Seafood Farmers Demand Ottawa Recognise Aquaculture as Agriculture

In a pre-budget submission, seafood farmers urge Ottawa to deliver investment certainty and formally recognise aquaculture as agriculture.

By Fabian Dawson
SeaWestNews

Canada’s seafood farmers are calling on Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government to reverse the planned phase-out of ocean-based salmon farming in British Columbia and recognise aquaculture as a key pillar of the country’s food security and economic development strategy.

In a pre-budget submission, the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance (CAIA) urged Ottawa to abandon the 2029 ban on salmon farming licences in BC, arguing the decision is “scientifically unnecessary and economically and technologically unachievable.”

CAIA describes the phase-out, as “the biggest impediment to the survival of the sector in Canada.” The alliance is calling for “a clear performance-based pathway that establishes stabilisation, investor confidence and a path to future growth.”

The submission lays out five recommendations to support what CAIA calls a “sustainable seafood future,” with a focus on catalysing private investment, modernising regulation, and positioning aquaculture within Canada’s agriculture framework.

“Canada’s aquaculture sector generates over $1 billion of farm-gate sales per year; provides jobs for more than 17,500 Canadians in rural, coastal and Indigenous communities; boasts one of the lowest carbon footprints of any animal protein; and works in collaboration with many Indigenous communities in the development of Canada’s sustainable seafood future,” the document states.

Citing a new World Bank report, CAIA notes that aquaculture is now the fastest-growing food production system globally and “potentially the largest sustainable food investment opportunity over the next 25 years.” That report estimates up to USD $1.5 trillion in global investment by 2050.

CAIA argues that Canada is in a strong position to lead, highlighting “the longest marine coastline in the world, a strong regulatory environment, and hundreds of millions of dollars in private capital already invested in existing infrastructure and cutting-edge technology.”

According to OECD data referenced in the submission, Canada’s aquaculture sector is forecast to grow by 53% between 2024 and 2034—more than double the OECD average.

Yet that growth is under threat. CAIA says the BC salmon farming ban will eliminate “over 6,000 jobs for Canadians and $1.4 billion in private sector investment through 2050.”

The alliance is also urging Ottawa to scrap or redesign a proposed National Marine Conservation Area (NMCA) along the south coast of Newfoundland, which it says would compromise “thousands of jobs, $282 million in annual exports, and millions of dollars in current and future private sector investment.”

“The federal government must undertake comprehensive economic and social impact analyses of current and future implications for jobs, economic activity and food security before NMCAs and MPAs are proposed,” CAIA wrote. “The proposal for the South Coast NMCA must be significantly redesigned or withdrawn completely.”

In addition to protecting key aquaculture zones, CAIA is asking the federal government to:

• Double the funding for the Canadian Shellfish Sanitation Program (CSSP), which it says has become a bottleneck for private investment. “The shellfish sector now accounts for almost a quarter of Canada’s aquaculture sector and it has the potential for significant growth, if the regulatory services keep pace with private sector demand.”
• Reassign aquaculture development to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), arguing that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has a conflict of interest by regulating and developing the sector simultaneously. “Aquaculture is Agriculture and should be defined as such under Canadian law,” CAIA states.
• Launch a pilot insurance program for shellfish farmers, modeled after the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 2024 crop insurance program. “Shellfish farmers, many of whom are small, family-run businesses, need access to the same program support” as land-based farmers.

The submission closes with a clear message: Canada cannot afford to sideline a sector that contributes to climate resilience, rural economic development, and Indigenous reconciliation.

“Ensuring a supportive policy environment, sufficient regulatory capacity and recognising seafood farmers as farmers are critical elements for Canada to realize this major economic, food and Indigenous reconciliation opportunity,” CAIA wrote.

(Main image courtesy of Fanny Bay Oysters on Vancouver Island)