RE: NANFA-- RE: WA State Lack of Regulation

Jay DeLong (thirdwind_at_att.net)
Wed, 3 Nov 1999 22:28:02 -0800

Shireen, I understand your frustration. It seems the focus of discussions
in the papers and elsewhere have been on how bad Atlantic salmon farming is
because these fish can spawn in Pacific rivers. Well, yeah, that's bad, but
what are those fish doing in those rivers when they should be in the pens?
I think what's bad is that the fish are escaping! I support aquaculture and
I think Atlantic salmon culture can be a good thing. Aquaculture permits us
to provide food while protecting wild fish. But these north Pacific waters
can be inhospitable and even dangerous, and these pens occasionally rupture
and let fish escape. Therefore we need to insist these companies spend
whatever money is required to escape-proof the pens. Maybe new materials,
maybe pens inside pens, I don't know. But they aren't going to voluntarily
change the way they do business.

You want to talk in money terms? Tell people what fish will cost without
commercially raised salmon. And then insist the government tighten
standards for pen operation.

Jay DeLong
Olympia, WA

> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-nanfa_at_aquaria.net On Behalf
> Of Shireen Gonzaga
> Sent: Wednesday, November 03, 1999 3:17 PM
> To: nanfa_at_aquaria.net
> Subject: NANFA-- RE: WA State Lack of Regulation
>
>
> If native stocks become "contaminated" with Atlantic stocks, so what?
> - How do you prove that leaking farmed fish into the natural environment
> will introduce disease and wipe out the whole lot of 'em?
> - Is there documented proof that Atlantic stocks outcompete native stocks
> for food?
> - Will any of this matter as long as there are fish resembling salmon to
> catch?
>
> Regarding the proof: ok, so the agencies are not getting the research
> funds they requested for gathering data. Why? People who dole out the
> cash already know what the answer is going to likely be. So why
> fund them?
>
> There are a lot of "what ifs" and "possibles" in this report. Educated
> speculation is an easy target since ignorance is bliss, till it's too
> late. So how does this report compete with the bottom line: money? How
> does the need to preserve native stocks--because of their inherent value
> in the biodiversity of an ecosystem--compare to money? How do you explain
> these seeming intangibles to superficial minds motivated by greed?
>
> Conservation organizations need to start talking in a language that most
> people will understand: money. They need to start making powerful cases
> for these so-called "intangibles" in terms of hard currency. That's the
> only language law-makers and the public seem to understand.
>
> yours in great frustration,
> shireen
>
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/ reflect the beliefs or goals of the North American Native Fishes
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/ This is the discussion list of the North American Native Fishes Association
/ nanfa_at_aquaria.net. To subscribe, unsubscribe, or get help, send the word
/ subscribe, unsubscribe, or help in the body (not subject) of an email to
/ nanfa-request_at_aquaria.net. For a digest version, send the command to
/ nanfa-digest-request_at_aquaria.net instead.
/ For more information about NANFA, visit our web page, http://www.nanfa.org