Open letter to the leaders of Canada’s political parties from - Time to protect wild salmon and our shared oceans

Open letter to the leaders of Canada’s political parties from September 17, 2021 Time to protect wild salmon and our shared oceans by ending open net-pen salmon farming Dear Leaders, We are an alliance of individuals, communities and organizations from countries all over the globe who have carefully studied the issues related to the farming of salmonids in open ocean net-pens. [...] As leaders of Canada’s major political parties, you have an opportunity to share in an international effort to protect marine ecosystems, wild salmon, capture fisheries and the health of communities from the risks of the open net-pen salmon farming industry. [...] In addition to Canada’s international obligations to protect and restore wild Atlantic salmon under NASCO, the Government of Canada has a duty to protect wild salmon in all Canadian waters, and failure to do so would be an immense international tragedy at the feet of Canada’s political leaders. [...] This is unacceptable to all of us: the drugs, chemicals, feces, lice and disease pathogens shed by farmed salmon in their multiple millions have been demonstrated to have an adverse impact on the benthic environment and on the survival prospects for both salmon and herring—two fundamental building blocks in the ocean’s food web. [...] If your party forms government, you will have the tools at your disposal to direct the development of aquaculture in ways that protect the ocean and the communities throughout the globe that depend on the ocean, while still providing economic benefits and much-needed jobs in remote areas.