PSF in the News

Fish for the Future

Wednesday, 01 September 2010 08:39

ANGLER'S LOVE OF SALMON BLOSSOMS INTO BUSINESS SUPPORT FOR PACIFIC SALMON FOUNDATION

Accent Inns Founder and Chairman Terry Farmer Launches New Conservation Program for Wild Fish

By Michael Meneer, Pacific Salmon Foundation

Last year, Accent Inns founder and chairman Terry Farmer attended a presentation about the state of wild Pacific salmon given by Pacific Salmon Foundation president Brian Riddell in Victoria. During the presentation, Riddell said that government alone should not be depended on to ensure abundant wild salmon for the future and called on everyone in attendance to personally support wild Pacific salmon conservation efforts. Not long after, Farmer, a long-time B.C. angler, sent the Foundation a personal donation and expressed an interest in having the Accent Inns hotel chain also support wild Pacific salmon conservation.

"During the Pacific Salmon Foundation presentation I came to more fully understand that wild Pacific salmon really are a 'keystone species,' meaning they are essential to everything around them – bears, eagles, plants, trees, indeed entire ecosystems. As a father and grandfather, who has also been a life-long fisherman, I realized the health of wild Pacific salmon is a pretty good indicator of how our environment at large is doing today, as well as what the future holds for all of us. I also realized that by supporting stream and river renewal we could have a major multiplier affect across the environment."

An avid angler, Farmer's personal commitment to salmon conservation blossomed into a business commitment through Accent Inns' new Fish for the Future program. The program, which kicked off August 1, is easy to support. For anyone who stays at any of the hotel's five locations and shows a valid fresh or salt water fishing license, Accent Inns will donate one dollar each to the Pacific Salmon Foundation and Freshwater Fisheries Society of British Columbia.

"Best of all," said Farmer, "you don't have to be on a fishing trip to participate. You only have to have your fishing license handy when you check in to an Accent Inn hotel."

Commenting on the Fish for the Future program, Pacific Salmon Foundation president and CEO Brian Riddell said: "Wild Pacific salmon are critical to the overall health of our environment, and businesses like Accent Inns play a very important role by engaging their customers, employees and business partners on behalf of salmon. More than 200 businesses support the Pacific Salmon Foundation, but Accent Inns' new Fish for the Future program is particularly special because it educates the broader public about the importance of wild Pacific salmon conservation and the role all of us have to play on behalf of the environment."

Fish for the Future is part of Accent Inns' community outreach program, InnAid, which connects all five hotel locations with a broad cross-section of individuals and groups throughout British Columbia. Last year alone, Accent Inns supported more than 230 organizations across the province. Accent Inns has also achieved the "Four Green Key" distinction by the Hotel Association of Canada for commitment to protecting the natural world through a range of hotel practices and policies. Learn more about supporting Fish for the Future at www.accentinns.com or call 1-800-663-0298.

To learn more, contact:

Michael Meneer, Pacific Salmon Foundation 604 – 664 - 7664 ext. 127 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

John Espley, Accent Inns, Business Development Manager 250-360-1511 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

About the Pacific Salmon Foundation: Created in 1987 as an independent, non-governmental organization to protect, conserve and rebuild wild Pacific salmon populations in British Columbia and the Yukon. The Foundation raises money to help make grants to community organizations that work on behalf of wild Pacific salmon across the province – more than $8.5 million has been invested in more than 1,500 volunteer-driven salmon projects to date. More than 200 businesses have donated to the Foundation and 35,000 people have volunteered to support salmon conservation and habitat restoration projects funded by the Foundation.

About Accent Inns: The award-winning Accent Inns is a family-owned and operated company based in Victoria, British Columbia, with hotels located in Victoria, Richmond, Burnaby, Kelowna and Kamloops. All Accent Inns are rated 3 1/2 stars and have developed a reputation for their accent on quality, reasonable rates and excellent service.