Submission 0294-WILD

Submitter: Ted Wild

Community: Campbell River

Date Submitted: October 18, 2010

Summary:
The aquaculture industry provides much needed employment in B.C. communities. From an environmental perspective, fish farms appear to be doing what is necessary to protect the environment, and safety, testing, and monitoring appear to be among their top priorities.

Submission:
good morning,
i just wanted to add my 2 cents to the aquaculture issue.
we all constantly hear about the dangers and impact that salmon farming has on our environment. these may be somewhat true, not being an expert i ca not say for sure.
as a member of my community i can say that aquaculture is the third largest employer in our area, much neede employment opportunities. the businesses in our are that service the industry also employ hundres of people.
on the environmental impact part, let me say this. my position as a sales person for a large industrial supplier depends on the spend aquaculture has but most importantly, i have attended several public forums around fish farming and as a layman can only say that it seems to me that the experts are doing all the right things for environmental protection. i also see that in visiting aqauculture site such as hatcheries and processing plants that safety and the environment are on the top the list for these companies with forward movement in testing and monitoring.

thank you