A Fishy Tale - Documentary

It is with great urgency that I compel you to join with me and fight against the huge threat affecting the oceans and remaining wild fish stocks around the world. We’ve all heard about the environmental threats of oil, coal & gas companies, but few ever talk about the greatest overlooked environmental threat of our time – FISH FARMS. Everywhere there is fish farming, wild fish are rapidly depleting, and in many places – gone. In addition to the elimination of our wild fish, our oceans are being destroyed. Massive amounts of toxins kill everything that lives below these open net cages. In open net-cage farming, the use of mesh nets means there is no way to prevent waste feed, which can be laced with antibiotics and pesticides, and fish feces from passing directly into the ocean. These chemicals and antibiotics used in farmed salmon production—from the toxic copper coating used as antifoulant on nets to the pesticide/paraciticide used to treat sea lice—all have impacts on the marine environment. And NOAA, (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), the same government agency we trust to protect our oceans, is giving a green light to aquaculture (fish farms) off the Gulf of Mexico. It’s rumored that the next step is to expand aquaculture off the coasts in federal waters of Alaska. Heaven forbid! Soon fish farms will be off the same coasts that make up the vibrant fishing communities, which were recently hammered with the oil spill.

British Columbia residents are currently in the fight of their lives, trying to stave off the increasing amount of fish farms that are surrounding their coasts. The fish farms have devastated their wild salmon fishery. In most places, their wild salmon are gone. Unfortunately, the Canadian government sees the enormous amount of money fish farming brings to their overall economy and has opted to trade wild salmon, and the livelihoods of the fisherman, for the dependability of farmed salmon.

The science is clear. The perceived benefits of aquaculture, as currently practiced, can’t possibly outweigh the threats to wild salmon and the ecosystems and economies that depend on healthy oceans and abundant wild salmon populations. The perceived savings on the price of fish comes with far too high a cost. YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE! LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD! Please Contact your State Representative and tell them to support Alaska Congressman Don Young’s Bill, HR 574 – Protecting our Oceans, Coastal Communities and Consumers from Ocean Factory Fish. We must stop the reckless development of fish farming in our federal waters! Sara Pozonsky, Producer
A Fishy Tale