‘March for Wild Salmon’ begins next week (1 March) with
solidarity events in Canada and Norway.
More details via Wild Salmon First and join the Facebook event page for "March for Wild Salmon" online here!
In Oslo, a ‘Declaration for Wild Salmon’ written upon a hand-made
Norwegian flag will be brought to the King of Norway, the Norwegian Parliament
and the Norwegian Government-owned company Cermaq.
Read the schedule for the Oslo event on 1 March online
here
In Vancouver, the Indigenous Salmon Defenders
will gather to deliver a similar declaration with the message: “Stop Norwegian
Fish Farms from Killing Wild Salmon!”
Read the schedule for the Vancouver event on 1 March online here
‘March for Wild Salmon’ is a month-long series of events
with protests also planned in Galway, Ireland (2 March) and Bergen, Norway (6
March), before closing on 31 March with a global vigil for wild salmon in
support of the young salmon smolts as they prepare to head out to sea and past
the disease-ridden Norwegian-owned salmon farms.
“We need widespread support of people who are willing to stand
beside us to protect our sacred wild salmon and most nutritious and precious
food,” said Dawn Morrison of the Indigenous Food Systems Network who
is leading the gathering of Indigenous Salmon Defenders in Vancouver.
“We have stood on the shores of the rivers,
lakes, streams and ocean and watched the government fail miserably by
allowing the Norwegian owned salmon farming industry to inflict disease and
suffering upon this amazing keystone species. It is time to head to higher ground and find
balance in the politics and greed that has been compromising wild salmon. In addition to being the most culturally
adapted food in Indigenous communities, the salmon are highly significant
contributors to the beautiful landscapes that define BC. The value of wild salmon is much higher than
any amount of money that can be traded in the market economies created by fish
farms.”
“Wild salmon are the lifeblood of Indigenous communities and
have been for thousands of years,” said Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, President
of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs.
“The
spectre of salmon farms has not only placed the survival of wild salmon under
threat, but the cultural survival of Indigenous Peoples. By continuing to operate in the Pacific waters
of our wild salmon, the Norwegian owned salmon farming industry is unacceptably
infringing on the rights of Indigenous Peoples as identified in the United
Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. We are left no
choice but to unite in solidarity and demand the removal of threats posed by
the salmon farming industry.”
“Travelling thousands of miles through the oceans and seas,
wild salmon know no borders,” said Elena Edwards, founder of Wild Salmon First!
“Unfortunately, neither does the salmon
farming industry and the infectious diseases that come with it. The spread of this predominantly Norwegian
owned industry is going to require a united multi-national effort to ensure
that salmon farming does not bring the final death blow to wild salmon of the
world. People must fight to ensure that
wild salmon are the first priority not the last.”
For more details on the "March for Wild Salmon" please visit www.wildsalmonfirst.org
For photos visit online
here
Download collages of photos online here and online here
Intrafish (21 February) reported the news as their 'Top Story'!
NRK, Norway's state broadcaster, also reported (21 February) on the "Protest Against Norwegian Salmon Farming":
