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Not only are these diseases killing our wild salmon, but they are present in the farmed Atlantic salmon and are permitted to be sold to the Canadian consumer.CFIA says no risk in salmon exports Morton has gone into local grocery stores and sushi restuarants to get samples of farmed salmon. She is not permitted to get any samples from the fish farms. In fact she has to send her samples to a lab in Norway as she cannot get DFO to test any of her samples. Independent labs that tested her fish have had problems with CFIA and one Canadian East Coast lab is under investigation following their testing of Morton's samples.

 

Film footage from the Cohen Commission show Department of Fisheries (DFO) and Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) employees denying that there was evidence of any significant diseases including ISA in BC farmed salmon. ISA is a reportable disease to the World Health Organization. If a country does have an ISA problem, their fish are taken off the market. The CFIA reported that it would mean that our Canadian fish would not be accepted in other countries and it would have an impact on our commerce. In other words, they did not want to report that fact as the fish corporations would lose money.

 

Meanwhile the Canadian taxpayer is compensating these fish farms for their diseased fish. Since the ISA outbreak in Eastern Canada last year over $100 million dollars has be paid out to the fish farms by CFIA to compensate them for the fish that have been ordered destroyed.Tax dollars subsidize fish farms

 

Morton has started the Department of Wild Salmon to connect people and organizations that already protect and track BC' wild salmon. They intend to test in the field and share the information with the public, so they can make informed decisions about the salmon and the food they eat. Their first project is to gather information by testing wild and farmed salmon in BC for European viruses. They will use First Nations, fishermen, conservation organizations and wilderness groups to gather the data. Anyone who is interested in participating can contact them to learn more and get training to take samples.

 

Roscovich says they want to make this an election issue in BC. They are asking the next provincial government in BC to remove salmon farms from the migratory routes of the wid fish. "The economy of the BC wild salmon is worth billions to us", said Roscovich. "It includes many small businesses such as whale watching, fishing and eco tours, lodges and kayaking."

 

The Liberals have said they would impose a moratorium on farms at the Discovery Islands. However, she says, " This doesn't mean much as there are so many farms in there they couldn't put another one in there anyway."

 

Normally a film isn't released online until it has been screened in theatres for some time. "We wanted to get this information out to the public," said Roscovitch. " So we have released it online at the same time as the film screenings. We have had an uexpected 70,000 views and it has gone viral."

 

Roscovich began her interest in film at the Gulf Islands Film and Television School on Galliano Island when she was 17 years old. At that time BBC was working on a film on killer whales. They needed a camera student and she got the job. She confesses she lied about her age. She eventually met Alexandra Morton and had what she describes as a "profound experience" filming the whales. After that, she decided she had the tool, a camera, to work to protect the coast and just kept doing it.

 

When Morton began getting the results from her sampling showing viruses present in the wild salmon she contacted Roscovich. At the time Roscovich was in Guatamala with her partner bring their sailboat around from the East Coast. She got on a plane, flew to BC and began filming with Morton. The result is "Salmon Confidential". 

 

Roscovich and Morton are now on a non-stop tour screening the film across the province. They encourage people to hold their own screening in their community. You can contact them via their website, http://www.salmonconfidential.ca