Latest

RAS in Peace: The quick and the dead in land-based fish farming

Those who think land-based fish farming can replace ocean-based aquaculture, may want to take a walk though this RAS cemetery

By SeaWestNews

Land-based fish farming seems to be the buzzword for the lobby groups who want to put an end to sustainable ocean aquaculture in British Columbia.

Bowing to pressure from the activists, the Justin Trudeau-led Liberals, has pledged to move all ocean-based salmon farms in British Columbia to land-based closed containment systems (RAS) by 2025.

In a desperate bid to get urban votes at the expense of over 7,000 livelihoods in B.C.’s coastal communities, the Liberals abandoned science, reality and sustainability by making the pledge during the run-up to the recent federal elections.

Experts from the U.N., the industry, the scientific community, aquaculture insurance giants and even land-based fish farmers have described this policy as “nonsense”, “reckless”, “destructive” and “careless”.

“By demanding 100 per cent closed containment in just six years, the Liberals are in effect calling on us to shut down successful, responsible farming operations already innovating new ways of doing things in favour of an alternative that doesn’t actually exist,” states John Paul Fraser, the executive director of the BC Salmon Farmers Association.

In B.C. alone, there are many failed attempts to grow either Pacific or Atlantic salmon in land-based recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) over the past 20 years.

Now the world’s largest seafood news and information provider, IntraFish, has put together a list of land-based or recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) projects that have collapsed.

Those who think land-based fish farming can replace ocean-based aquaculture, instead of the two being a hybrid system, may want to take a walk though this cemetery that has devoured millions of dollars in fantastical quests;

SeaWestNews

Recent Posts

The Future of Salmon Farming in BC Tests Canada’s Commitment to Truth and Reconciliation

“Telling us to remove salmon farms from our territories is an attempt to override our…

2 days ago

Mayors Tell BC Government to Stop Sitting on the Sidelines and ‘Get It Done’

At the Get It Done BC forum, mayors warn that rural communities and industries like…

1 week ago

Fish Farming Takes Centre Stage at Cold Harvest Conference

Industry leaders, scientists, politicians, and policymakers gather in St. John’s, Newfoundland, this week to tackle…

1 week ago

‘Salmon Capital of the World’ Leads Push for Alliance of BC Resource Communities

The Alliance seeks to rally communities across British Columbia into a powerful collective voice to…

2 weeks ago

Aquaculture Seen as Pathway to Restoring Ocean Abundance for Indigenous Communities

Indigenous leaders unite to blend ancestral knowledge with modern science, positioning aquaculture as a solution…

2 weeks ago

U.S. Targets Aquaculture Gridlock as Canada’s Seafood Farmers Stay Tangled in Red Tape

U.S. seafood leaders rally behind new legislation to expand ocean fish farming, while Canada struggles…

3 weeks ago