AniaR
07-12-2011, 12:43 PM
Carrying this over from yuku and my page...
I participated in a protest today and I wanted to share the blog I wrote for my mermaid page
You can follow my mermaid fanpage here:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Raina-the-Halifax-Mermaid/183327321702019
You can read and comment on the original blog that includes photos here:
https://www.facebook.com/notes/raina-the-halifax-mermaid/no-salmon-feed-lots-please-a-mermaid-perspective/236484973031811
I try to be creative and stay in character as a mermaid
Introduction
Today I dawned my human legs to venture to downtown Halifax to witness a protest being put on by the Ecology Action Center. Being the tech-savvy mermaid that I am I have been following these lovely humans and their work for quite some time digitally and was happy to meet many of them in person a few weeks ago during World Ocean's Day. They were protesting and educating about unsustainable industrial salmon farming and let me tell you, I like salmon poop about as much as the next mermaid and that's not very much. So I went to hear what they had to say and since I was good and mobile... I brought a camera.
Here is a link to the photos I took be sure to read the captions:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.218336091534475.59424.183327321702019
The Issue
The main issue that took focus today was the decision by our local government to install "salmon feed lots" despite the fact they have ruined local aquaculture in New Brunswick. Nobody was really consulted decisions were simply made and any local public with a concern or a question basically ignored. But thanks to the voice of those who experienced it and the humans at the Ecology Action Center the real story starts to unfold.
Now as your resident mermaid I can tell you there are several types of fish farms. There are fish farms that take place on land; they create jobs, fish, and less environmental impact when managed properly. There are fish farms that happen in the ocean but are done sustainably with considerable thought put into waste management and the health of the surrounding environment. There are "wanna be" sustainable fish farms that actually aren't sustainable at all but try to fly under that banner to get away with what they do, and then plane old dirty nasty fish farms.
<Photo 4>
The Mermaid Perspective!
What's so bad about fish farms? Consider this: You're a lovely young mermaid out for her morning swim perhaps going to inspect the local lobster traps to see if you can use any of that mermaid charm to lure a few in for the nice guys on shore when suddenly your gills are packed with fish poo. Fish poo from 2 million extra salmon that aren't normally in the area. The water becomes thick and sludgey, you can't see and every rock you try to grasp is too gross to hang on to, all around you animals and their habitats are dying and even worse- you've now caught yourself a case of sea lice. Ick. Just what every mermaids wants. You breach the surface of the water to get a gasp of clean air when the overwhelming stench of fish poo fills your lungs as well. Great- you've got it everywhere. Not to mention the bit of ocean you just breached is now apparently private property and you need to high tail your scaley butt outta there!
It's that much of a bother to mermaids imagine what it's like for the local animals and environment and how that is going to affect the local lobster fisherman.
The Protest
<Photo 1>
Now sure I've had my experiences with these awful fish farms but always from a mermaid perspective. It was time I hushed up and observed my human kin. Groups of all sorts of people were at the protest, fisherman, their families, local humans, humans visiting from areas where fish farms had all ready ruined the area, and my goodness a giant lobster too. She seemed so sad and I wanted to visit but she smelled so much like fish poo I just couldn't stand to be close!
Rob Johnson of the Ecology Action center took the mic and addressed the crowd of humans all holding their signs of protest. He explained that St Mary's Bay fisherman would no longer be able to fish lobster in the 209 acre shore waters that Cooke Aquaculture salmon farms will cover. 2 million Salmon will be farmed in the water producing all that waste! Rob introduced the next few speakers....
I heard from a human woman Karen Crocker who pointed out people shouldn't have had to come all that way just to have their voices heard and I certainly agree. Apparently the Minster of Fisheries who's supposed to be responsible for communicating with people simply didnt! Instead of consulting all the people who would be affected they were ignored. Karen brought a few samples of the foul smelling sludge from the previous fish farm and let me tell you Mermaids are use to fishy smells but this was BEYOND fishy. I can't imagine anyone having to live near a smell like that!
The humans also known as the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi'kmaq chiefs and bear River First Nations Community had Sherry Pictou (I love all these strong female humans standing up for the ocean! Mers in their own right I tell you!) representing them. Sherry spoke about how the Aboriginal Treaties were NOT being honoured (silly humans, you're not very good at keeping promises are you?) and this farming without consultation ignored basic human rights and democracy. It seems some humans that want fish farms seem to think that people are misinformed and don't understand the industry but Sherry made it very clear they'd become very familiar with the science and this was not approved by the First Nations people and they know exactly what open-net farms have done in New Brunswick!
We heard from a very lovely fisherman who explained the mechanics of the sea floor and how all the fisherman navigate to carefully lobster fish and how their lobsters are the best quality in the world. He explained more about how there is nowhere else for these fisherman to go and how many jobs and livelihoods would be lost. I'm certainly quite fond of lobster fisherman especially those that care so much about the ocean. I don't want them to go hungry and become poor!
What Can Be Done?
As the protest went on I learned that while there were things that could be done to deal with this issue of salmon farming one of the main issues is that there was no talking between the humans who want to put the farms in and the people who would be affected. Beyond having the government take notice that this is NOT okay and certainly not democratic Rob Johnson suggested that Nova Scotia can develop the aquaculture industry with advanced closed- containment technologies and smaller scale shellfish farmers. That would still create high quality jobs!
As a mermaid I've seen a lot and I know Nova Scotia is really leading in many of their land based activities when it comes to protecting the environment... I can't understand why they don't want to do the same for the ocean especially when they rely on it so much! They need the ocean!
What Can *I* Do?
Put pressure on local government for a Sustainable Coastal Development Strategy
To do that and to help this cause write letters to your local MLA, Premier Dexter, Papers, TV, and more
Follow the Ecology Action Center Online (see links below in resource section) to find out about different events that will be happening and how you can help
keep yourself familiar with the issue at hand by reading up and watching current news
Protest when/if applicable
Learn about sustainability in our ocean and make choices based on it!
Conclusion
I had a very lovely time in Halifax with my human legs learning from the protestors. I think a few of them recognized me! I hope to learn more about this issue and I'll be sure to share as much as I can on my facebook and twitter pages and when opportunities arise for you to help I will pass them on.
Webliography
I received a copy of both the Ecology Action Centre's press release and open letter to Premier Dexter from which I pulled most of my facts
I really did attend the protest and points made in this blog represent my best recollection of what I saw and experienced
http://www.ecologyaction.ca/
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Front/9021177.html
Resources
Please investigate the following links on the topic of fish farming to learn more about it
http://www.farmedanddangerous.org/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XPM5KfRyc0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZBbYzyuwF0
I participated in a protest today and I wanted to share the blog I wrote for my mermaid page
You can follow my mermaid fanpage here:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Raina-the-Halifax-Mermaid/183327321702019
You can read and comment on the original blog that includes photos here:
https://www.facebook.com/notes/raina-the-halifax-mermaid/no-salmon-feed-lots-please-a-mermaid-perspective/236484973031811
I try to be creative and stay in character as a mermaid
Introduction
Today I dawned my human legs to venture to downtown Halifax to witness a protest being put on by the Ecology Action Center. Being the tech-savvy mermaid that I am I have been following these lovely humans and their work for quite some time digitally and was happy to meet many of them in person a few weeks ago during World Ocean's Day. They were protesting and educating about unsustainable industrial salmon farming and let me tell you, I like salmon poop about as much as the next mermaid and that's not very much. So I went to hear what they had to say and since I was good and mobile... I brought a camera.
Here is a link to the photos I took be sure to read the captions:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.218336091534475.59424.183327321702019
The Issue
The main issue that took focus today was the decision by our local government to install "salmon feed lots" despite the fact they have ruined local aquaculture in New Brunswick. Nobody was really consulted decisions were simply made and any local public with a concern or a question basically ignored. But thanks to the voice of those who experienced it and the humans at the Ecology Action Center the real story starts to unfold.
Now as your resident mermaid I can tell you there are several types of fish farms. There are fish farms that take place on land; they create jobs, fish, and less environmental impact when managed properly. There are fish farms that happen in the ocean but are done sustainably with considerable thought put into waste management and the health of the surrounding environment. There are "wanna be" sustainable fish farms that actually aren't sustainable at all but try to fly under that banner to get away with what they do, and then plane old dirty nasty fish farms.
<Photo 4>
The Mermaid Perspective!
What's so bad about fish farms? Consider this: You're a lovely young mermaid out for her morning swim perhaps going to inspect the local lobster traps to see if you can use any of that mermaid charm to lure a few in for the nice guys on shore when suddenly your gills are packed with fish poo. Fish poo from 2 million extra salmon that aren't normally in the area. The water becomes thick and sludgey, you can't see and every rock you try to grasp is too gross to hang on to, all around you animals and their habitats are dying and even worse- you've now caught yourself a case of sea lice. Ick. Just what every mermaids wants. You breach the surface of the water to get a gasp of clean air when the overwhelming stench of fish poo fills your lungs as well. Great- you've got it everywhere. Not to mention the bit of ocean you just breached is now apparently private property and you need to high tail your scaley butt outta there!
It's that much of a bother to mermaids imagine what it's like for the local animals and environment and how that is going to affect the local lobster fisherman.
The Protest
<Photo 1>
Now sure I've had my experiences with these awful fish farms but always from a mermaid perspective. It was time I hushed up and observed my human kin. Groups of all sorts of people were at the protest, fisherman, their families, local humans, humans visiting from areas where fish farms had all ready ruined the area, and my goodness a giant lobster too. She seemed so sad and I wanted to visit but she smelled so much like fish poo I just couldn't stand to be close!
Rob Johnson of the Ecology Action center took the mic and addressed the crowd of humans all holding their signs of protest. He explained that St Mary's Bay fisherman would no longer be able to fish lobster in the 209 acre shore waters that Cooke Aquaculture salmon farms will cover. 2 million Salmon will be farmed in the water producing all that waste! Rob introduced the next few speakers....
I heard from a human woman Karen Crocker who pointed out people shouldn't have had to come all that way just to have their voices heard and I certainly agree. Apparently the Minster of Fisheries who's supposed to be responsible for communicating with people simply didnt! Instead of consulting all the people who would be affected they were ignored. Karen brought a few samples of the foul smelling sludge from the previous fish farm and let me tell you Mermaids are use to fishy smells but this was BEYOND fishy. I can't imagine anyone having to live near a smell like that!
The humans also known as the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi'kmaq chiefs and bear River First Nations Community had Sherry Pictou (I love all these strong female humans standing up for the ocean! Mers in their own right I tell you!) representing them. Sherry spoke about how the Aboriginal Treaties were NOT being honoured (silly humans, you're not very good at keeping promises are you?) and this farming without consultation ignored basic human rights and democracy. It seems some humans that want fish farms seem to think that people are misinformed and don't understand the industry but Sherry made it very clear they'd become very familiar with the science and this was not approved by the First Nations people and they know exactly what open-net farms have done in New Brunswick!
We heard from a very lovely fisherman who explained the mechanics of the sea floor and how all the fisherman navigate to carefully lobster fish and how their lobsters are the best quality in the world. He explained more about how there is nowhere else for these fisherman to go and how many jobs and livelihoods would be lost. I'm certainly quite fond of lobster fisherman especially those that care so much about the ocean. I don't want them to go hungry and become poor!
What Can Be Done?
As the protest went on I learned that while there were things that could be done to deal with this issue of salmon farming one of the main issues is that there was no talking between the humans who want to put the farms in and the people who would be affected. Beyond having the government take notice that this is NOT okay and certainly not democratic Rob Johnson suggested that Nova Scotia can develop the aquaculture industry with advanced closed- containment technologies and smaller scale shellfish farmers. That would still create high quality jobs!
As a mermaid I've seen a lot and I know Nova Scotia is really leading in many of their land based activities when it comes to protecting the environment... I can't understand why they don't want to do the same for the ocean especially when they rely on it so much! They need the ocean!
What Can *I* Do?
Put pressure on local government for a Sustainable Coastal Development Strategy
To do that and to help this cause write letters to your local MLA, Premier Dexter, Papers, TV, and more
Follow the Ecology Action Center Online (see links below in resource section) to find out about different events that will be happening and how you can help
keep yourself familiar with the issue at hand by reading up and watching current news
Protest when/if applicable
Learn about sustainability in our ocean and make choices based on it!
Conclusion
I had a very lovely time in Halifax with my human legs learning from the protestors. I think a few of them recognized me! I hope to learn more about this issue and I'll be sure to share as much as I can on my facebook and twitter pages and when opportunities arise for you to help I will pass them on.
Webliography
I received a copy of both the Ecology Action Centre's press release and open letter to Premier Dexter from which I pulled most of my facts
I really did attend the protest and points made in this blog represent my best recollection of what I saw and experienced
http://www.ecologyaction.ca/
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Front/9021177.html
Resources
Please investigate the following links on the topic of fish farming to learn more about it
http://www.farmedanddangerous.org/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XPM5KfRyc0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZBbYzyuwF0