What Canada’s Blue Economy means to fishers and seafood farmers

New video series to highlight the benefits of the Blue Economy features 10 Canadian voices from the seafood industry

By SeaWestNews

The Fisheries Council of Canada and the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance have created a video series to highlight the benefits of the Blue Economy featuring 10 Canadian voices from the aquaculture industry.

The series showcases how Canadians hope the   Blue Economy   can grow communities, improve sustainability and create long-term economic stability.

“Capturing Canada’s seafood opportunity through the Blue Economy has significant benefits for the 90,000 Canadians working in the seafood industry, including youth and Indigenous communities,” said Paul Lansbergen, President of the  Fisheries Council of Canada (FCC).

“But more than that, it will also act as a driver for a ripple effect of change as Canada reclaims its heritage as a water nation,” he said.

“Creating a sustainable, ocean-driven economy is possible and it starts with the Canadian seafood industry,” said Timothy Kennedy, President & CEO of the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance (CAIA).

FCC and CAIA have created a vision and action plan –  Canada’s Blue Economy Strategy 2040 – to position Canada as a global top three best producer of sustainable seafood by 2040. This plan will capture Canada’s opportunity through the Blue Economy and help realize the dreams presented in the video series.

Canada’s Blue Economy Strategy 2040 has six required actions:

• Identify a federal department to drive the economic development of the seafood sector and build departmental economic capacity;
• Like other nations, develop a specific organization within a department with the explicit mandate to sustainably grow the seafood sectors, e.g. the Canadian Seafood Development Council;
• Develop 5-year action plans, with mandatory reviews/reporting, for the seafood sector; these plans would set growth targets, identify legal and regulatory blockages, and support public education and promotion to sustainably grow the sector;
• By 2025, through marine-based planning, ensure seafood harvesting/development areas are finalized/clarified;
•  Expedite the development of a Federal Aquaculture Act; and
•  Timely completion of the new regulations under the amended Fisheries Act.

The Fisheries Council of Canada (FCC) is the voice of Canada’s wild capture fish and seafood industry while the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance (CAIA) is the national association that speaks for the nation’s sea farmers.

Image (screenshots taken from the video) shows some of Canada’s seafood industry leaders featured in the video series.

Left top to bottom – Ned Bell, Chef/Owner Naramata Inn, Jesslene Jawanda, Fisheries Division Coordinator at Qikiqtaaluk Corporation and Serge D. Gautreau, VP Operations at Clover Leaf Seafoods Corp.
Centre – Dr. Diane Morrison – Managing Director of Mowi Canada West.
Right top to bottom – Kendra MacDonald the CEO Of Canada’s Ocean Supercluster, Larry Johnson, First Nations relations, communications, commercial fisheries at Nuu-chah-nulth Seafood LP and Christine Penney, VP Sustainability and Public Affairs at Clearwater Seafoods LP.