The salmon farming sector in British Columbia, Canada continues to make strides when it comes to certification, with two more farms owned by Marine Harvest Canada – one in Bull Harbour and another Goat Cove – achieving the Aquaculture Stewardship Council’s (ASC) standard for farmed salmon.
Marine Harvest’s newest site, located in Bull Harbour, is operated in partnership with the Tlatlasikwala First Nation, while the company’s newly-certified farm site in Goat Cove runs in partnership with the Kitasoo/Xai’xais First Nation, a relationship that has transpired for 20-plus years.
“This year marks thirty years since our Nation began raising salmon in our territory,” said Kitasoo/Xai’xais Hereditary Chief Archie Robinson Sr. “We were the first nation to take the plunge and decades later we continue to take a lead in raising high-quality salmon.”
The Marine Harvest farms bring the number of ASC-certified salmon farms in British Columbia up to 10 – meaning approximately 15 percent of all B.C.-based salmon farms meet the “world’s toughest third party environmental certification” standard, according to the BC Salmon Farmers Association (BCSFA). Moreover, Marine Harvest Canada and Cermaq Canada, both BCSFA members, are the only two companies to achieve the certification for salmon farms in North America.
“Our members continue to show their commitment to achieving world class farming practices at all farms by 2020,” BC Salmon Farmers Association Executive Director Jeremy Dunn said. “This latest certification of two farms – achieved by BCSFA members Marine Harvest Canada, Kitasoo Xai’xais First Nation, and Tlatlasikwala First Nation – is another important milestone toward this commitment.
Association members are responsible for nearly 70 salmon farms of 109 licensed tenures on an annual basis, growing 58 percent of all salmon raised in Canada, said BCSFA. Farm-raised salmon accounts for 60 percent of the total landed value of seafood in British Columbia, generating more than CAD 1.14 billion (USD 859 million, EUR 779 million) toward the provincial economy.
