Dear editor,
I read Tom Fletcher with some amusement. I ask why does he take issue with fish farm critiques? He has no skin in the game other than being an employed writer for a press that I presume instructs him as to the political direction or bias he must take in his mutterings. Tom has not done his homework which he indicates by his shallow criticism of for example, Alexandra Morton. I have followed her work for sometime now. She is educated on her subject and has dedicated a good portion of her life in a path of discovery concerning the overall effect fish farming has on the environment. He seems to be rather shallow with regard to his knowledge of those subjects he so vehemently criticizes.
I think that Tom and his publishers should put a wet finger in the wind and realize that things are beginning to move in a different direction. It is clear to me that more and more people are beginning to pay closer attention to issues surrounding the environment and the threats to it. Yes we must ensure that there is always a “freedom of the press.” We must look to the press to responsibly allow for all voices to be heard equally. Ignorant blather rises up, becomes foolish to the informed reader and is afterward ignored or made fun of. I am rather confident that in time it will be clearly demonstrated that fish farms are indeed harmful and need to be either removed altogether or redesigned to operate in a manner which is much less harmful to the oceans and all those species that live within them.
Please carry on Tom. You are actually helping the cause by demonstrating that there continues to be a lobby for such things as fish farms. The question is why?
Rick Botting
Comox