August 17, 2006 Rafe Mair on Alexandra Morton’s Victory for Wild Salmon. Full Story

November 15, 2005 Dear Premier Campbell re Fish Farm Policy - Full Story

August 8, 2005 Walker Hook revisits burial site controversy. Gulf Islands Driftwood - Full Story

September 8, 2004 Witnessing an extinction – Pink Salmon Message from the Frontlines Alexandra Morton Full Story

May 30, 2005 Subsidizing fish farms helps to destroy wild fisheries. Vancouver Sun editorial Full Story

May 4, 2005 Report throws cold water on next hot thing in aquaculture: sablefish. The next potential fish to be farmed in BC – sablefish – is unlikely to deliver economic benefits to the province Full Story

May 1, 2005 Sablefish becomes haute cuisine. Sasha Chapman, Toronto Life Full Story

December 22, 2004 Uncharted Waters Salt Spring Residents express concern over sablefish hatchery on archaeological site. Grant Schilling, Monday Magazine Full Story (PDF File)

December 16, 2004 Spawning Controversy Opponents Of Proposed Sablefish Farms Charge That Disease And Parasites Will Devastate Wild Stocks. Sound Familiar? Sarah Cox, The Georgia Straight Full Story

November 3, 2004 Mad cow at sea? Large numbers of farmed sablefish appear to be dying from a disease of unknown origin. Full Story

October 25, 2004 Canadian Sablefish Association submission to the Gulf Islands Driftwood newspaper Full Story

October 22, 2004 The myth of over-spawning, and other misconceptions and mistruths - Craig Orr, Executive Director, Watershed Watch Society Full Story

October 22, 2004 The Canadian Sablefish Association calls on BC Premier Gordon Campbell to respect Alaska Governor’s request to stop sablefish farming Full Story

October 15th, 2004 US Governor joins fight against cod farming Murkowski calls for study of black cod farming's economic, environmental effects Full Story

October 14, 2004 Neil Frazer’s Notes to Rafe Mair re Science and Sea lice Full Story

October 11, 2004 Letter from Alaska’s Governor Frank Murkowski to BC Premier Gordon Campbell requesting halt to dangerous sablefish farming Full Story (PDF 241kb)

September 30, 2004 Mercury News Release Despite recent concerns raised over the levels of mercury in fish, Health Canada confirms that average sablefish levels are far below the Canadian guideline. Full Story

September 20, 2004 Japan Market Update Sablefish wholesale prices in Japan are currently at a ten-year low in Japan. Full Story

August 25, 2004 Sablefish farmer has a vision Click here to read a pro-sablefish farm article published in the Vancouver Sun.Click here to read our response submission the Sun.

August 19, 2004 Submission to the Editor, National Post re John van Dongen, BC Minister of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries editorial Full Story

July 5th, 2004 Sablefish Hatchery Injunction Details of trhe Canadian Sablefish Association's injunction in federal in court, against the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and Sablefin Hatcheries Ltd. to stop the transfer of the world’s first farmed sablefish to open water net pens in BC waters. Full Story

June 11th 2004 Expanding Fish Farms a Risky Business Victoria Times Colonist Full Story

May 17th, 2004 Fisheries Standing Committee letter to Minister of Fisheries. I am writing on behalf of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans to ask you to ensure that a comprehensive environmental impact analysis of sablefish aquaculture in British Columbia be completed under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, the Fisheries Act, or the Navigable Water Protection Act before any commercial sablefish farming operation is authorized to proceed.Full Story

May 19th, 2004 Sablefish Market Study, University of Washington. Study of Supply Side Effects on Sablefish Market Price Full Story

May 19th, 2004 Sablefish Hatchery News Release Participants in one of B.C.’s most successful commercial fisheries say controversial fish-farm hatchery poses grave risks Full Story

May 18th, 2004 Market Study News Release Study warns of catastrophic decline in markets and jeopardy to fishermen from proposed sablefish farms Full Story

April 22nd 2004 Fisheries and Oceans Canada News Release WEST COAST SABLEFISH FISHERY LOOKS STRONG Vancouver - Fisheries and Oceans Canada announced today that the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) on the Pacific coast has been set at 4,500 metric tonnes (mt) for the 2004/2005 fishing season. Full Story

March 19th 2004 Salmon crisis in Norway Salmon stocks in Norway are under threat from a deadly parasite being spread by record numbers of a trout-salmon hybrid. The fear is that the hybrid fish, which carry the parasite but remain healthy, could spread the worm to hundreds of unaffected rivers or streams. Full Story

March 10th, 2004 Letter from Native group re hatchery discharge through burial grounds Dear Mr. Hutchcroft, The Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group are in receipt of Mr. Gidon Minkoff’s application for an amendment to his Site Alteration Permit 2003-123 at DfRu-002, Walker’s Hook, Salt Spring Island, and herein pronounce our final judgment upon Sablefin Hatcheries Ltd. and their proposed development atop our ancestral village and cemetery at Syuhe’mun. Full Story

March 10th, 2004 Letter to Province re Sablefin Hatcheries I am an archaeologist (MA from UBC and PhD Candidate from UW) currently living on Salt Spring Island.  I have been following the progress of the Sablefin Hatcheries Ltd. development at Walker’s Hook, and I have some concerns I would like to express.  Full Story

April 16th, 2004 A Preliminary Assessment of the Issues Associated with Sablefish Aquaculture LGL Environmental Research Consultants Full Story

Feb 5th, 2004 Congratulations! Canadian Sablefish Association 2003 Tag Return Winners  Full Story

Jan. 29th 2004 Fighting to save sacred ground. Unbelievably, the B.C. government has approved plans to use a burial site for sewage disposal By Stephen Hume, Vancouver Sun Full Story

Jan 2nd, 2004 Penelakut Native Affidavit re Appeal of Sablefin Hatcheries' Waste Management Permit ENVIRONMENTAL APPEAL BOARD BETWEEN PENELAKUT FIRST NATION and ERIC WICKHAM and SALT SPRING ISLAND RESIDENTS FOR RESPONSIBLE LAND USE AND MINSTRY OF WATER, LAND AND AIR PROTECTION and SABLEFIN HATCHERIES LTD. Full Story

Dec 17th, 2003 Ten Reasons to Boycott Fresh Farmed Salmon This Christmas: Full Story

Dec 14th, 2003 Farm Salmon Pesticide Case Full Story

Dec 8th 2003 "The Sport Fishing Institute of BC supports the precautionary principle in fisheries management and believes that this principle requires an end to net
cage salmon aquaculture unless and until the federal and provincial
governments can demonstrate that this form of salmon farming can be operated
in a manner that does not pose a threat to naturally reproducing salmon
stocks."

July 23, 2003: Sablefish Hatchery built on Native Graveyard!

Construction of a sablefish hatchery on Saltspring Island by Sablefin Hatcheries Ltd. is happening directly on top of a Native graveyard.  To date the remains of at least 8 bodies have been unearthed during the development of the hatchery site.  There is a Native belief that any business developed on top of a Native burial ground is doomed to failure.

June 28, 2003: Sablefish Hatchery being built on site sensitive ecosystem The Canadian Wildlife Service has identified the Walker Hook tombolo on Salt Spring Island as a sensitive ecosystem area that should not be disturbed.  Sablefin Hatcheries Ltd. is currently constructing a hatchery within the Walker Hook tombolo area that will release release large quantities of waste water and effluents into the wetlands and the marine environment.  Full Story

May 9, 2003:  CSA meets with Provincial Fisheries Minister and MLA's Several CSA Directors met with Provincial Fisheries Minister John van Dongen on May 7 at the Parliament Buildings in Victoria to request a moratorium on sablefish aquaculture until comprehensive environmental and economic impact assessments are conducted and it is determined that the wild sablefish resource and commercial fishery are not at risk.  The CSA also met with the Honourable Stan Hagen, Minister of Sustainable Resource Management, and the Honourable Greg Halsey-Brandt, Minister of State for Intergovernmental Relations.

The CSA's position on sablefish aquaculture was presented in a brief to all the Provincial Ministers.  To view the CSA's position on sablefish aquaculture and aquaculture in general, go to our Aquaculture Page on this website.

April 15, 2003:  Wild Sablefish stocks increasing in Canada and U.S. Full Story

April 13, 2003:  Salt Spring Island Trustees ask for Environmental Impact Assessment of Sablefin Hatcheries Ltd. project in the following letter to the Ministry of Highways and Transportation:

March 20, 2003 Caldwell's Subdivision Application for Lease to Sablefin Hatcheries Full Story

March 17, 2003:  Sablefin Hatcheries Ltd. has built three salt water wells directly on top of an archaeological site on Salt Spring Island.  The Manager of the Archaeological Permitting Section, Archaeological Registry Services has confirmed that no site alteration permits have been issued for Lot 65, Salt Spring Island (the site where Sablefin Hatcheries has built three salt water wells).   A request has been made to have the Islands Trust Executive Committee investigate this matter and write a letter as soon as possible to government requesting that a heritage inspection on the leased portion of Lot 65 be performed.  The BC Heritage Conservation Act is enforced by the RCMP and it has been suggested that they should also be contacted if a protected site has been altered without a permit.

March 12, 2003: The Islands Trust continues to hear from angry residents of Salt Spring Island regarding the efforts by Sablefin Hatcheries Ltd. to build a large industrial hatchery in a environmentally sensitive area and in conflict with the Official Community Plan.  At a March 8 meeting to the Islands Trust Council the following resolutions were passed: Full Story

February 17, 2003: Opposition to Sablefin Hatcheries application for a 20 year subdivision (lease) remains strong among the residents of Saltspring Island.  At a March 13 Advisory Planning Committee (ATP) meeting, a crowd of more than 150 residents voiced their disagreement based on concerns for the local environment and beliefs that Sablefin Hatcheries is a development inconsistent with the Official Community Plan (OCP).  The ATP has delayed making any recommendation to the Island Trust regarding Sablefin Hatcheries' application until they have had an opportunity to review additional information.

February 9, 2003:  The BC Seafood Alliance has written to both the Federal and Provincial Government's expressing their support for the recent Pacific Fisheries Resource Conservation Council reports.  The Alliance also recommends both levels of government adopt policy that places wild fish and shellfish as a priority over the development of aquaculture.  Aquaculture poses a threat to wild resources and precautionary management must be applied more rigorously to aquaculture (salmon, sablefish, and other species) to ensure there are no negative impacts to the wild resources.

February 3, 2003:  Sablefin Hatcheries is facing enormous opposition from the residents of Saltspring Island in their application for a 20 year subdivision permit from the provincial government's Ministry of Transportation and Highways.  Sablefish Hatcheries is a high risk venture capital scheme headed up by Giddon Minkoff.  By promising to produce large numbers of juvenile sablefish for salmon farms, Mr. Minkoff is trying to lure unsuspecting investors into this venture.  The science for sablefish larval rearing is far from complete and the ability to produce such large numbers of juveniles is highly unlikely or, at a minimum, more than a decade away following millions of dollars in further research.

February 1, 2003:  Pacific Fisheries Resource Conservation Council has recently (January 2003) released their advisory report entitled: Wild Salmon and Aquaculture in British Columbia.  The report can be found at www.fish.bc.ca