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Namgis First Nation protesters have ended their occupation of the Marine Harvest salmon farm at Swanson Island and will monitor the site from a group of cabins located nearby.

Protester Ernest Alfred was at the farm Wednesday as an observer for the harvest of mature salmon from the farm at the invitation of the company.

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“I have a camera, a GoPro, a radio and safety equipment so I can observe and report back to my nation,” said Alfred. “We’ve never seen some of these techniques before and we will post them for the public to see.”

Protesters have been at fish farms at Swanson and Midsummer Islands for the past several weeks, demanding that ocean-based fish farms be removed from their traditional territory. The Namgis First Nation operates B.C.’s only land-based Atlantic salmon farm near Alert Bay.

“We have said all along that we will allow Marine Harvest to take salmon out of the site, but we will not allow any more salmon to come in,” Alfred said. “We have demanded that Marine Harvest remove their fish and they have done that.”