Salmon farmers in British Columbia, Canada, are still waiting for clarity on whether the industry will be shut down.
Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has yet to announce whether it will renew licenses for salmon farms in the province as a 30 June deadline approaches – leaving salmon farms a month out from a potential shutdown.
The salmon farming saga started with a campaign promise from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who in 2019 called for a shift from in-ocean, net-pen salmon farming to land-based salmon farming by 2025. Following the promise, the DFO announced in December 2020 it was going to phase out salmon farming in the B.C.’s Discovery Islands in just 18 months, a move that “blindsided” communities and salmon farmers alike.
That decision forced salmon farms to cull millions of smolt as the government denied companies transfers to other locations.
The most recent action by the DFO, under previous Minister of Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard Joyce Murray, renewed salmon farming licenses for two years in June 2022. Since then, the DFO has yet to commit to renewing licenses.
The BC Salmon Farmers Association (BCSFA) has pushed the government to renew licenses for at least six more years to give the sector enough certainty to continue operations. The organization sent a letter to Trudeau and Canadian cabinet members, begging for clarity.
“You made an election commitment in 2019 that came with no consultation with our employees or the families they support,” the letter said. “Since that time, little to no concrete information has been put forward – leaving an entire sector mired in uncertainty. The impact of that uncertainty alone has and continues to negatively impact British Columbians as a whole.”
In March, BCSFA Communications Manager Michelle Franze told SeafoodSource that companies are pushing for the six-year renewal due to the production cycle of salmon from broodstock to egg to harvest. Anything less than a six-year timeline, according to Franze, means salmon farmers would have to gamble on whether Canada would support salmon farming.
“It becomes risky to be raising fish in hatcheries, not knowing if you’ll have a license to stock them into ocean pens when the time comes,” Franze said.
A recent story in the National Post suggests that current Fisheries and Oceans Minister Diane Lebouthillier is planning to renew licenses for eight to 10 years – more than meeting BCSFA’s request. However, Lebouthillier’s draft plan was rejected by other members of Trudeau’s cabinet, who reportedly wanted a more expeditious solution.
Meanwhile, the Discovery Islands decision continues to be tied up in litigation. A ruling in Canada’s Federal Court overturned the decision to close all Discovery Island farms in May 2022, and the decision is now under judicial review, the National Post reported.
As part of the effort to maintain salmon farms in B.C., the BCSFA, the Coalition of First Nations for Finfish Stewardship, and the BC Centre for Aquatic Sciences released a 500-page textbook on salmon farming with information and data contributed from First Nations, Pacific Ocean scientists, the salmon-farming sector, government agencies, and NGOs.
The book aimed to close “knowledge or information gaps regarding modern salmon farming,” according to Coalition of First Nations for Finfish Stewardship Spokesperson Dallas Smith, who is also a member of the Tlowitsis Nation.
“Our leadership wants to make the best-informed decisions for our communities regarding the sector and our marine management plans. This is why we asked the BCSFA to put together a ‘textbook’ of information on fish farms that would answer the questions coming from our members,” Smith said.
For the association’s part, the textbook also shows the salmon farming industry’s commitment to transparency, BCSFA Executive Director Brian Kingzett said.
“BC salmon farmers have always been committed to respecting First Nations, responsible practices, environmental stewardship, and community engagement,” Kingzett said. “We are furthering our commitment to transparency of our operations as we continue to innovate to reduce our environmental impact.”
