Salmon farming transition plan is just a plan to create a plan
The Liberal Government’s long-awaited blueprint to transition British Columbia’s salmon farming sector is loaded with aspirational assertions and largely devoid of actionable items
By Fabian Dawson
SeaWestNews
The Liberal Government’s long-awaited blueprint to transition British Columbia’s salmon farming sector has finally surfaced, but it’s hardly the robust roadmap many were hoping for. Instead, what has been unveiled is a draft plan —a plan to create a plan— for the sector and thousands of aquaculture workers in indigenous and non-indigenous coastal communities, who will be directly impacted by a ban on open-net salmon farming in BC after 2029.
Amid plummeting poll numbers, the Liberal government disregarding advice from its own scientists—who have determined that the salmon farms present minimal risk to wild stocks—announced the controversial ban on open-net salmon farming last June.
This move has been widely denounced as a politically motivated endeavor to garner favor with urban-Liberal constituencies and activists opposed to fish farming, at the expense of the economic stability of aquaculture-reliant rural communities.
The Coalition of First Nations for Finfish Stewardship said the ban is an infringement on their traditional rights, given that 100 percent of BC’s farmed salmon is raised in agreement with Rights Holder First Nations.
“This latest announcement by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans is merely a plan to formulate a plan… It demonstrates the Liberal government’s scant grasp of the ban’s repercussions on rural coastal communities,” an industry source told SeaWestNews.
“The plan’s absence of definitive steps and clear timelines is likely to exacerbate uncertainty and economic difficulties for the thousands employed in our sector,” he added.
The BC Salmon Farmers Association (BCSFA) said it received the draft transition framework late Friday and is reviewing the document.
“We continue to stress that the timeline for the transition to closed containment by 2029 is unrealistic and unachievable and risks significant negative impacts on our sector and the communities that depend on it,” the association said.
Loaded with aspirational assertions and largely devoid of actionable items, the Draft Salmon Aquaculture Transition Plan for British Columbia, outlines a path forward, without specifics, in four key areas:
- support for First Nations, workers, and communities through this transition
- identifying economic supports for the adoption of innovative and clean aquaculture technology
- milestones, principles, and criteria for the phase down of salmon open net-pen aquaculture
- management of open net-pen salmon aquaculture until the ban is fully implemented.
Implementation of the Plan is anticipated to take place over a longer period than the five years associated with a transition away from open net-pen salmon aquaculture, the government said.
According to the draft document released Friday, there are a number of milestones, principles, and criteria related to implementation of the ban, which will be addressed in the coming months by DFO and the partner agencies, including:
- development of an approach and timeline that identifies elements necessary to transition salmon aquaculture licences or production to closed containment (which may include access to hydropower, conversion of licences and adoption of new infrastructure; and required training or testing associated with new technologies)
- identification of milestones associated with a transition to new forms of aquaculture or development and adoption of innovative and clean technologies
- criteria related to conditions of licence, mitigations and standards associated with closed containment licences
- clarifications related to which species of fish are included in the ban and exploration of the potential of integrated multi-trophic aquaculture and
- outline of a process for amending the Pacific Aquaculture Regulations to enact a ban
A significant part of the plan’s execution hinges on upcoming consultations and feedback from affected communities, First Nations and the industry, said the government.
The consultation and engagement process are to be led by Ryan Turnbull, Member of Parliament for Whitby, who will be supported by an interdepartmental task force, which will act as a Government of Canada secretariat.
The salmon farming sector in BC has said the timeline for transition to closed containment has been made in the absence of any scientific assessment of the environmental impacts of this category of technology.
A BC government-commissioned report projected that replacing BC’s current salmon farm production with recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS), also known as land-based or closed containment operations, would require a direct investment of between $1.8 billion to $2.2 billion.
The reports’ authors also estimated that it will be at least 10 years before a significant land-based salmon production sector is operating at a steady rate in BC.
It mirrors an earlier government report – The State of Salmon Aquaculture Technologies study released in February 2020 which warned RAS technology requires the use of large amounts of land, water, and power, and thus has a significant environmental footprint, in particular greenhouse gas emissions.
“An ill-conceived transition plan could end salmon farming in BC, leading to an annual provincial economic loss of $1.2 billion, a $447 million reduction in GDP, and more than 4,600 additional lost jobs,” states a letter from the BCSFA to the Liberal caucus.
“The government’s decisions have already reduced confidence in Canada as an investment location. Global farming companies like MOWI, Grieg Seafood, and Cermaq are re-evaluating investment strategies, halting investment projects due to concerns over policy instability, and re-allocating capital and innovation funds to other farming jurisdictions,” the letter stated.
The Liberal government, at the behest of activists, has already shut down 40% of salmon farms since 2020 in BC, increasing carbon emissions and wiping out jobs that are the lifeblood of rural, coastal and Indigenous communities.
Before the shutdowns the salmon farming sector was the largest agri-food export in British Columbia. The sector employed approximately 6,500 people, produced close to 500 million salmon meals per year, received inputs from over 1,000 individual suppliers and had an economic value of $2 Billion.
While farm-raised salmon remains the most popular seafood choice of Canadians, it is increasingly being replaced by salmon flown in from other countries at higher prices and a larger carbon footprint, said the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance.
(Facebook image shows Ryan Turnbull, Member of Parliament for Whitby, who will be leading the consultation and engagement process to determine the future of salmon farming in BC)