File photo. Photo courtesy CBC/Clayoquot Action.
Some First Nations leaders say they want to send a message for fish-farm protesters that they are not welcome in their traditional territories.
Tlowitsis Chief John Smith said a new release yesterday that salmon farming has become an important economic driver for his members, providing them with money to purchase land for their community and scholarship.
Last summer, environmentalists concerned about the risk that open-net pen fish farms pose to wild stocks have visited farms off Vancouver Island aboard a vessel run by the Sea Shepherd Conservationist Society, helping scientists test for viruses.
Other First Nations leaders have also opposed the practice, participating in occupations at three fish farms in the Broughton Archipelago.
The Canadian Press
The Canadian Press
