‘Transition Plan’ leaves B.C.’s salmon farming sector swimming in uncertainty

“Right now, we’re in a discussion about transitioning from this excellent aquaculture sector to exactly what, we don’t even know yet.” – Jennifer Woodland, chair of the B.C. Salmon Farmers Association.

By Fabian Dawson
SeaWestNews

In British Columbia, salmon farming represents a critical intersection of environmental stewardship, indigenous rights, economic growth, and food security.

It’s a sector that is deeply embedded in several coastal communities, wildlife ecosystems, and local economies, employing some 6,000 people directly and indirectly, engaging with over 1,000 suppliers, and contributes approximately $2 billion to the economy.

In addition, a range of government scientific studies have shown that the marine salmon farms pose no more than a minimal risk to wild migrating stocks, while the industry is consistently ranked as the   most sustainable protein producer on the planet.

Given this, one would expect the federal government, which licenses salmon farmers on Canada’s west coast, to adopt a clear, evidence-based approach rooted in Indigenous perspectives and economic realities.

Instead, the Federal Liberals, facing plummeting poll numbers, have announced a ban on open-net salmon farming by 2029, to win over urban voters swayed by the anti-fish farming lobby.

Furthermore, the government has introduced a poorly conceived Transition Plan to shift fish farms from ocean-based operations to closed-containment facilities within five years, disregarding both the nascent stage of these technologies and the recommendations of their own scientists

A critical part of this Transition Plan hinges on consultations with affected communities, First Nations, and industry stakeholders, a process that should have occurred before the policy announcement.

In a recent episode of the Salmon Farming Inside & Out podcast  , Jennifer Woodland, chair of the B.C. Salmon Farmers Association (BCSFA) described the Federal Governments’ actions thus:  “With this particular leadership in government, it’s like let’s create a really good story and call it a policy, and then try to shove everything into it and make it look good, whereas what we would hope from a government is, let’s do the science and meet with the stakeholders, take that evidence and feedback and build a policy and build it upwards. And I feel in this situation, the policy was created and now the government is just trying to fit things in.”

To address the fallout from the ban, Ottawa has established an interdepartmental task force comprising 11 agencies for a “whole-of-government approach.”

This “whole-of-government approach” has so far only yielded an anemic blueprint called the Draft Salmon Aquaculture Transition Plan for British Columbia, which is loaded with aspirational assertions and largely devoid of actionable items. Basically, it’s a plan to make a plan.

Woodland, however, remains hopeful that the upcoming consultations will highlight the sector’s positive contributions to British Columbia and Canada.

“While we are pleased with the whole of government approach to understanding the complexity of our sector and the far-reaching implications that this policy has, there are a lot of concerns around the process as well. It doesn’t appear to me or others that there’s adequate time for consultation,” said Woodland.

Given that 100 percent of BC’s farmed salmon is raised in agreement with Rights Holder First Nations, and that the Coalition of First Nations for Finfish Stewardship has declared the ban as an infringement on their traditional rights, Woodland said the upcoming consultations with First Nations needs to be at a government-to-government level.

“First Nations communities involved in salmon farming have individual priorities that need to be discussed one-on-one with the government and the Government of British Columbia is also going to play a pivotal role in this as well…it’s going to be quite the undertaking.”

With both provincial and federal elections in the offing, Woodland is also hopeful that fresh administrations, will use the data collated by the new secretariat to look at the sector more responsibly and reasonably.

“This transition is really just another term for innovation for us…And innovation takes investment and time to trial. Because in order to innovate, you need investment. In order to get investment, you need business certainty…There needs to be business certainty going forward and we don’t have that now,” said Woodland.

The 2029 ban has been widely criticized as a politically driven effort aimed at appealing to urban Liberal voters and activists opposed to fish farming, while disregarding the economic stability of rural communities that depend on aquaculture for their livelihoods.

Since 2020, the Trudeau Liberals, influenced by the science-deficit activist campaigns have already shut down 40% of salmon farms in B.C. increasing carbon emissions and wiping out jobs that are the lifeblood of rural, coastal and Indigenous communities.

The actions have eroded confidence in Canada as an investment destination, prompting global farming companies like MOWI, Grieg Seafood, and Cermaq to reconsider strategies, halt projects, and redirect funds to more stable farming regions.

Now we have an ill-conceived transition plan with no clear path forward that has further destabilized the industry and created uncertainty for salmon farmers and the communities that rely on them.

“Do I have faith in this Federal government to make good decisions about salmon farming in B.C.? I’m not sold on that yet. We’ll see what comes out of this transition process,” said Woodland.

“Right now, we’re in a discussion about transitioning from this excellent aquaculture sector to exactly what, we don’t even know yet.”

(image shows Jennifer Woodland, chair of the B.C. Salmon Farmers Association.)