Saving Seafood

Industry Creates Plan to Position Canada as Top Fish and Seafood Producer

October 15, 2020 — The following was released by the Fisheries Council of Canada:

Following the commitment made by the Canadian federal government in the 2020 Speech from the Thone to develop a Blue Economy Strategy, the Fisheries Council of Canada (FCC) and the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance (CAIA) are pleased to release Canada’s Blue Economy Strategy 2040, a joint vision and action plan to capture the untapped potential of our waters.

Representing the national wild-capture and farmed seafood industries respectively, FCC and CAIA understand the proud and central role fishing plays in Canada’s identity. Recognizing the opportunity in the Blue Economy Strategy to continue to lift Canada to even greater heights and support economic recovery from the current COVID pandemic, the associations have developed this proposal to generate sustainable development through the fish and seafood industry.

“Canada is a water nation. With the longest coastline and among the most freshwater capacity in the world, communities and families across the country have built their lives and futures on capturing value from our precious waters,” said Paul Lansbergen, President, FCC. “We are ready to work with the federal government to strengthen sustainable economic growth from these waters.”

The proposal outlines a vision to position Canada to be a global top three best sustainable fish and seafood producer by 2040. FCC and CAIA are recommending the following sustainable growth targets:

  1. Double the Value of Canadian Seafood
  2. Double Economic Benefits
  3. Double Domestic Consumption of Fish and Seafood

To achieve this, FCC and CAIA have included six required actions:

  1. Identify federal department to drive sector economic development
  2. Develop specific organization with mandate to grow the seafood sectors
  3. Develop 5-year action plans for the seafood sector
  4. By 2025, through marine-based planning, ensure seafood development areas are finalized
  5. Expedite development of Aquaculture Act
  6. Completion of the new regulations under the Fisheries Act

“Canada needs to regain pride in its seafood sector, and in doing so stimulate coastal community development and job creation, sustainable food production, and Indigenous reconciliation,” said Timothy Kennedy, President & CEO, CAIA. “Our country needs improved economic opportunities as we begin to build back better from COVID-19, and we believe our industry can lead the way with a blue recovery.”

The new path outlined in this proposal can help enable the industry towards innovation and development and support Canadian entrepreneurs to “seize the podium” to produce the best, most sustainable seafood in the world. Doing so will benefit coastal and Indigenous families and communities, our nation and human and planetary health. It’s a vision worth realizing without further delay.

In wake of Canada election, report of BC net pen industry demise may be exaggerated

October 23, 2019 — Following the Justin Trudeau-led Liberal Party’s victory in Canada’s election Monday night, the Atlantic salmon aquaculture industry in the province of British Columbia (BC) might like to quote the celebrated American author Mark Twain.

“The report of my death was an exaggeration,” Twain quipped in 1879, at age 44, when cabled about rumors that persisted while he was traveling in London. He lived another 31 years.

The results are still being tallied but the Liberal Party seems poised to make several big changes to the Canadian seafood industry after taking a projected 157 of the legislature’s 338 seats, compared to the Progressive Conservative Party’s 121 seats, Bloc Quebecois’ 32 seats, National Democratic Party’s 24 seats and Green Party’s seven seats.

To pass any legislation in the House, the Liberals will need a full 170 votes, but many of the seafood-related pledges they made in their 85-page platform announced on Sept. 29 are a match with those made by the NDPs.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Trudeau, Liberals returning to power, with uncertain consequences for Canadian aquaculture, fisheries

October 22, 2019 — Canada’s Liberal Party and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have won national elections that saw them lose their majority, but retain enough support to return to power with a minority government.

The outcome may have significant repercussions for Canada’s fishing and aquaculture sectors, as the Liberal Party platform called for both more marine protected areas and a shift away from net-pen farming to land-based systems.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Canadian Conservative Party’s fisheries plan more gentle on net-pen aquaculture

October 8, 2019 — Canada’s Conservatives have a few plans for their country’s fisheries and net-pen aquaculture industry that they would like to execute if successful in the Oct. 21 election, but none as dramatic as those promised by the incumbent Liberals.

The party led by Andrew Scheer, a challenger for prime minister, on Sunday unveiled the part of its platform that deals with fisheries and aquaculture issues, promising to, among other things, create advisory panels to consult with the federal government on stock-rebuilding efforts and “increase pathogen testing for open pen aquaculture sites”.

“Unfortunately, Justin Trudeau has failed to appreciate the knowledge of those closest to our fisheries,” the Conservatives said in a brief press release announcing their views and opposition to the positions staked out by the Liberal Party and its leader.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Caught by surprise, Canadian salmon farming group sees closed containment push as limiting

October 2, 2019 — A promise from Canada’s Liberal Party that if they’re elected they’ll introduce legislation to move net-pen salmon farming in the province of British Columbia to closed-containment systems by 2025 caught many in the salmon farming sector by surprise.

Timothy Kennedy, president and CEO of the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance (CAIA), said that’s because industry representatives had long been engaged with the government and other stakeholders to discuss technological improvements to salmon farming that would have satisfied many concerns.

That process determined that “hybrid” technologies to grow larger smolts on land and reduce the time farmed salmon spend in the ocean as the medium and near-term solutions that were the most feasible, he said.

“There’s a lot of opportunity and a lot of investment going into that,” he said. “This sort of commitment within an artificial time frame is really challenging and very undermining of the process and the intent of those who were involved in the process.”

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance CEO: Banning BC salmon farms will drive farming to other nations

October 1, 2019 — Representatives of Canada’s salmon farming industry are hitting back hard at plans unveiled in the recently released Liberal party platform headed by incumbent Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to transition salmon farming in British Columbia from ocean netpen farms to land-based operations.

The Liberal platform has potentially serious and far-reaching negative consequences for Canadian jobs and the environment, said the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance (CAIA), which represents the interests of Canada’s aquaculture producers.

“This is a reckless policy, not grounded in science, and it will threaten good middle-class jobs across Canada,” says Timothy Kennedy, CAIA president and CEO.

If implemented, Kennedy added, farmed salmon production would simply be driven to other countries, undercutting efforts the industry has made to improve sustainability.

Read the full story at IntraFish