Last week, the Government of Canada approved a measure which would ban open net-pen salmon farms off British Columbia and phase the current operations out by 2029. This is a significant development, as these farms and others in the United States’ Pacific Northwest have a troubled history with ‘accidents’ and immeasurable harm to wild salmon and steelhead populations and marine ecosystems. “Today, we are delivering on that promise and taking an important step in Canada’s path towards salmon and environmental conservation, sustainable aquaculture production, and clean technology,” said Jonathan Wilkinson, natural resources minister.
The ban on open net-pen aquaculture farms is a way to coerce the transition to closed-loop, land-based technologies, which have a lesser footprint ecologically and less possibility for harming wild populations and marine habitats. However, the timeline and logistics of this prohibition leaves some concern from local organizations.
Impacts from open net-pen aquaculture:
- Spread diseases to wild stocks: Lice and pathogens (Piscine orthoreovirus) which both pose significant harm and mortality to wild stocks. Lice is one of the most prevalent impact of these open net-pen farms, and it has a direct impact on the productivity of wild species that migrate near the farms.
- Pollution from farm waste products: farmed salmon feces and feed waste both substantially disrupt and harm the local ecosystem. In addition, this pollution can pose harm to humans who may consume seafood caught in proximity to the farms.
- Competition from escaped farmed salmon–an all too common occurrence, farmed salmon often escape their net-pens and interact, compete with wild species, which can have cascading ecological impacts.
- “Open net-pen fish farms pose well-known risks to wild salmon,” says WSC Salmon Watershed Scientist Dr. Will Atlas. “For the last three decades, their waste, parasites, and pathogens have had serious impacts on wild salmon throughout southern B.C., with far too little government oversight.”
Watershed Watch Salmon Society is a Canadian non-profit organization that relies on science to protect defend and rebuild British Columbia’s wild salmon populations. “We are glad our federal government has mostly kept their word on getting the farms out, but the 5 year phase out period is way too long,” said WWSS’ Executive Director Aaron Hill. “We are also still waiting on the details of the phase-out plan, which is now promised for late July,” added Hill. “Our job now is to push to make sure that plan is as strong as possible, and then to make sure it gets implemented through laws and regulations.”
For a thorough analysis of this decision and the remaining concerns, head over to Watershed Watch’s website for more!
Photos by Tavish Campbell provided by Watershed Watch Salmon Society.
