Salmon Aquaculture Forum Consultations Begin

Vancouver, May 12, 2003 - The federal and BC governments have agreed to set up a Salmon Aquaculture Forum. As the news release issued earlier this month stated, Ministers Thibault and van Dongen have asked me to assist in the process of bringing together everyone who should be involved. The founding of the Forum is an unprecedented effort by both levels of government to improve the dialogue and seek constructive solutions to controversies associated with salmon aquaculture.

The Pacific Fisheries Resource Conservation Council is privileged to take on this task in the Forum's initial phase. We had proposed the creation of this innovative organization earlier this year to fulfill the need for a process to build public consensus and identify future practical options in salmon aquaculture. The Council's role will be limited to acting as a catalyst in the formulation and planning stage during the next three months.

The Forum is meant to provide a fresh start to overcome the deep suspicion and widespread lack of trust that has permeated all aspects of the salmon aquaculture debates. It is intended to help build public confidence that all stakeholders and First Nations participants are willing to contribute to finding practical solutions.

The governments recognize that it is critical that the people who are going to be part of the process be part of the design of the process. The stakeholders, First Nations and interested British Columbians will have a role in determining who will ultimately facilitate and assist in building an effective new entity.

In broad terms, I have been given a mandate to:
1. engage the array of stakeholders and First Nations in the process of formulating and becoming committed to a Salmon Aquaculture Forum; and
2. identify how the stakeholders and aboriginal organizations could work most productively towards common objectives, and what the ground rules should be.

Therefore, I will be developing preliminary terms of reference for the Forum. It is recognized that, as the Forum evolves, it should take on progressively greater roles. The initial focus should be identified in terms of what is desirable and achievable within the current context.

I will be proceeding in the following steps:

1. Call for stakeholder, First Nations and public suggestions on what principles would drive an effective Forum, and invite comment through written submissions, email responses through the Council website, and informal discussions.

2. Hold a series of interviews and bilateral discussions with key stakeholder groups, individuals, and First Nations organizations, including a series of small, informal roundtable discussions with selected stakeholders to determine and explore appropriate approaches to establish initial Forum representation and commitments to participate.

3. Production of a two part public discussion paper by mid August. Part One would identify best practices for establishing processes with similar goals as the proposed Forum, with particular attention to advisory groups dealing with aquaculture and natural resource issues in Canada and other countries. In addition, the role of science and its contribution to conflict resolution in resource issues will also be considered.

Part Two would outline the findings of the public suggestions, interviews, and roundtables, for the purpose of generating comment and alternatives. It would propose terms of reference for a Salmon Aquaculture Forum, recommend on the membership, provide a candid appraisal of the commitments that would be required to make the organization useful, effective and sustainable in the longterm, and produce a consensus based business plan to guide implementation.

4. Production of a briefing note to federal and provincial ministers on:

Forum options and structures in light of the cross jurisdictional nature of aquaculture, First Nations issues, and the wide range of interested parties wishing to be involved;

Funding options to cover the costs of an on going Forum;

The need for local area management structures that include First Nations and stakeholder participation; and,

Identifying an interim group of facilitators and advisors who would manage the implementation phase of the Forum.

The four step approach would lead to the public discussion paper in August and a briefing note to federal and provincial ministers with recommendations for implementation. We expect that the project will take about 14 weeks.

I have asked Ken Beeson, a consultant and policy adviser to the Pacific Fisheries Resource Conservation Council, to work closely with me to conduct interviews and obtain an array of perspectives on how the Forum should be organized and work. We have already put forward our suggestion that the Forum should be transparent, open and approachable. It should have a capacity for the consideration of research and encourage studies that expand our scientific knowledge. It needs to be independent and have full First Nations involvement.

We have anticipated a healthy public skepticism about the possible effectiveness of the Forum and the sincerity of some of those who might be involved. The public discussions about salmon aquaculture have too often been highly emotional, bitter and personalized. In our recent Advisory, we explained:

"The debates around wild salmon and aquaculture generally reflect a lack of trust and a perceived unwillingness on all sides to engage in meaningful dialogue. In the view of the Council, a change of attitude and strategy by government officials and stakeholders is an essential first step towards rebuilding common ground in which both environmental and commercial interests can be frankly but constructively discussed and accommodated".

Our intention is to help create an innovative way to channel the public concern and interest into a productive effort. We reiterate the reason for this Forum: "In the view of the Council, the problems of aquaculture and wild salmon are not impossible to address. However, an impasse has been reached in the debates on the significant matters of public concern. The problems of aquaculture require new ideas, public consensus and creative solutions that are not now being generated by governments and stakeholders within the existing institutions and framework for discussing the future of wild salmon and aquaculture".

We have not taken on this project with any illusions about the challenges involved in this task. It will require the sincerity and good will of the governments, stakeholders and First Nations to make a Salmon Aquaculture Forum workable and sustainable.

Our Council is willing to risk the possibility of failing at this effort because we believe that decisions in the near future about wild salmon and aquaculture are so crucial to the environmental and economic prospects of British Columbia. We make no apologies for being considered idealistic in our pursuit of this objective.

For more information, contact:

John Paul Fraser
Media Liaison Pacific Fisheries Resource Conservation Council
604-775-5621
fraser@fish.bc.ca