The gigantic spreadsheet taped to the wall of his office clearly indicates the focus of his position. Duane is responsible for long term site planning – what is harvested and when and from which sites. He also provides a host of monthly production statistics data, including comparisons between year classes, to Senior Management and Production Managers.

“I provide marine production information that helps us to know where we currently are, where we have been, and where we’re likely headed in the future.” said Duane.

Duane was born in Stoney Creek, Ontario, and moved to Campbell River in 1987. He started in aquaculture in 1989, when one of his brothers suggested he get his dive ticket. That ultimately led to site work for NorEnt and Heritage as well as two years in Chile as a feed manager. Duane made the transition to an office based position in 2004 as Data Manager.

Music has always been a key part of Duane’s life.

He’s excited to have recently moved into a house that includes a large workshop that he’ll use as a music studio. Not only is there space for Duane to permanently set up drums and other instruments but it will be a quiet space for him to get back into writing. The studio will also provide space for his 13 year old daughter to continue developing her music skills.

Duane plays live throughout the Comox Valley and Campbell River, hosts the “jam” every Sunday at the Cumberland Hotel, and does DJ work during the summer wedding season and throughout the Christmas holidays.

Duane’s website is www.digital-sound.net

By Gina Forsyth

I don’t usually write letters to the Gazette, but this time I thought something should be mentioned.

Marine Harvest Canada does a great deal for our community and we are never shy in asking them for favours.

I was tasked the other day to make a delivery to Marine Harvest Canada. I wondered where are they located? What is their parking like? Will I have problems parking? I hate parking.

Will I find the office? Will it be noisy and smelly? What if they are just annoyed that I am using their office to leave posters?

Off I go and follow the road to Marine Harvest. What a surprise. The company is easy to find, it has a great looking parking lot so there is no problem parking and a path led me to the door.

I walked past a group of workers enjoying the great weather while they sat and chatted at a most delightful gazebo perched by the ocean with a great view of Port Hardy.

I proceeded up a flight of stairs, feeling a little better, but now for the tough job – asking to leave a poster for someone else to pick up. I read the notice, took my shoes off at the top of the stairs and turned left.

I was met by a most courteous staff member who made me feel like a million. No problem, she said, “I believe he will be here later this afternoon and I will give it to him.”

Well, I said to myself, isn’t that nice. Everything about this place is top notch and their staff should be proud to work here – know I would be.

Donna Gault
Port Hardy

The scoring opened in the third minute, when Campbell River’s Zach Hamilton took a corner kick. Shane Dumanoir received the pass, battered it at the Port Alberni defence, who deflected the ball back to Dumanoir and he converted his own rebound.

The next 15 minutes saw great play by Marine Harvest. Samuel Jepson, Wyatt Bryce and Dumanoir demonstrated some clever triangular passes in the Alberni 18-yard box.

Iain Wilson, playing in right back, passed in a couple of lovely arcing balls, which Jepson, perfectly placed, was just unable to convert. Neil Pomeroy made some great defensive intercepts to keep the ball in the Port Alberni half.

Ben Perrault and Shane Berry, both having very effective games, were rock solid in centre defence, forming a tight and mostly impenetrable unit.

The next Marine Harvest goal was at the 20-minute mark, when Jepson’s free kick was dropped cleverly over the Port Alberni defence to Dumanoir, whose blistering angled shot smacked into the back of the net: precisely according to the coaches’ directions!

The next few minutes saw a change in the direction of play, and Marine Harvest keeper Chris Erickson made two terrific saves. Erickson commanded the box with a particularly effective diving catch, when he plucked the ball confidently out of the air.

The third Campbell River goal came in the final minute of the half, when Hamilton passed to Dumanoir, who controlled and tapped the ball home to complete his natural hat-trick.

In the second half, Port Alberni came out hard, keen to get on the scoresheet. The play was frequently broken up and it seemed that the players couldn’t settle into a rhythm. As in the first half, Marine Harvest had many chances that went awry or narrowly missed the net.

Marine Harvest’s Justin Gjerde gave a fine display of solid clever play in the midfield. Gabriel Lessard made several splendid runs at full speed, working tenaciously to keep possession of the ball. Colton Reesor demonstrated persistent defense with style as he made an excellent contribution to the afternoon’s victory.

Braiden Gunn cleverly converted defence into attack as he retrieved then passed the ball back beautifully to the front line. Erik Christensen showed verve and confidence in a nice little back-heel pass that confused the Port Alberni attack and cleverly redirected the play. Malcolm Maundrell brought passion and intensity to the game as he went to the attack with little regard for his own wellbeing.

“Marine Harvest FC retained their grip on the North Island Cup with their fifth championship in six years,” said Marine Harvest head coach John Jepson. “Alberni proved a decent challenge, but the boys played a strong physical game and moved the ball about in unselfish and intelligent manner.

“Preparations continue over the next two weeks, as we ready ourselves for the biggest game of the year when we entertain Lakehill of Victoria (March 21) for the battle to attend the Provincial championship. The two teams have played in this South vs. North game on two previous occasions. In 2005, Marine Harvest FC won a wonderful game (3-2) and last year we won a real nailbiter 1-0!

“The two teams did meet in exhibition play in November with Lakehill winning 1- 0.”

© Copyright (c) Canwest News Service

I wish to respond to Len Sumner’s recent letter to the editor concerned about me getting a good night’s sleep (Wild Pacific Salmon or employment, Feb. 19).

I’m a salmon farmer, so I guess that gives me the right to respond to your questions. First off, I am helping those “huge Norwegian corporations” raise a high-quality salmon product on a year-round basis which is both nutritious and delicious. I’m not sure what you have against Norwegians – they’re actually very nice people. During an era when global human expansion is setting unprecedented numbers, we must look to alternative methods to provide the food to satisfy the masses. Unfortunately during recent decades, man’s furious race to harvest the seas for this reason (as well as for monetary gains) has resulted in a shortage of biomass inhabiting the oceans. Man has impacts on every portion of the food web and this of course has detrimental impacts on every living organism everywhere – the sea is no exception.

The culturing of living organisms is not a new practice, it is done in every country on most continents. As we supply protein to feed people, we are accepting the challenge of raising salmon to help alleviate the pressures on the wild stock so that they may perhaps return one day to their historical levels. As you are probably well aware, the pink salmon that were once classified as endangered and at risk for extinction sure did not listen to the doom and gloom reporting that seemed to occupy every newspaper in the last number of years.

Speaking of working for huge corporations, unless you are independently wealthy, or own a small business, you too Mr. Sumner are likely part of a bigger picture answering to a shareholder somewhere. The people being well-funded to ask salmon farming companies the critical questions also answer to their big brothers. The world has grown so big and the political and social layering of classes is widening all the time so it is inevitable to believe that we all have questions that we have to answer for the person waiting on the next rung up the ladder.

I do sleep well at night knowing that I work in an industry I believe in, work with people I can be proud of, and produce a quality product that has health benefits, is delicious, and well sought after. I would not continue my career if I did not believe in it. After six years of post-secondary education, and 12 years working experience, I could do many other things, but pride myself on being a salmon farmer! My job is nowhere near important enough to me if it meant I was jeopardizing any wild species let alone the icon of the coast – the wild Pacific salmon. It’s not a question of “wild salmon or employment” – aquaculture helps sustain both.

I hope this provides the answers you were looking for. It likely won’t because you may have your mind already made up, but I suggest you take the opportunity this summer to take a tour of a working salmon farm to see for yourself the level of pride and true stewardship we as salmon farmers take to provide a healthy and sustainable product.

George Nichols

The new building will house two separate systems each designed to recirculate an incredible 99.1% of the water. Each system will contain four 12m tanks which will flow into a treatment facility with two 4m deep bioreactors which are the heart of the InterAqua Advance system designed to convert toxic ammonia into safe nitrate, digest fine organics, degas off excess carbon dioxide and saturate the water with oxygen, exciting isn’t it! The water is then pumped back to the tanks with a small side stream of the water being supersaturated to help meet the oxygen requirements of the fish.The existing Hatchery uses approximately 15,000 Lpm of water to produce 1.8 million smolts. The new recirculation systems will triple the smolt production of the site using only an amazing 600 Lpm of new water while increasing smolt size and quality at the same time.

We look forward to continuing to work together with our Danish colleagues to make this project a success. We are all eager to have the project progress to the operational phase with the first fish scheduled to be added to the system already being first fed in the Hatchery. Between now and then, there is a lot of work to be completed but there’s no turning back now!

By Phillip Redmond, FW Technical Operations Manager

In addition to salmon farming, possible human disturbances in the area include impacts from forestry operations such as woody debris buildup in the marine environment, said Sharon DeDominicis, Marine Harvest Canada’s Environmental Sustainability Manager. The project was an opportunity to learn more about what factors impact bivalve populations, she added.

“We wanted to get a clear idea of what’s going on and Fisheries and Oceans Canada was involved too since they’re the agency responsible for the management of clam populations.” stated Sharon. Officially titled the “Assessment of Impacts to Natural Beaches and Culturally Modified Clam Gardens in the Broughton Archipelago,” the study centered on the Port Elizabeth and Larsen Island farm site areas. Bivalve sampling was done at different distances from the sites, ranging from 200 to 1,000 meters in order to examine  the interaction between aquaculture operations and the clam beaches and terraces.

In addition to focusing on beaches where clams have traditionally been harvested, the half-million dollar project included studying First Nations clam terraces, or gardens. These ancient one-two meter high rock walls were constructed at the low-water level and acted as breakwaters to allow the clams to flourish while protected from the strong currents.

“The clam gardens have “huge cultural significance” for the area’s First Nations.” Sharon stated.

Throughout the spring and summer, approximately 5,000 clams were collected and studied. A variety of information was gathered, including digital pictures showing the location and quantity of clams on the beaches, as well as the approximate ages of the adult and juvenile clams. Sea grass, algae, and sediment surveys were also included in the inventory of habitat and clam populations. The sediment samples collected will provide information regarding the history of the clam terraces.

The beaches chosen for the study were based in part on knowledge shared by local First Nations regarding areas where clam gathering was done in generations past.

The project team not only included Marine Harvest and DFO staff but also included reps from the ‘Namgis Nation, the Centre for Aquatic Health Sciences, and consultants who offered additional technical expertise.

The field portion of the project is now complete and written results are expected by February 2010. They will include future considerations for longterm monitoring and procedures that are intended to preserve or increase clam productivity as well as providing a direction for possible future research.

By Gina Forsyth

Born in Comox, Diana devoted 15 years of her working life to Zellers doing a variety of jobs with the department store including human resources. In 1992, she decided it was time to make a change to aquaculture. The timing proved favorable since a colleague’s husband managed the Blunden site for then Stolt Sea Farm and needed new staff. After a visit to the site, Diana was hooked. She worked at Arrow Pass and Wicklow Point and then moved into brood stock (thank you Terry Smith!), first at Whirl /Twist and now at Potts Bay.

She recalls commuting by boat between Whirl /Twist and Swanson when Whirl /Twist didn’t have staff accommodation. “We got lost in the fog a couple of times,” she said, not sorry those days are now behind her.

Diana cherishes the time she spends in her home and garden with Elliott, her four year old granddaughter, someone she affectionately calls her “little buddy”. Come January 2010, Diana will welcome another grandchild.

And by the way, remember the hand written birthday card you received with the Tim Horton’s gift certificate? Thank Diana for the card and for continuing a well-chosen tradition she brought with her from Zellers.

By Gina Forsyth

I’m a BC salmon farmer and take pride in my work. I’m also proud of those people I work with – hard working and honest Campbell Riverites.

But I find it disheartening that the Courier-Islander seems to be a favourite venue for individuals or organizations with a hate on for aquaculture to attack my career and also the character of those friends I work with.

A recent letter to the editor (Empty words, Van Egan, Jan. 20) is a prime example of this – a personal attack mixed with misinformation or lies.

Mr. Egan apparently took exception to a recent letter that Mary Ellen Walling, Director of the BC Salmon Farmers Association, wrote to correct a past letter writer that wrongly quoted the final report of the Pacific Salmon Forum.

In response, Mr. Egan called Ms. Walling a “hack” and “trained in the ways of deceit”. Anyone who has met Mary Ellen knows that she is one of the most honest and kind-hearted ladies who cares deeply for communities on the North Island. But apparently ad hominem attacks weren’t enough, so Mr. Egan also thought it best to throw in a couple of “non-truths” for good measure;

No. 1 – Mr. Egan states that “fish farming is not allowed” in Alaska. Wrong. Salmon aquaculture (or salmon ranching as it is referred to) has been practiced for decades in Alaska. In fact, aquaculture produces over 40 per cent of Alaska’s annual salmon catch. In fact, Alaska hatcheries and ranching program produces three times the amount of salmon than BC salmon farmers (60 million vs. 20 million respectfully).

No. 2 – Mr. Egan then claims that BC salmon farmers refuse close-containment systems only because of “cost”. Nonsense. BC salmon farmers have always been interested in these systems – in fact our hatcheries (where our fish spend 1/3 their life) are all closed contained. But these systems have not yet been developed to successfully grow our fish to harvestable size. Yes, cost is a factor, but not the only factor. Past and present trials have yet to show desired environmental benefits mainly due to the vast amounts of energy required to produce each fish. Regardless, BC salmon farmers are always willing to give new technology a try to see if we can improve the way we farm.

No. 3 – Lastly, Mr. Egan suggests that BC farmed salmon is “laced with chemicals (and) they dare not sell them”. Absolute hogwash. Actually I’m more disappointed with the editor of the Courier-Islander to allow that libelous comment to make it to print.

While I’m happy our local papers provide a venue for community members to voice their opinions on matters of interest, perhaps it’s best that we to stick to fact and avoid baseless personal attacks.

Mike O’Keeffe,

Campbell River