Ms. Morton, I’ll take that bet and raise you
Letter: Submitted to the Times Colonist, August 27, 2010
Dear Editor;
Alexandra Morton recently wrote to your paper with encouraging news. She is “going to wager a bet” that salmon farms were indeed very healthy in 2008, when this year’s record returning number of sockeye salmon went to sea (Fight deregulation of those fish farms, August 27th).
This, of course, contradicts everything she has said over the past years. She is an American activist paid to hate BC salmon farms – that is clear. Her latest comment in your paper is not only interesting, but if her “bet” were real, it would be considered illegal.
You see, she has knowledge that salmon farms in BC are very highly regulated and are routinely checked for disease. The fish are very healthy – and the 90+% survival rate commonly seen on farms is a testament to the health of BC farm-raised salmon.
But how on earth does she have this knowledge? Well, actually, we all do. Fish health information is reported publicly via annual Fish Health Reports. They are all on the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands website and have been since 2003.
Ms. Morton, I’ll take that bet and raise you.
Joel Durand
Campbell River
