. I've read the thing over a couple of times and nowhere do I actually see an answer to my question, but if you read between the lines it seems to say that if we drastically reduce fishing, there will be more food for whales. So I would infer that they support the non-retention regulation. No surprise there. I'm keeping my corporate and personal wallet shut when it comes to patagonia.
Hello!
Thanks for asking about campaign efforts to save wild salmon. We understand there are passionate people on both sides of the issue, but this is a fight we’ve been part of for many years and we’re committed to keeping the momentum moving forward.
Artifishal is our third major film about wild rivers and its purpose is to show how hatcheries and fish farms create significant risks to wild fish species, rather than help supplement dwindling populations as initially thought. We are bringing light to the issue of: hatchery and farm fish are inferior to wild fish – they are inbred, domesticated, and wreak havoc on native fish populations. We've partnered closely with the Wild Fish Conservancy and Native Fish Society to better understand the science surrounding the impacts of fish farms and hatcheries. To learn more about the issue and for links to specific studies, visit: https://nativefishsociety.org/science/hatcheries and http://wildfishconservancy.org/what...ce-on-adverse-effects-of-steelhead-hatcheries?
Our film DamNation and the current campaign is the way we’ve been working to support groups pushing dam removal at the local level. We strongly believe the costs of these dams outweigh the benefits they provide. They’re expensive to maintain, agriculture transportation is already moving away from the river, and the energy gained from the dams can be replaced by alternatives that will be much less expensive in the long run. Furthermore, studies have shown that removing dams, just years later, has allowed the ecosystem to reach a natural equilibrium and allowed wild salmon to reach their natural spawning grounds.
Wild salmon and other fish species do not know the borders that separate the Salish Sea into U.S. and Canada territories. We believe that our efforts will push others outside of the U.S. to take a stand on restoring waterways.
We want to keep an open forum for people on both sides of these issues because diversity cultivates creative efforts in restoration projects. Whichever side of these issues, we urge you to get involved so that all shareholders are represented.
Thank you for reaching out about Patagonia’s position on protecting wild salmon.
Please let me know if I did not answer your question. If not, please reply back with a specific question so that I may look into it further.
Until then,
All the best,
Sarah
Patagonia Customer Service
1.800.638.6464 | Call, Text, or Email | www.patagonia.com
Here is their response. I've read the thing over a couple of times and nowhere do I actually see an answer to my question, but if you read between the lines it seems to say that if we drastically reduce fishing, there will be more food for whales. So I would infer that they support the non-retention regulation. No surprise there. I'm keeping my corporate and personal wallet shut when it comes to patagonia.
Hello!
Thanks for asking about campaign efforts to save wild salmon. We understand there are passionate people on both sides of the issue, but this is a fight we’ve been part of for many years and we’re committed to keeping the momentum moving forward.
Artifishal is our third major film about wild rivers and its purpose is to show how hatcheries and fish farms create significant risks to wild fish species, rather than help supplement dwindling populations as initially thought. We are bringing light to the issue of: hatchery and farm fish are inferior to wild fish – they are inbred, domesticated, and wreak havoc on native fish populations. We've partnered closely with the Wild Fish Conservancy and Native Fish Society to better understand the science surrounding the impacts of fish farms and hatcheries. To learn more about the issue and for links to specific studies, visit: https://nativefishsociety.org/science/hatcheries and http://wildfishconservancy.org/what...ce-on-adverse-effects-of-steelhead-hatcheries?
Our film DamNation and the current campaign is the way we’ve been working to support groups pushing dam removal at the local level. We strongly believe the costs of these dams outweigh the benefits they provide. They’re expensive to maintain, agriculture transportation is already moving away from the river, and the energy gained from the dams can be replaced by alternatives that will be much less expensive in the long run. Furthermore, studies have shown that removing dams, just years later, has allowed the ecosystem to reach a natural equilibrium and allowed wild salmon to reach their natural spawning grounds.
Wild salmon and other fish species do not know the borders that separate the Salish Sea into U.S. and Canada territories. We believe that our efforts will push others outside of the U.S. to take a stand on restoring waterways.
- Hatcheries and open-water fish farms are key contributors to the catastrophic decline of wild Chinook salmon and southern resident killer whales in the Pacific Northwest. Now, a misguided plan to "feed the orcas" includes spending $87 million to pollute our waters with 60 million more hatchery salmon each year for 10 years. Science tells us this won't work: orcas need larger wild salmon, while adding more hatchery fish further weakens the wild-salmon gene pool, pushing both iconic species closer to extinction.
- According to leading orca scientists, no. Based on current orca-food-source research, increased numbers of hatchery releases would be of little benefit to Southern Resident killer whales (SRKW). A majority of hatchery salmon, as part of the domestication process, mature early and are too small, even as adults, to meet the caloric requirements of orcas. SRKWs need the increasingly scarce, large, wild Chinook salmon, which would be further depleted by the influx of hatchery fish.
- The only immediate way to provide more food for Southern Resident killer whales is to reduce open-ocean harvest. Currently, the ocean fishery off the west coast of Vancouver Island alone takes 70% of the Chinook salmon large enough to benefit orcas. Moving fisheries to river mouths and employing selective-harvest techniques in the future would allow humans to continue harvest while increasing the number of large, wild Chinook available to orcas.
- Driving change in the southern portion (U.S. territory) of the Salish Sea could drive the change to the northern portion (Canada territory). This change could have a direct affect the Chinook salmon runs into their natural spawning grounds.
- Tell decision makers to stop wasting money on failed plans and invest in science-based solutions to save endangered wild salmon and orcas: Stop hatcheries, reduce harvest and remove dams.?
We want to keep an open forum for people on both sides of these issues because diversity cultivates creative efforts in restoration projects. Whichever side of these issues, we urge you to get involved so that all shareholders are represented.
Thank you for reaching out about Patagonia’s position on protecting wild salmon.
Please let me know if I did not answer your question. If not, please reply back with a specific question so that I may look into it further.
Until then,
All the best,
Sarah
Patagonia Customer Service
1.800.638.6464 | Call, Text, or Email | www.patagonia.com
