December 11, 2002
Members of the Nuxalk Native Youth Movement participated in a road-blockade which was initiated by the Nuxalk Hereditary leadership, with the purpose of stopping the transportation of Atlantic farmed salmon through their Traditional unceded Territory. The salmon was harvested from an Atlantic fish farm located in Klemtu, "BC".
HOW:
A freezer semi-truck, barged to Bella Coola from Klemtu, en route to Vancouver, carrying a load of 'diseased' Atlantic farmed salmon, was detoured off of Highway 20, and stopped within a part of the Nuxalk Reservation. The truck halted where it was met with approximately 40 Nuxalkmc people, and held for 9 hours.
WHY:
Amongst the purpose of the blockade was the statement that Nuxalk would no longer tolerate the transportation of this species through their Traditional territory, nor give condolence to the practice of 'farmed salmon'. It is strongly believed that this very practice will have a detrimental and unrecoverable effect within the existing Wild salmon stock habitat, population and surrounding environment which the Nuxalk people are caretakers for and dependant upon for survival. Not only will the Wild stock salmon be contaminated, but all of the other winged (eagles, ravens, etc) and legged (bears, wolves, etc.) creatures that eat salmon will be poisoned and contaminated from the unnatural diseases born within the practice of farmed salmon.
BACKGROUND OF ATLANTIC FARMED SALMON
Norway was the leading country of salmon aqua-culture. Norweigians have been farming salmon for almost 30 years. In August of 1998, 40% of all fish farms were shut down, and millions of fish were slaughtered to stop the spread of an incurable disease known as infectious salmon anaemia. Twenty (20) Norwegian rivers have been treated with rotenone since 1981; the river systems were poisoned to eradicate a farm salmon parasite and killed almost all other wild life as well as the diseased salmon.
Farmed fish contain high levels of contaminants including 10 times more polychlorinated, biphenyls, P.C.B's than wild fish. The U$ federal government has recently advised pregnant women not to eat farmed fish since 60,000 children in the U$ have brain injury from their mothers eating fish with high levels of mercury.
RESULTS OF BLOCKADE
Klemtu complied to the demand of the Nuxalk. The Atlantic farmed salmon will no longer be shipped and transported within Nuxalk territory. Beforehand, under protest as well, an alternate route was required after a demand that the fish no longer be transported through the port facilities of Port Hardy. Now, one of the only transportation routes would be further north extending to the waters around Prince Rupert. Further action will be required to achieve the future goal of stopping altogether the practices of farmed salmon within the entire coast of what is known as "BC", which is all Indian land. Native Youth Movement is calling for an international boycott of farmed salmon. NYM is Calling on all Indian people to stand up and protect our sacred waters.
Nuxalk Native Youth Movement
Contact:
[email protected]
Box 382
Bella Coola, Nuxalk Nation
V0T 1C0
“Canada”