Salmon wars

Silver Donald Cameron investigates salmon farming in the Atlantic provinces.

from Salmonwars.com

In 2010, strongly encouraged by Nova Scotia's NDP government, international salmon-farming corporations moved to establish massive new salmon feedlots in three pristine bays and harbours, and to expand existing feedlots in other inlets.  Galvanized by the threat to wildlife habitat, tourism, salmon runs and the all-important lobster fishery, Nova Scotia's coastal communities furiously opposed the plan, to no avail.

Silver Donald Cameron, then a columnist for the province's leading newspaper, wrote a column denouncing the expansion — and got a call from a worried salmon conservationist who wanted to know how opponents of the feedlots could most powerfully publicize the issue.

Cameron was also the host and executive producer of the environmental web site The Green Interview, which provides video interviews with the world's leading environmentalists. With his colleague Chris Beckett, he had the capacity to produce a video documentary for non-traditional distribution via cable, the web, village meetings and the like.  

Salmon Wars: Wild Fish, Aquaculture and the Future of Communities is a wide-ranging exploration of net cage salmon aquaculture and its social, economic and environmental impact on the communities where it operates.

This eye-opening 70-minute video documentary surveys industry representatives, community activists, scientists, environmentalists and politicians, including Nova Scotia's Minister of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Environment. 

Financed entirely by citizen donations and designed for free distribution on the internet, Salmon Wars probes not only our stewardship of the oceans, but also the alliances between industry and government,  the ability of local communities to influence their own futures, and the health of democracy in Atlantic Canada.

For more details, click here.

 

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