One of the industry's three Norwegian titans - which together own 92% of BC's salmon farms - Cermaq-Mainstream, is currently
suing Staniford for defamation
at the BC Supreme Court over his recent campaign comparing salmon
aquaculture to Big Tobacco. On the opening day of the trial last month,
officers from the Canadian Border Services Agency showed up to inform
Staniford he would be deported following the trial for over-staying his
visa. The charge is accurate, and yet it was hard not to draw a
connection to the industry and its close ally, the Harper Government,
given the place and manner in which Staniford was delivered the news.
Staniford
and Oddekalv are unquestionably the global salmon aquaculture
industry's boldest foes. Both employ provocative tactics that
consistently get under the industry's skin. Their partnership is the
salmon activist equivalent of Che Guevara and Fidel Castro joining
forces.
I've met Oddekalv on several occasions and spent a few
days at his Green Warriors headquarters near Bergen, Norway in 2009 -
while working on my film "Farmed Salmon Exposed". To describe Oddekalv
as a character is an understatement. The man is a larger-than-life
eco-Viking, always happy to regale his guests with tales of his daring
exploits against the industry and other environmental violators in his
native Norway.
Meanwhile, Staniford is the man who developed a
global network of salmon farming critics through his former position as
director of the Pure Salmon Campaign out of Washington, D.C. His quest
against open net pen aquaculture has taken him to all the industry's
operations - in Norway, Chile, Scotland, Ireland, Canada and the US -
many times over.
Staniford - who has also plied his trade in BC
during an earlier stint with the Friends of Clayoquot Sound and before
that in Scotland - decamped again to BC a year and a half ago, as the
province was developing into the front line of the battle over salmon
aquaculture. But in the course of that time, he's gone from the director
of a well-funded global campaign to guerrilla-style warrior with few
resources, surviving mostly on donations from supporters (in recent
weeks, his
phenomenally successful legal defense fundraising campaign has netted some $50,000 in public donations).
Partnering
with Oddekalv provides a major boost to Staniford's work. Despite his
comparably daring campaign tactics, Oddekalv runs a well-oiled operation
- offering Staniford resources he has lacked in recent years. For
Oddekalv - perhaps the only major environmental leader who would dream
of hiring Staniford right now - the activist from Liverpool may prove a
valuable catch. The two men's tactical styles are a good fit - and
Staniford brings to the Green Warriors of Norway a global perspective
and rolodex to match, not to mention his unrelenting determination to
take down the industry.
Staniford's trial is due to conclude next week, after which he will be escorted out of the country at the end of February.
And from there, it will be very interesting to see what mischief these two salmon rebels make for the industry back home.