First Nations and environmental activists are making their voices heard in the ongoing battle over fish farms in B.C. waters.
Protesters gathered for a sit-in outside the office of agriculture minister Lana Popham in Saanich on Thursday.
The event quickly moved inside even though the minister herself was not there.
The sit-in called for urgent action from the provincial government to honour an election promise to remove open-pen Atlantic salmon farms on traditional First Nations territories.
Activists say the fish are spreading diseases to native salmon and threatening the marine and forest ecosystems that depend on them.
In a statement, Popham said she’s committed to continuing to work with First Nations, the aquaculture industry and the DFO to ensure the aquaculture sector is environmentally sustainable and respectful of First Nations’ rights.
Protesters say the actions are in solidarity with a protest at the Marine Harvest salmon farm on Swanson Island off the east coast of Vancouver Island.
Last month, an open pen fish farm in Washington State collapsed, allowing more than 300,000 Atlantic salmon to escape into the Pacific Ocean.
