October 9, 2023

 

British Columbia, Canada aquaculture firms want government to deal with salmon farms fairly

 

 

Aquaculture technology companies and suppliers in British Columbia, Canada, including one that builds land-based rearing systems, are urging Canada's new Fisheries minister, Diane Lebouthillier, to take a "balanced" and science-based approach to the subject of salmon farms in BC.

 

A wholesale shut-down of open-net salmon farming would be devastating for the aquaculture sector as a whole, they said, including land-based aquaculture, as there is a whole supply chain and support sector that might be lost.

 

"This ecosystem has evolved over 40 years of production, which includes coastal and Indigenous jobs, expertise, production of smolts (young fish), feed and nutrition suppliers, animal health practitioners and health product suppliers, scientists, transportation and retail networks, etc.," said a group of 11 BC companies in a letter to Lebouthillier.

 

One of the 11 signatories is Akvafuture, a Norwegian company that developed a closed-barrier net-pen system and hopes to get an aquaculture licence in BC.

 

"The success of introducing our innovative technologies in British Columbia relies on this investment and supply ecosystem being strong, stable and predictable," the companies said in their letter.

 

"Our understanding is that with recent closures, the BC salmon farming sector has already seen a 40% reduction in production. This insecurity has already weakened the attraction and appetite for capital investment. Further closures could jeopardise the viability of the current production and supply chain, which will also jeopardise industry's investment in our technologies in British Columbia."

 

One of Lebouthillier's tasks as federal fisheries minister is to oversee a transition plan for salmon farms in BC – one intended to minimise or eliminate interactions between wild and farmed salmon.

 

"A balanced approach needs to be taken to ensure success in the BC salmon farming industry transition," the businesses stated in their letter to the fisheries minister. "Specifically, we ask that you continue to support the remaining ocean farms with a framework that provides long term stability through science-based environmental performance targets, so that these companies can continue to be the anchor for salmon production while investing in and deploying new technologies for innovative growth and enhanced environmental performance.

 

"It is critical that these farms remain because of the foundational supply chain infrastructure and investment ecosystem that they support."

 

- BIV