Earlier this year, an editor at the renowned British newspaper The Guardian reached out to ask: would The Narwhal be interested in collaborating on a story?

Umm, yes, please.

So when the Canadian government this summer announced details of a long-awaited ban on open-net pen salmon farms, we knew it would be the perfect story to bring to a massive global audience.

This week, we published the collaborative feature, the result of on-the-ground reporting by our very own Shannon Waters, who took a trip to the deep blue waters of Clayoquot Sound, situated around Tofino on the west coast of Vancouver Island.

Coupled with captivating photos by Jérémy Mathieu, the piece takes a look at the people, nations and companies who have very different perspectives on this farming practice. That’s because sea lice outbreaks at these pens in the Pacific Ocean for Atlantic farmed salmon have, critics say, contributed to the decimation of wild salmon stocks.

Nowhere was this tension highlighted better than during Shannon’s time aboard Skookum John’s Sweet Marie fishing boat as the skipper took members of a local conservation group to visit fish farms situated within a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. 

As they pulled up to one of the farms, John, a member of Ahousaht First Nation, gave a joking hello to his nephew, who recently started working there.

“Skookum John is deeply opposed to ocean-based fish farms and believes there are better ways for First Nations to pursue economic goals,” Shannon told me. “But he has family members who currently earn their living in the fish farming industry and those are jobs that could vanish if the federal government’s ban takes effect in 2029.”

Those who take a different view of things include Hasheukumiss, a Hereditary Chief of the Ahousaht Nation, which signed an agreement with one company — a subsidiary of Mitsubishi — to operate in its territorial waters.

Hasheukumiss said the company worked with the nation to address sea lice concerns, and he believes individual First Nations on whose territories the farms operate should be the ones to decide if the practice can continue — not the federal government.

There is one thing Hasheukumiss and John do agree on: they’re both skeptical that the promised ban will truly happen in 2029.

Be sure to read Shannon’s piece in The Narwhal or The Guardian for a deeper dive into the controversial practice.

Take care and make a splash, 

Arik Ligeti
Director of audience

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