Coalition releases ‘textbook’ on fish farm science as Ottawa mulls extending licences
Global News
The 500-page guide was produced by the BC Salmon Farmers' Association, the Coalition of First Nations for Finfish Stewardship and the B.C. Centre for Aquatic Health Sciences.
B.C.’s fish farming industry and a coalition of First Nations supporting the sector are launching what they call a “textbook” aimed at dispelling concerns raised by opponents of the practice.
The 500-page Modern Salmon Farming in British Columbia: A Review was produced by the BC Salmon Farmers’ Association, the Coalition of First Nations for Finfish Stewardship and the B.C. Centre for Aquatic Health Sciences.
Brian Kingzett, executive director of the industry association, said the guide was intended to bring together the most up-to-date, peer-reviewed science on salmon farming in a single document.
“One of the issues about trying to start a whole new agricultural sector in Canada is that it has led to a lot of debate and accusations that the salmon farming sector is bad for wild salmon,” he said.
“While we believe the science says that is not true, we have a responsibility to demonstrate that, so as a sector, we are trying to be more open and transparent and start doing things that garner that public trust as we try to provide climate-friendly food for North America.”
The move comes as the federal government mulls extending fish farm licences on the B.C. coast for two to six years. Those extensions would come in apparent opposition to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s 2019 pledge craft a plan to transition away from open net-pen salmon farming on the B.C. coast by 2025.
With that deadline looming, the industry and First Nations that support it are hoping the document can help reassure the public and opposing First Nations who have raised environmental concerns.
Environmentalists and Indigenous groups like the First Nation Wild Salmon Alliance have long criticized the sector, alleging the farms are linked to the transfer of disease and sea lice to wild salmon.
