First Nations take feds, companies to court over B.C. fish farms

Two First Nations in British Columbia are taking the federal government and fish farm companies to court in an attempt to overturn a decision that allows the farms to continue to operate off B.C.'s coast for another five years.

The 'Namgis and the Kwikwasut'inuxw Haxwa'mis First Nations say in separate Federal Court applications the decision infringes on their Aboriginal rights.

The fisheries department had been phasing out the fish farms, but last month Canada's fisheries minister extended licences for another five years for Grieg Seafood and Mowi Canada to continue to run 14 farms.

In the 'Namgis application, the First Nation claims fish stocks of pink, coho, chinook and sockeye salmon have become "severely depleted," prompting the nation to stop fishing for those stocks in the Nimpkish River, build a hatchery and start a pilot project for a land-based fish farm facility.

The application says the fish farms licensed by the minister are "along crucial choke points of the migratory routes of wild Pacific salmon" that the nation has been fishing since "time immemorial."

The 'Namgis say the minister is mandated to protect and conserve fish, but the fisheries department has allegedly ignored that mandate since it began regulating fish aquaculture, and the department's "history of mismanagement, regulatory capture, and bias is notorious."

The Kwikwasut'inuxw Haxwa'mis First Nation's application says the federal government made the decision to license the fish farms without proper consultation, despite "the increased threat to already declining migrating wild salmon posed by the ongoing operation of the fish farms."

"For consultation to be meaningful, a decision-maker must engage in consultation efforts in good faith and with an open mind," the application says. "A consultation process that provides no opportunity to inform or change the course of the decision is merely an opportunity to 'blow off steam.'"

The 'Namgis application says the decision to give licences to Grieg and Mowi's fish farms for another five years "creates a direct risk to the survival of wild Pacific salmon" and the nation's ability to continue exercising its Aboriginal right to fish.

In response to the court applications, the B.C. Salmon Farmers Association released a statement in which it said it respects and recognizes the First Nations' rights and title over their traditional territories.

"Our sector has consistently stated that we will not farm where we do not have consent, and we have stayed true to that commitment," said Brian Kingzett, the association's executive director.

The release also highlighted that federal, independent and sector-led research shows the current salmon farms pose minimal risk to the wild Pacific salmon.