June 29, 2022

British Columbia, Canada salmon association open to consultation concerning industry's future

A formal consultation process for the future of the salmon farming industry in British Columbia, Canada, is welcome after years of "ad hoc" discussions over Ottawa's pledge to end open-net salmon aquaculture, Ruth Salmon, the executive director of the BC Salmon Farmers Association, said on June 23.

Salmon said it will bring the industry, First Nations and the federal and BC governments together to talk about how to transition away from open-net farms.

Studies have shown open-net pens can spread disease to wild fish, though Salmon said the global aquaculture industry is changing, with new technologies that reduce interactions between wild and farmed fish without land-locking the farms.

The mandate letter for Fisheries Minister Joyce Murray tasks her with developing the plan to shift from open-net salmon farming in BC waters by 2025, while working to introduce Canada's first Aquaculture Act.

Fisheries and Oceans announced recently that open-net salmon farms may continue operating during the consultation process that's set to run until early 2023, with the final plan to transition 79 farms expected to be released next spring.

Murray and her department will be proposing a framework for the plan in consultation with Indigenous communities, the industry, environmental groups and different levels of government, the minister said in an interview.

The plan "will be for a new regulatory regime that will lead to this transition to where there is little or no contact between wild and farmed salmon," she said.

Premier John Horgan had written to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in March, saying any plans to end open-net fish farming should come with supports for the industry and its workers.

It's too early to say what the supports for coastal communities might be, said Murray, but Ottawa will be working closely with the provincial government.

- The Canadian Press