Salmon Confidential

Salmon Confidential

2013, Environment  -   79 Comments
8.76
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Ratings: 8.76/10 from 204 users.

Salmon Confidential is a new film on the government cover up of what is killing BC's wild salmon.

When biologist Alexandra Morton discovers BC's wild salmon are testing positive for dangerous European salmon viruses associated with salmon farming worldwide, a chain of events is set off by government to suppress the findings.

Tracking viruses, Morton moves from courtrooms, into British Columbia's most remote rivers, Vancouver grocery stores and sushi restaurants.

The film documents Morton's journey as she attempts to overcome government and industry roadblocks thrown in her path and works to bring critical information to the public in time to save BC's wild salmon.

The film provides surprising insight into the inner workings of government agencies, as well as rare footage of the bureaucrats tasked with managing our fish and the safety of our food supply.

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Tom
Tom
14 days ago

10 years later and sadly, it's only gotten worse. Classism and corporate corruption have gutted our public institutions, natural resources and our economy. The upper class is destroying the biosphere and we the people with their insatiable greed and lust for power. I fear this will end very badly for everyone.

george oh
george oh
1 year ago

When you have a government covering for an industry, you end up with Fascism and dead fish.

Ian MacLean
Ian MacLean
3 years ago

I wonder if the present Scottish government is trying similar tactics here in Scotland and covering up what Norwegian and Canadian fish farm owners are getting away with here in Scotland?

Sameha Mahat
Sameha Mahat
3 years ago

Big profits...….Kill everything...….Make our board members happy.

Lanni Johnson
Lanni Johnson
4 years ago

Has anything changed in BC? Does the government still allow these diseased fish and the fish feed lots?

op
op
4 years ago

Great work. Thank you for your great research information. thank you for your resilience. There is much danger in any government's censuring people in order to control the lives of its citizens. And sadly, this type of behavior is happening everywhere.

James Grant
James Grant
5 years ago

Sure sounds like a total lack of regard4children to me. And we all know where that stems from. Professional code of conduct of the players in our justice system.

Kyle
Kyle
5 years ago

yeah i agree with Norman McKinnon just move the farms off sea/river it might be more expensive but they already charge a ton for salmon maby they can put those profits toward inland pools for farming. But in the same way will the inland fish be the same or will they evolve into some sort of still water hybrid?

John C. Mason, Ph.D.
John C. Mason, Ph.D.
5 years ago

DFO is full of self-adulating bureaucrats mostly ignorant of science...they constitute an additional virus affecting Pacific salmon and other fisheries. Their self-assured arrogance was well-illustrated during the Vancouver hearingson the Fraser sockeye which were a scientific farce and an embarrassment to dedicated scientists in fisheries.

Iain Palmer
Iain Palmer
6 years ago

As I was posting my comment the following message appeared "Your comment is awaiting moderation.", does this mean comments are being censored?

Iain Palmer
Iain Palmer
6 years ago

The real problem lies with each of us, in that we elect officials who are/get corrupted. We must make individuals responsible in everything and by this I mean the buck stops somewhere and where it does then the individual becomes accountable. Truth in advertising is a start, I just read this advert (next to this article) "AprèsFlex®: Has effectively helped with joint pain for thousands of years, relieving soreness especially in the knees". Does anyone even censor this crap? We need to change our political systems and alleviate money from the game, entirely. In British Columbia we just made a giant step in removing big money from political activity. More will come but truth is worth fighting for and we all must demand responsibility and accountability.

bobby
bobby
6 years ago

Soulless corporations are the beasts which find soulless people to serve them for money. I wish I could say we will see an end to this but I can't. We are killing ourselves in the name of money. And this comment will have no effect.

Damien
Damien
6 years ago

Thank you sincerely to these honest researchers. 10 years ago a European documentary demonstrated that dangerous agricultural pesticides were being tipped into salmon farms in Norway to sustain the fish farms, hence tipped directly into the marine environment with observed consequences. Now this! When will this sort of fish farming be banned.. and its fad, fatty product become just a bad memory?

Bob Murkle
Bob Murkle
7 years ago

For the people saying that the conditions in the parking lot were not sanitary, did you miss the point? She had no choice... she is not allowed in the government labs. Look at the lengths she is having to go through, all in an attempt to get to the truth. It is appalling that the people on the boards to "protect" us are more interested in protecting those businesses (the salmon farmers). One person had a great comment... Can't there be an effort to simply separate the farmed salmon from the wild, as in more inland, out of the wild salmon path?

hawkenfox
hawkenfox
8 years ago

Sometimes the wrong people are on the wrong platform. Is there some law we can write to remove and vote these people off the board with immediate effect?

BewareOfHumans
BewareOfHumans
8 years ago

It's extremely infuriating knowing that everything revolves around money.

Human beings are the worst thing to happen to the universe.

KC
KC
9 years ago

I love the use of out of the box thinking to find sick farm raised fish in the grocery store. Just to show that there is always more than one way to get around a rule, still the scientists should not need to resort to such measure.

3diot
3diot
9 years ago

There should be an kickstarter like site on wich you can give money to people like this. I think that if we the people choose where our money goes instead of giving it to taxes then our money will really get spend on stuff that matters and by people that really do their job with passion. Not some goverment employee that actually does not give a damm

DrGraceG
DrGraceG
9 years ago

This is happening, because Monsanto wants people to have only THEIR Franken Fish as a choice. I wouldn't put anything past these mongrels.

The politicians, (regardless of country) are being paid big, huge money to protect and support Monstranto. Of course they will protect their life styles and wallets, not the fish and safety of our food supply. I hope they realize sooner than later, that it will affect them and their families as well in the end.

Jana Frazier
Jana Frazier
10 years ago

My suggestion to all is to do some independent research on your own and use more than one source. I've watched the documentary and have concerns that they sent in "samples" of fish purchased in supermarkets and cut the samples from those fish in the parking lot under less than controlled or clean conditons. There were other comments made and stated as fact, such as the virus was found but no info or comment on what lab, etc., is reporting the samples as having tested positive or where the fish was from...a supermarket? Farmed fish? Someones backyard project? And the scene that shows
an eagle 'dropping' a fish it took from the fish farm? How convenient. Research people, research.

Ken Barnes
Ken Barnes
10 years ago

Myopia is the greatest disease threatening wild salmon stocks. Given all the science and all the knowledge that we have about the interconnection of species it is simply staggering that bureaucrats and politicians continue to jeopardise an entire ecosystem for the sake of trade. Being 'nice' Canadians, nobody in the film is willing to call anyone a liar or really corner the bastards and demand the truth. Still, the message is clear. Truth is dying as fast as the wild salmon.

gonnamakeachange
gonnamakeachange
10 years ago

Why in the hell don't people wake up and see how bad money is for them. I mean farmed fish...... Or maybe I meant greed......

castoropollux
castoropollux
10 years ago

Scarey Movie did not have to be made. The cold reality overthrows every fantasy of a threat. This is a lesson in how corruption works when a lot of money is involved.. How about the health aspect of selling poisonous food... How about that this is repeated in every industry? Bad food and living conditions produces sick animals... History and foodindustry release the sequels to the public...

And I haven't even mentioned Moooonsantoooooooo

DigiWongaDude
DigiWongaDude
10 years ago

Very interesting documentary [edit...or not, read on]. Such a beautiful place...amazing what a few bad eggs [people] can do.

...but it would appear that not all is what it seems here (the comments in @Concerned's link are slamming Alexandra Morton. Her uncle founded Scientology!! (and much more) ??

"After different Member Countries pointed out questionable diagnostic results emanating from an OIE Reference Laboratory for Infectious Salmon Anaemia located at Atlantic Veterinary College (AVC) in Canada, the OIE decided to conduct an audit of the Reference Laboratory with independent OIE experts from 31 July to 2 August 2012." - OIE website (27th Nov 2012)

Look at those dates - it was audited (1st of two) before this was released, since there was a reference in the documentary to Nov/Dec 2012.

Perhaps more than a few half truths going on? I wonder if 10 million salmon really did vanish?

TheJunkyardClown
TheJunkyardClown
10 years ago

Best find a nice spot back in the wood's free of it all...Free youself...

John Michael Defalque
John Michael Defalque
10 years ago

The capital city of Victoria's raw sewage is also killing our salmon. Vicky City needs to amalgamate and grow up so we can afford these big infrastructure projects. The 13 independent little fiefdoms that make up the CRD can't afford anything on their own. Pollution and traffic are regional problems-we need a Bombardier/SNC Lavalan subway system too.

bumpercrop
bumpercrop
10 years ago

I think we should put a moratorium on all science that does not specifically deal with restoring the health of our planet. I am weary of
science that is rooted in ego. Science for the sake of money is what will destroy most species now alive.

morsie2
morsie2
10 years ago

Right that's me, no more salmon. Also going to research into other farmed fish.

Cracker122049
Cracker122049
10 years ago

The governments of all countries have one distinguishing characteristic it seems,they all are a lying bunch of parasites for corporate whores!Now apply that to both State and county government and you get the real picture of what is really taking place.See the need for the tyrannical police state they have been assembling to control the citizens.It has not one thing to do with protecting any one but THEM!

Jennie Logsdon-Martin
Jennie Logsdon-Martin
10 years ago

Alexandra Morton is my new hero. I adore her and what she is doing.
I need to meet this woman. I would give my life for this purpose!!!! Cried thru the whole thing!
Jennie Logsdon Martin
Ifish.net

thingsthatmakeyougom
thingsthatmakeyougom
10 years ago

gross, never eating bc salmon again! anyone tried whale?

Carl Hendershot
Carl Hendershot
10 years ago

Talk about corruption in a government... Traitors of the people should be taken out and shot publicly.

mycial
mycial
10 years ago

I'm very sad, this about the salmon. Now GMO salmon is up for sale I stopped eating salmon because I did not know if it was GMO or not. Now catfish is farm raise now what do we do I need to find wild catfish to eat. Thank you for this documentary it has Opened my eyes to ocean life. They do not care if they kill us all Just make the money That's the bottom-line!

Cathy Furlotte
Cathy Furlotte
10 years ago

Most of the comments here are missing the main message IMO, the Canadian government, i.e. the Conservation "Harper" Government is deliberately silencing Canadian Scientists to promote its own corporate agenda and prevent anyone or anything from harming the international salmon exporting industry and the privately owned salmon farming industry. Harper has too much control and power over the Canadian people and its time we woke up and SPOKE UP. Bottomline: DO NOT buy salmon in your supermarket that is farmed, unless of course you want to eat salmon infected with the ISO virsus.

Erik de Vries
Erik de Vries
10 years ago

When the wild salmon are all gone, we'll simply move on to other marine species. There used to be "Salmon Festivals" on our coast, particularly in Campbell River and Port Alberni. Now we have "Spot Prawn Festivals" in Vancouver, Cowichan Bay and this year, Victoria.

Let's just keep on mining the ocean at full speed until we have "Barnacle Festivals". It's the way we are heading, and fast.

Harry Nutzack
Harry Nutzack
10 years ago

everybody wants their fish, everybody is convinced commercial fisherman are some evil force destroying nature pell mell. yeah, the north atlantic fishery was indeed overfished, and lots of area was destroyed by gear that is now illegal. but the loss of much of the area to fishing has numerous other causes too. using that example, those folks that fed half the worlds population for centuries are now "evil". newsflash kids: those cans of salmon on the shelves of the supermarket, those pricey salmon dinners at chic eateries will NEVER be supplied by anglers. make villains of everybody with a net, and the fish farmers pick up the slack. they could care less about the genetic stock, they just care about maximum weight per dollar spent. so they make their "frankenfish" cross breeds. follow up newsflash kids: fish farms don't exist in a vacuum. fish escape them all the time. governments use those hybrids to "stock waters" to attract tourists with pockets full of dough and dreams of "catching a big one". either give up eating salmon, or make up your d*mned minds. it's not like any of this was done secretly. it's not like you had to be in the industry to know about it, you just had to give a d*mn, ideally BEFORE the native species were put at risk of contracting non native disease. but hey, nobody was using a net to drag a waterway, so it HAD to be "environmentally friendly".

the exact same insanity is how the south atlantic and caribbean became the new home to the asian tiger prawn, and every one of the fresh water bodies in central and northern florida became home to the african finfish species tilapia, as well as the peacock bass (native to south america). it's how we have breeding colonies of parrots and monkeys in various parts of north america. it's how we have encephalitis carrying african giant snails. it's how we got nutria here in north america. it's how we got ring necked pheasant. it's even how we got those "wild mustangs" that everybody objects to being used for dog food. it's how we got "wild hogs". never mind the "exotic pet species" and non native ornamental plant life now taking their place in our eco system. it's a record of 4+ centuries of "fail", yet still nobody ever objects until it's too late.

Fabien L'Amour
Fabien L'Amour
10 years ago

This documentary illustrates very well how regulation agencies have now become agents of economic interests. Nowadays, lobbies can change any law and regulation that go against their interests. Our politicians and government employees aren't working for democracy and the people, they oblige to corporations and knee into the money talks.

That situation will not change unless we do away with the political parties private financing and every tax department puts politicians on acute watch for bribes and other collateral benefits from the private sector. They can easily identify discrepancies with the declared income and the train of living for criminals, why can't they do it for politicians and high ranked government employees??? Maybe they don't do it because they are also part of that system?!?!

Paul Gloor
Paul Gloor
10 years ago

Signing up for mars one is sounding more and more like a good plan. 2.5 au probably isn't far enough from this madness though.
As I watched this I was at a loss for words... all I kept thinking were various curses and wondering who was paid how much... I can't even be proud to be human anymore, this bull$hit from cattle to chickens to fish, even plant crops has to stop !

Maddestmax
Maddestmax
10 years ago

Boycott and ask your friends to think of doing the same untill this issue is resolved, aid fish don't get fish AIDS

Bob Trees
Bob Trees
10 years ago

Thank you for providing this video. Looks like the industry and government in Canada is trying to operate like you would typically see in the US. Ahhh the role of world destructors is being handled quite well by us in the US Canada, help not needed!

Man I was going to go shopping at CostCo this weekend too! :-(

Guy Haratani
Guy Haratani
10 years ago

Hawaii is facing the same issue with ocean tuna farms as the state is facing some serious budget issues so one guess as to how this goes.

Norman McKinnon
Norman McKinnon
10 years ago

Simple answer. Require all Salmon Farms to be located on land. separate the Fish farms from the wild environment. Disease can be controlled and eliminated by no contact with wild salmon.

Patrick Adrien Varencaus
Patrick Adrien Varencaus
10 years ago

Men playing god and worshipping the god of this world $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$= DEATH!!!