NEWS CONFERENCE-Government response still missing one year after sockeye inquiry final report-scientists, First Nations and conservationists call for action

Oct 29th, 2013 6:16 AM

Media Advisory October 29, 2013 Location: Vancouver - Harbour Centre, Simon Fraser University, 515 West Hastings St., Segal Room, (room number 1400) Time: 10 am, Wednesday, October 30, 2013 It’s been one year since Justice Bruce Cohen completed his $26 million federal inquiry into the Decline of Sockeye Salmon in the Fraser River. Cohen’s comprehensive 1,200 page report and 75 detailed recommendations should have served as a blueprint for protecting Fraser sockeye and restoring public confidence, but nothing has been done. Government continues to miss recommendation deadlines and opportunities to protect a valuable Canadian resource.

To date, 14 recommendation deadlines have lapsed with no official response or action from government.
The delay in implementing the recommendations spurred Watershed Watch Salmon Society and the SOS Marine Conservation to track government’s response to the Inquiry--”see their Cohen Report Card for more background information here.
As part of Simon Fraser University’s Speaking for the Salmon series, an international Scientists' Think Tank met earlier this year to review specific recommendations from the Cohen Inquiry. See the results of their analysis here.

The following will speak at a news conference about their concerns with the lack of action:

Honourable John Fraser, Former Fisheries Minister and Speaker of the House of Commons (604) 908-1733.
Dr. Craig Orr, Watershed Watch Salmon Society, Inquiry Participant and Witness (604) 809-2799.
Ernie Crey, Sto:lo Tribal Council, Inquiry Participant and Witness (604) 316-1055.
Dr. John Reynolds, Simon Fraser University, Inquiry Expert Witness and B.C. Leadership Chair in Salmon Conservation (604) 786-0790.

Watershed Watch Salmon Society (WWSS) has been watching out for B.C.’s wild salmon since 1998. Our focus is to elevate the dialogue surrounding wild salmon and to improve our chances of saving them. Watershed Watch believes that real changes in attitude and behaviour are based on understanding, and that significant understanding requires a broad and deep appreciation of a wide range of habitat, harvest, and management issues. www.watershed-watch.org The SOS Marine Conservation Foundation (SOS) is a group of successful business leaders, entrepreneurs and philanthropists brought together to protect B.C.’s wild salmon stocks and the marine environment from negative impacts of open net-cage salmon farms and establish B.C. as a leader in creating a globally renowned, stable and viable aquaculture industry. www.saveoursalmon.ca

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NEWS CONFERENCE-Government response still missing one year after sockeye inquiry final report-scientists, First Nations and conservationists call for action

Oct 29th, 2013 6:16 AM