The group of wilderness tourism operators, sport and commercial fishermen, seafood processors and concerned residents said open pen fish farms must be moved away from juvenile salmon migration routes along the B.C. coast.
The ad, addressed to Premier Gordon Campbell and the provincial and federal ministers of fisheries, was entitled "The Future of B.C. Salmon Is In Your Hands" and ran in the national edition of the Globe and Mail newspaper.
Agriculture Minister Pat Bell says the B.C. government is committed to protecting wild salmon.
"We're working at this point in a very collaborative fashion with First Nations, with industry, with the Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform," Bell said.
Craig Murray, owner of Nimmo Bay Resort on the northeastern tip of Vancouver Island, noted fish farming is worth $600 million to the B.C. economy, but wilderness tourism and fishing combined bring in more than $1.6 billion.
B.C. businesses publish ad, launch website to pressure for fish farm changes
CANADA - A group of British Columbia business owners took a full-page ad in the first section of a national newspaper Friday hoping to pressure the provincial government to forces changes in the salmon farming industry.