March 22, 2023

Mowi Canada West challenges government decision not to renew its open-net licenses

Salmon farming company Mowi Canada West is challenging the Canadian federal government's decision not to renew its open-net farm licenses for its facilities at Vancouver Island, The Canadian Press reported.

The company has submitted paperwork to the Federal Court in Vancouver asking for a judicial review of Joyce Murray, Canada's Fisheries Minister decision to close 15 salmon farms last month.

In its application, Mowi requests that Murray's decision to close the company's 11 open-net salmon farms off the Discovery Islands, close to Campbell River, be reversed or overturned.

The company also requested that Murray be asked to review the case and that the court rule that the minister's decision from February was unreasonable, invalid, and unlawful.

Although the federal government has not responded to the application, Murray said that the government was committed to moving away from open-net farms. She said that recent science indicates uncertainty over the risks fish farms pose to wild salmon.

The farms off the coast of British Columbia, Canada's westernmost province, have become a major flashpoint because the industry, local politicians, and other First Nations maintain that the farms are safe and that the closures would result in the loss of thousands of jobs. But environmental groups and some indigenous nations claim that the farms are linked to disease that affects wild salmon.

-      The Canadian Press