Net gains: Aquaculture news from around the world
Asia’s appetite for Scottish salmon grows as Tasmania and America look to build a more robust aquaculture industry. By SeaWestNews SCOTLAND – Scottish salmon is now the UK’s biggest food export, with sales reaching £578million (about CAD $975 million) in…
First Nations suffer to save salmon stocks
“We can smell the salmon in the river when they’re running, but we cannot go out and fish” By Rochelle Baker, Local Journalism Initiative ReporterCanada’s National Observer The collapse of wild salmon is causing a current of pain that spans the…
The big lie about the ‘dye’ in farmed salmon
The colour of farmed salmon comes from adding an antioxidant to their feed, with benefits for everyone By Dr. Stefanie ColomboDalhousie University A barrage of messages from social media influencers, along with other online blogs and articles, have claimed that farmed…
Canada’s salmon farmers need more collaboration not conflict
While the rest of the world is increasing aquaculture production, campaigners with varying self-interests have been determined to shut down salmon farms in Canada. Commentary By Ned Bell, chef and sustainable seafood educator; Stefanie Colombo, professor at Dalhousie University; David…
Exciting Careers In The Salmon Aquaculture Industry
Mowi is the world’s leading seafood company and the largest producer of farm-raised salmon with 12 000 aquaculture employees in 25 countries. Is this the year you yearn to head into the horizon, to see what lies beyond? Well, take…
Farmed salmon is critical for Canada’s food security
The salmon served on most Canadian plates comes from farms, not from the wild, and this takes the pressure off wild stocks. CommentaryBy Timothy Kennedy Climate change is creating severe challenges for the world’s food production and distribution systems. Rising…
Why Atlantic Canada wants aquaculture to keep growing
“One need only go to the communities to talk to the people working in the sector and the business groups to see what aquaculture is bringing to their communities” CommentaryBy Jamie Baker A recent letter-writer asked a very important question:…
Salmon farmers dominate global protein sustainability rankings: report
Salmon farmers Mowi and Grieg Seafood, who raise fish in BC, considered to be the lowest risk protein producers in the world By SeaWestNews Salmon farming is the most environmentally efficient animal production on the planet, with the lowest freshwater…
Science not politics should drive sustainable aquaculture policies
The impact of recent political decisions relating to aquaculture in British Columbia and Washington equates to the direct loss of hundreds of full-time salmon farming jobs Guest CommentaryTimothy Kennedy The recent political announcement of steelhead trout farm closures in Washington…
‘Salmon Wars’ in the media undermines aquaculture sustainability
Extremist criticism of farmed salmon may have made sense a decade ago, but in 2022 we must question the quality of the research used by aquaculture detractors CommentaryBy Jack CheneySustainable FisheriesUniversity of Washington To promote their new book, Salmon Wars, writers…
An insincere consultation about salmon farming in BC
The Federal government’s nonsensical policy about salmon farming in BC only hurts local communities and First Nations, while failing to do anything to address the real causes of population decline in wild stocks By Margareta DovgalResource Works The federal government…
Aquaculture sector thanks Atlantic Canada’s premiers
“When it comes to salmon farming, Atlantic Canada is unique – and that uniqueness is key to our sector’s success,” states an open letter to premiers Dear Atlantic Premiers: As our region, our country and the rest of the world…
Lobster industry clawing back from COVID-19 pandemic hits
Government bailouts for the lobster industry have been controversial among both politicians and consumers By Kevin FaganSeaWestNews According to a newly released report by the National Fisheries Institute, the US and Canadian lobster industries generated $7.9 billion in revenue in…
Another smolt step in Grieg’s aquaculture transition plan
Grieg Seafood’s hatchery expansion project will allow juvenile salmon to grow longer on land before being transferred to sea farms in British Columbia By SeaWestNews Grieg Seafood BC has received the first transfers of juvenile Atlantic salmon into its expanded…
Why we need more aquaculture in our oceans
“Farming fish in the ocean provides climate-friendly protein with low greenhouse gas emissions and little to no conversion of land.” Guest Commentary By Sarah Brenholt During this National Oceans Month, it’s a time to reflect on the fact that America has…
Politics drives Faustian salmon aquaculture pact in BC
“To remain in power, the PMO is willing to sacrifice the citizens and their children and future generations of Northern Vancouver Islanders to a life of poverty and isolation. And the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans is an all-too-willing accomplice.”…
Federal Court rejects ministerial bid to shut down BC salmon farms
New ruling reaffirms that “salmon aquaculture in B.C. poses no more than a minimal risk to wild salmon”, countering the false claims by anti-fish farm activists. By Fabian DawsonSeaWestNews The Federal Court has ordered the government to set aside its…
Science sleuths to study deep sea salmon secrets
Four vessels and more than 60 international scientists from Canada, Japan, the U.S., Russia and Korea are taking part in one of the largest-ever surveys of salmon in the North Pacific By Rochelle BakerLocal Journalism Initiative ReporterNational Observer A multinational scientific…
Changes at the helm of the BC Salmon Farmers Association
Veteran aquaculture industry expert named as interim executive director of BC Salmon Farmers Association. By SeaWestNews The BC Salmon Farmers Association (BCSFA) has announced that its executive director, John Paul Fraser, is stepping down. Veteran industry expert, Ruth Salmon, who…
Commercial fishers in Alaska ‘plundering’ threatened B.C. salmon
Nearly 800,000 sockeye salmon were caught in Alaskan fishing districts just north of the border in 2021, and most of those fish would be headed for B.C. waterways By Rochelle Baker,Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Commercial fish harvesters in southeast Alaska are…
Salmon farmer invests millions to improve aquaculture sustainability
Grieg Seafood BC Ltd. will employ ‘underwater eyes’ at its BC salmon farms for improved sustainability By SeaWestNews Grieg Seafood BC Ltd. (Grieg) has entered in an agreement with OptoScale to provide nine camera sensor units for use at its…
2022 is the year to make it happen for Canada’s wild and farmed fisheries
The Fisheries Council of Canada and the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance, the national associations representing wild and farmed seafood respectively, have come together to provide a solution that captures the untapped potential of Canadian waters. CommentaryBy Paul Lansbergen We’ve come…
Salmon farmer Mowi tops global sustainable protein rankings
Salmon farmers at the forefront of sustainable food production in the latest Coller FAIRR Protein Index, which ranks the world’s key food producers on sustainability BySeaWestNews As the debate over maritime aquaculture rages on in British Columbia, two of the…
Aquaculture will help rebuild Salish Sea – tribal leader
“Sustainable fish-farming allows us to continue harvesting locally grown seafood without further depleting our native stocks. I firmly believe aquaculture is part of the solution, not the problem.” Commentary By W. Ron AllenTribal Chair of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe If the past…
Aquaculture propels First Nations, tribal communities towards ‘self-reliance’
New video shows the value of aquaculture for the environment and economic growth of tribal communities in the Pacific Northwest By SeaWestNews Tribal communities across the Pacific Northwest are diversifying into aquaculture to provide economic opportunities and food security for…
Seafood farmers, agri-food producers unite for UN Summit
Canada’s seafood farmers, ranchers and agri-food producers pledge to develop food systems that serve people and planet as world leaders meet at historic UN Food Systems Summit By SeaWestNews Canada’s seafood farmers, ranchers and agri-food producers have pledge to stand…
Aquaculture leaders honour fish farming pioneer Dan Swecker
Former Washington state senator and war hero championed aquaculture as a job creator and as a way to produce local seafood that people could afford By SeaWestNews Dan Swecker, a former Washington state senator and war hero, is being remembered…
An open letter to election candidates from BC’s salmon farmers
“With certainty and a secure future, BC’s aquaculture sector could invest an additional $1.4 billion in innovation and create nearly 10,000 new full-time jobs by 2050” – states an open letter from BC’s salmon farmers to election candidates Dear Candidate,…
Make a ‘pledge’ to know us urge BC salmon farmers
Activism and the spread of misinformation about salmon farming – clearly meant to divide and polarize communities – poses an imminent threat to family supporting jobs primarily situated on Vancouver Island, election candidates told CommentaryBy John Paul Fraser As with…
Canada’s opportunity to seize the global seafood podium
Canada’s seafood sector ticks so many boxes: sustainable production, food security, low-carbon food, coastal community development, Indigenous reconciliation, science and innovation. Guest CommentaryBy Paul Lansbergen During the current federal election, Canadians will be discussing and debating the merits of voting…