October 3, 2019 — Justin Trudeau calls for shift from open net-pen farming to land-based systems in British Columbia
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party has released its full party platform, which calls for a “transition [in British Columbia] from open net pen salmon farming in coastal waters to closed containment systems by 2025.”
September 30, 2019 — The following was released by the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance:
The Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance, together with its regional counterparts, BC Salmon Farmers Association, Ontario Aquaculture Association, Atlantic Canada Fish Farmers Association, Aquaculture Association of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland Aquaculture Industry Association, today issued the following joint statement:
The Liberal platform commitment to moving all salmon production in British Columbia to “closed containment by 2025” is highly irresponsible with potentially serious and far-reaching negative consequences for Canadian jobs and the environment.
“This is a reckless policy, not grounded in science, and it will threaten good middle-class jobs across Canada,” says Timothy Kennedy, President & CEO of the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance.
Salmon farming is the most environmentally sustainable large-scale farmed animal production in the world. It’s a solution to climate change. British Columbia farm-raised salmon production has been recognized as being a global top sustainable performer: the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s “Seafood Watch” recognized the provincial production as “a good alternative” last year, the only region so recognized in the world, and the FAIRR Global Index lists BC salmon producers as the top sustainable global producers of animal protein. It is a critical solution to the world’s growing demand for low impact, low-carbon emissions, high-protein food supply while alleviating pressure on threatened wild fish stocks.
Seafood farming provides 26,000 full-time jobs across Canada. It generates $5.4 Billion in economic activity in Canada. Salmon farming makes up close to 90% of this economic value. This is a young, highly innovative sector that is providing full-time jobs across Canada where these jobs are needed most: in indigenous, remote, and coastal communities.
The Liberal party has consistently said it will base decisions on science. There is no evidence that B.C. salmon farms are harming wild salmon populations. While pilot projects to grow salmon to full size in closed containment are happening around the world, this work needs to continue in partnership and without any artificial mandates and timelines.
No other nation has proposed this requirement of their salmon production. If implemented, this requirement will only move local, top-quality production to other countries that may not have the high environmental standards Canada already employs.
“While we are already a top global performer, our sector is committed to constant improvement. Our farmers need support and confidence to continue to invest in Canada. This irresponsible policy platform seriously undermines this confidence,” Kennedy concluded.
September 13, 2019 — The following was released by the Atlantic Canada Fish Farmers Association:
Statements made this week by the Atlantic Salmon Federation (ASF) about the transparency of reporting farmed salmon escapes and the potential risks involved with escapes cannot go unchallenged.
Salmon farmers do not want to lose a single fish. Their fish are their livelihood. When escapes do happen, they are largely a result of extreme weather events. Occasionally escapes are due to equipment malfunction or human error when fish are being handled (i.e. harvesting, fish health inspections). Salmon farmers are already transparent about escapes. When escapes happen, New Brunswick salmon farming companies voluntarily report it to the provincial regulator, who in turn notifies numerous groups, including the ASF, that are members of the NB Aquaculture Containment Liaison Committee. Other members include the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, the NB Department of Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries, salmon producers, the NB Conservation Council and the NB Salmon Council. The NB Aquaculture Containment Liaison Committee communicates regularly. This week, the group discussed adding other groups on a case-by-case basis that may wish to be informed of an escape for a specific reason.
ASF spokesperson Neville Crabbe stated in the media this week that: “When you have spawning that’s occurring between aquaculture escapees and wild fish, you are wiping away potentially 10,000 years of evolution in a single spawning event.”
We reject that hyperbole. ASF knows full well that farmed salmon are very poorly suited to survival in the wild or reproductive success. Fearmongering about potential evolutionary disaster after a small escape does a disservice to the collaborative efforts between salmon farmers and the members of the NB Aquaculture Containment Liaison Committee. Mr. Crabbe’s comments also conveniently ignore any potential impacts of over 100 years of Atlantic salmon enhancement efforts, including ASF’s own sea ranching project in the 1970s and 80s that saw large releases of a variety of salmon strains into rivers and estuaries.
Salmon farming began – with ASF as a partner – as a way to address the decline of the commercial and recreational fishery for Atlantic salmon. Salmon farming is a responsible, sustainable and innovative means to provide adequate food supply to meet the world’s population growth while helping to reduce the pressure on wild fish stocks. Our farming practices and technology continue to evolve. Fish containment will always be a top priority as will our wild salmon conservation and enhancement efforts. Farmers work with a wide variety of partners, including First Nations, as part of the innovative Fundy Salmon Recovery project that is now seeing inner Bay of Fundy salmon return to one river in Fundy National Park in unprecedented numbers. (fundysalmonrecovery.com)