Dear Editor
Oliver Daily News

Thank you so much for your excellent article that asks the important question will the fish farm discharge be safe. I am so glad that your newspaper is interested in this vital issue.

I write for the Kingston (NY) Daily Freeman, and several other regional publications in upstate New York. My speciality is environmental and wildlife issues.

Like much of the U.S. and Canada, our local communities are considering the matter of farmed fish as a food source. With lakes and oceans having been over-fished to the point of extinction in the case of some species there has been increasing pressure to create artificial environments in which to raise fish. However, these artificial habitats come with a whole host of problems, as you know. The fish are over-crowded, which is unsanitary to start with, chemicals (including PCBs) and antibiotics are used which not only make the fish unsafe to eat but which endanger surrounding natural waters when runoff occurs, which it inevitably does, waste disposal destroys local habitats, the introduction of disease and the possible escape of infected or exotic species threaten indigenous breeds – well, the list goes on and on.

I learned from reading B.C. newspapers and listening to the CBC about the fish farm proposed for the Okanagan Valley, a lovely region I have personally visited. It appears as if this project is being fast-tracked by local authorities, even though it threatens the survival of the very important sockeye salmon population if the project is pushed through.

In any event, I thank you again for highlighting the situation. People need all the facts in order to make sound choices.

I thought that this information from the Osoyoos Lake Water Quality Society website was useful:

“The lake has its own ecosystem. Insects, fish, predators, lakeshore vegetation – even things like temperature and oxygen content, are inter-related. Take out one tiny part of it and the entire balance is upset, creating a ‘domino’ effect.

“With an increase in population and development, it is everyone’s responsibility to ensure nothing is done to harm its already vulnerable waters and surrounding aquifers.”

Eileen Fay
Saugerties, NY
Wildlife Watch
www.wildwatch.org