| A4-The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, July 5, 2006 TERRACE TANDARD | ESTABLISHED APRIL 27, 1988 ° PUBLISHER: ROD LINK a ; bo ‘ADDRESS: 3210 Clinton Street Terrace, B.C. - V8G 5R2 - TELEPHONE: (250) 638-7283 + FAX: (250) 638-8432: : WEB: www.terracestandard.com ° EMAIL: newsroom@terracestandard. com. Booster buddies ‘THE NEXT time somebody,.wants to take a swipe ° at civil servants, accusing them of collecting their | paycheques in acushy and protected bubble, con- sider the following two people. First up is JoAnne Nelson, one of six geologists - working for the geological survey branch of the 7 provincial energy, mines and petroleum ministry. Second up is Dr. Richard’ Simons. He wears a couple of hats, including being on the faculty: of -medicine at thé University of “British Columbia. “More importantly, he’s the medical director for _ «trauma services at Vancouver General Hospital | for the massive. Vancouver Coastal Health Au-. ca thority, the very big cousin to the Northem: Health - Authority. . _ Ms. Nelson is now in the Terrace area for the : Test of the summer on the second year of a three- | "year project: Along with three assistants this sea- son, her job:i is to find enough: evidence of miner- als to convince mining exploration companies to. - conduct their own more detailed examination. _» pital District, Dr. Simons is in charge of a project _” examining the region’s trauma services. He and others will'go through a massive mountain.of data > on the circumstances in which people are injured’ and the treatment that can follow. -» In their own ways Ms. Nelson and Dr. Simons. oo are out to make the northwest a better place. Ms. | “ Nelson i is doing SO’ by seeking to add another. di- mension ‘to the area’s economy and Dr. Simons Thanks to $60,000 from the North West Hos- by addressing a gap in medical care. _ That both are from the south should come as comfort to the northwest which has been hit hard by a lagging economy and by the feeling that we ~ lack standards . of medical . care. available else- - where. cheon here, which was an expansion of findings presented down south to mining companies ear- lier this year, promoted the region as much as it did its mineral potential. And Dr. Simons is quite clear in saying that because Vancouver area hospitals act as the ad- vanced trauma centres for northwestern patients, - _he ‘becomes an advocate for i improving such ser- Jf “ Seeving the Terrace and Thomhi! 222. Published on Wednesaay of Qo vices up here. os _ Of course, Ms. Nelson’s work rests on. finding enough evidence of minerals to pass the grade with mining companies and the results of the trau- ma study will take work to implement. -But the point is that a geologist and a physician . who'don’t live in the noithwest are just. the kind of boosters the region needs. Finding more. friends of the region could be just the ticket to ensure progress with other matters. There’s nothing like having friends in faraway places. . PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Rod Link © “ADVERTISING MANAGER: Brian Lindenbach "PRODUCTION MANAGER: Edouard Credgeur NEWS: Sarah A. Zimmerman COMMUNITY: Dustin Quezada - . .- NEWS/SPORTS: Margaret Speirs ~ FRONT OFFICE: Darlene Keeping. Carolyn Anderson . 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Special thanks to all our contributors and correspondents for their time and talents VBG SR2. . Andrew Williams, this space, asked. “What are — fish farms?” He provided one. . answer; we'd like to offer an- Indeed, Ms. Nelson’ s recent presentation to a Terrace and District Chamber of Commerce lun- -. recommendations which ' clude: DANG HARPER AND THE | Rest OF “THOSE SERKs SNEAKING THEIASELNES | A “AEFTY (OST OF LIVING INCREASE JUST BEFORE TAKING OFF FOR As MONTH BREAK. "TYPICAL, SLEAZY LIBERAL p BEHAVIOR os MPs RUST THRU , 20% EXPENSE “HARPER'S A CONSERVATIVE SAME DIFFERENCE A COUPLE of of weeks ago writing in other. - According to the United ; Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, aquaculture - is the world’s fastest’ growing: _ food producing sector. This is good news from a health per-- . spective because salmon, rich in Omega 3, is an important _ _ part of a healthy diet. But it also means that during a peak,” catch year, wild salmon’ can only supply | about one-third of _growing worldwide demand. — To meet increasing demand ‘for salmon - without placing. - undue pressure on wild stocks the continued development of a sustainable aquaculture in- dustry is both necessary and - beneficial. Salmon farming has been: practiced in British Colum- bia for about 30 years. Today, there are about 80 salmon farms operating in B.C. and the industry is regulated by a total of 52 provincial and fed- eral acts and standards. ' For the past five years, farmed salmon has been B.C.’s largest agricultural ex- port, generating sales of ap-: proximately $450 million, and ‘employing about 4000 people. Most of the jobs are located in coastal Communities contrib- uting to economic and social’ development. — Like many other indus- tries. aquaculture has evolved over the past: three decades and public interest in health, safety and the environment: -» Mary Ellen’ Walling have ‘contributed toa culture of continuous improvement on B.C.’s salmon farms: . Salmon farming is not with- out its critics yet.as people lear about the aquaculture industry’s commitment to en- ‘vironmental protection many concerns about salmon farm-— ing are being addressed. In fact, recent public opin- ion polling shows that a major- ity of British Columbians sup- port the development of a fish farming industry in BC that _ does not negatively impact the environment. . And respondents agree that if done in a manner which pro- tects the marine environment, ‘salmon farming creates an op-" portunity to meet rising world demand in a manner that pro- tects wild stocks from over- fishing. — The aquaculture . industry ‘recognizes it will not. be able to succeed unless it respects the importance of the cultural importance of wild salmon. uses sound ecological prac- tices, and manages resources ‘sustainability. _ Each salmon “farm operat- ing in British Columbia has . programs to monitor and pro- mote fish health, and to mini- mize — and fix — any impact on the ocean environment around the farms. ‘Each farm must, as a con- dition of its license, develop a detailed, ‘site-specific envi- ronmental protection plan, and each must’ have a fish health management plan before farm- ing begins. are. trained in environmental "Management and daily water . quality testing is one impor- ‘tant monitoring job. ” ; In“ addition, farmers use - underwater ‘cameras,to moni- tor the amount of food the — fish eat and to prevent excess food from littering the ocean floor, and farms are fallowed on a regular basis to support a ‘healthy environment under the farm site. Regular underwater main- tenance of nets prevents fish escapes and the funding of re- search and development activ- ities in conjunction with major universities and professional associations supports innova- tion in both operations and en- © vironmental protection. As a result of these efforts - many B.C. farms have earned environmental — accreditation from the internationally ac- credited environmental man- agement system, ISO 14001. Fish health is also of criti- cal importance to farmers. Al! smolts are checked by a vet- erinarian before entering the ocean water and vets play an important role: ongoing, role Farm employees | Salmon far rming isn’ ta Threat on fish farins, monitoring fish health and, if necessary, treat- ing illness...: Contrary to Mr. Williams’ s allegation, antibiotics are rare- ly used —only.used to treat ill- . ness and only with a veterinar- ian prescription. Over the average life of a farmed salmon less than three per cent of its feed willcontain ©: any type of antibiotics, mean- . ing salmon farming has the ‘Lowest use of antibiotics i in the agriculture industry. '. The choice of location for each farm is crucial to suc- cessful ‘salmon farming and - must make sense from both an environmental, social and an economic viewpoint. . Years ago, when salmon farming first started in B.C., farmers chose locations along « -. ‘the coast which had shallow, rn slow-moving water. Today, it: is understood that deep, fast- moving water is better for both the environment and the qual- ity of the salmon. We share Mr. Williams’s concern about the health of wild salmon populations in B.C. and we recognize it is le- gitimate. In 2004, the BC Audi- tor General issued a report - documenting more than a dozen different factors which pose a risk to wild salmon populations. we see salmon farming not as _a threat but as one. way to pro- But with global ‘demand for salmon growing, tect a precious — and finite— resource, B.C.’s wild salmon. Mary Ellen Walling is the executive director of the B.C. Salmon Fa armers Association. Here's how to stop Aitchhiking — Ww E HAVE to remove the tar- . gets, the targets being young . female women hitchhikers.” . concludes Don Sabo, organiz- er of the recent report to come | from the Highway of Tears Symposium held in Prince George last March. Exactly. No amount of government money will halt . the disappearances so long as more young women act rTe- sponsibly and hitchhike. ° “You can’t tell young wom- en not to hitchhike.” said one mother when interviewed last ‘March. _ Why can’t ‘parents and grandparents tell young wom- en not to hitchhike? Though the report acknowl- | edges ‘flawed family dynam- ics support hitchhiking, most of the report's 33 recommen- _ dations concern tax dollars to curb the problem. ‘No costs are estimated for in- MEA fleet of seven shuttle buses should be available over the 700km from Prince Rupert to Prince George. M@ Greyhound should give free rides to hitchhikers. Why? THROUGH BIFOCALS CLAUDETTE SANDECKI Greyhound operates a busi- ‘ness, not a charity. -‘@ Telus should put emer- gency phone booths along the highway at strategic locations. So vandals will have new tar- gets? driving Hwyl6 should use cellphones to report the loca-. tion of hitchhikers they meet. And how many miles would the employee drive one-hand- ed waiting for his call to be answered? M Residents with a view of Highway 16 should report _ hitchhiking women and track their movements until they're. out of sight. . Other recommendations are more realistic: @ Hire two coordinators to organize programs. Hold annual workshops “to teach ‘parents® basic life skills and prevention, such as the need for travel plans and .an expected arrival time. . @ Teach an_ extensive awareness and prevention program to First Nation Com- munities and families. - MH Conduct awareness pro- grams for students, parents, families, and native councils to remind them of the real risks of hitchhiking. — The report notes poverty and. lack of opportunities for social activities among native youth are root causes of hitch- [9 Government employees — hiking. Well, instead of down the road looking for ex- ' citement, young women could organize activities in their own villages. book a.school gym, bring in recorded music, and party till the wee hours. Native villagers who drive could set up a free ride-along going’ network and offer these young women a-safe ride to cities to attend classes, or to access . other services. I've little doubt. in one way or another, alcohol may have contributed to some of these hitchhikers becoming prey. Native villagers could vote to _ declare their reserve “dry” to diminish alcohol consump- tion. - Let's invest our tax dollars in two ear ly preventative mea- — sures. First, educate women not to drink alcohol whilé pregnant. The rate of aboriginal babies ° born in northwestern B.C. suf- fering fetal alcohol syndrome. is One of the highest in Cana- da. Fetal alcohol syndrome c can severely impair judgement, throughout a lifetime. Second, hire tutors for all native kids struggling in school. Help them to learn to read fluently so they can grad- uate to a better paying job, able to afford a car. Only by eliminating under- lying causes will young wom- en cease make themselves tar- gets on Highway 16.