B.C. First Nations want meeting with Carney about salmon, need for open-net farm ban

First Nations in British Columbia are calling for a meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney to discuss protecting and reviving wild salmon.

Bob Chamberlin, chair of the First Nations Wild Salmon Alliance, which includes more than 120 First Nations, says the federal government should create a First Nation-led plan to protect the wild fish, similar to the joint land use plan for governing the Great Bear Rainforest.

Chamberlin says he’s nervous the federal government might not follow through on its promise to ban open-net salmon farms by 2029, after initially rolling back plans for the ban to be in place by 2025.

He says working with First Nations to protect salmon would allow the government to implement recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for the need to rebuild Indigenous opportunities in culture, traditions, and the attachment to land.

He says the alliance has been told that a report on the open-net ban is coming, but they have not been given any specifics about what the next steps might be.

Salmon farmers have pushed back against the ban, saying the industry supports about 4,700 jobs and generates more than $1 billion annually, and the closures will hurt coastal communities.

Chamberlin sent a letter to the Prime Minster’s Office in August asking for the meeting with Carney and Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson, but he says he has not heard back yet.

“We urge this government to uphold the previous decision to ban open-net pen fish farms by 2029, embracing an approach that would see such farms removed from coastal waters in the Pacific region and prioritizes our environment and an iconic wild salmon species over economic growth,” the letter says.

The federal government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.