January 4, 2020

 

Planned phaseout of ocean net pen salmon farming in Canada opposed

 

 

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has mandated to phase out ocean net-pen salmon farming in British Columbia, but this move is being lamented by the Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA), saying it "is detrimental not only to the region's thriving aquaculture sector but also to the push for responsible aquaculture globally".

 

In a commentary on its website in late December, GAA's CEO, Andrew Mallison, said that British Columbia has embraced GAA's Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) third-party certification programme perhaps like no other region on earth.

 

British Columbia, Canada's westernmost province, has the world's first salmon farm with BAP certification (Cermaq Canada's Brent Island salmon farm), attained in December 2011. In 2016, British Columbia was the world's only region with 100% of its Atlantic salmon farms BAP-certified.

 

Today, Mallison said, 77 salmon farms in British Columbia are BAP-certified, in addition to five processing plants and nine hatcheries.

 

He said British Columbia has shown the world that it is applying best practices in environmental responsibility, social responsibility, food safety and animal husbandry to its operations. 

 

"The industry should be praised for leading by example and while the proposed land-based salmon farms can also be perfectly acceptable, there is no inherent reason why a well-managed ocean net pen-based farm cannot be a responsible choice", he said in opposition to the planned phaseout of open net-pen salmon farming by 2025.

 

Election campaign promise

 

This phaseout policy was one of Trudeau's and his Liberal party's election campaign promises, arising out of years of pressure from First Nations groups concerned about alleged harm from Salish Sea aquaculture on wild salmon and orcas, and from other environmental and business groups. The First Nations refers to the predominant indigenous peoples in Canada, roughly half of whose groups are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The Salish Sea, meanwhile, includes the southwestern portion of British Columbia and the northwestern part of the US state of Washington.

 

Those opposed to ocean open-net salmon farming claim that the waste products (faeces and feed) from the farmed salmon in the pens are released directly into the surrounding water and settle to the sea floor. These wastes, according to the Canada-based environmental group Living Oceans Society (LOS), can change the chemical makeup and biological diversity of the seabed around the pens. Wild rockfish near salmon farms, LOS says, have been found to have higher levels of mercury than their relatives away from the farms.

 

First Nations have also reported impacts on their traditional harvesting areas near salmon farms, stating that clam beaches are covered with reeking sludge, the clams blackened and inedible. Fishermen likewise report lower catches of some species in areas near open net-pen salmon farms.

 

Mallison claimed, though, that the anti-aquaculture community in British Columbia was small, but "loud and [has] found the ear of the Canadian Liberal party".

 

"I'm encouraging our members to come to the defense of British Columbia's salmon-farming industry and voice their opposition to a policy that harms jobs, reduces healthy food choices and discourages responsible aquaculture", Mallison said.  — Rick Alberto