June 24, 2024

 

Canada to ban open-net pen salmon farms in British Columbia by 2029

 

 

This extension aims to facilitate the transition from offshore aquaculture to land-based closed containment systems.

 

"The government is firmly committed to taking concrete steps to protect wild Pacific salmon," stated Diane Lebouthillier, Canada's Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard. "Today, I'm announcing the essence of a responsible, realistic, and achievable transition that ensures the protection of wild species, food security, and the vital economic development of British Columbia's First Nations, coastal communities, and others, as we keep working towards a final transition plan by 2025."

 

In 2019, the Liberal government decided to ban open-net salmon farming and switch to closed containment technologies to protect declining wild Pacific salmon populations. To facilitate this transition, Minister Lebouthillier said salmon farming licenses will be renewed for five years starting July 1, 2024. These licenses will have stricter rules to manage sea lice, require more detailed industry reports, and include additional monitoring of marine mammal interactions.

 

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) said the changes aim to protect wild species and the marine environment while allowing salmon farms to operate safely during the transition.

 

The Canadian federal government will release a draft salmon aquaculture transition plan by the end of July. It will focus on supporting affected communities, providing economic assistance for "innovative and clean" aquaculture technology, setting transition goals over the next five years, and managing salmon farming until the ban is fully implemented. The transition applies only to aquaculture practices in British Columbia, where DFO is the lead regulator.

 

The announcement has met with concern and criticism from the BC salmon farming industry, with some calling the decision "short-sighted" and "irresponsible, unrealistic, unreasonable, and unachievable." Many people in British Columbia, including First Nations and coastal communities, rely on open-net pen salmon farming for their livelihood. It is estimated that farmed salmon generates about $1.2 billion for the provincial economy, supporting thousands of jobs. A recent report commissioned by the British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture and Food concluded that transitioning BC salmon farms to land-based systems may not be economically viable.

 

"Salmon farming in BC has been a vital sector contributing significantly to Canada's economy and food security," said Brian Kingzett, executive director of the BC Salmon Farmers Association, in a statement. "However, the political conditions on the licenses increase the uncertainty for aquaculture in BC and Canada. This focus on unproven technology jeopardizes the sector's ability to fulfil agreements with rights-holder First Nations and will cause further harm to our communities."

 

"The objective is unreasonable because there is no scientific basis to this decision," said Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance president and CEO Tim Kennedy. "The science at most calls for incremental protections for wild salmon in certain areas. The industry is committed to achieving incremental protections through new technologies."

 

In April 2022, a federal court ruling reaffirmed conclusions from nine peer-reviewed reports that salmon aquaculture in BC poses "no more than a minimal risk of harm to the Fraser River Sockeye salmon." Moreover, a recent scientific report from the Government of Canada concluded that sea lice on farmed salmon do not impact sea lice levels on wild juvenile salmon in British Columbia.

 

However, the DFO claims recent science indicates "uncertainty" regarding the risks posed by open-net pen salmon aquaculture farms to wild Pacific salmon in the Discovery Islands area, as well as the cumulative effect of any farm-related impacts on this iconic species. The DFO also cited "multiple stressors on wild salmon" – such as climate change, habitat degradation, regulated fishing, and illegal fishing – leading the government to take "a highly precautionary approach to manage Atlantic salmon aquaculture" in the region.

 

-      Global Seafood Alliance