Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has delayed a planned transition framework for the salmon farming industry in British Columbia, and salmon farmers in the region are criticizing the move.
In June, the DFO announced a five-year license renewal for net-pen salmon farms in B.C. – effectively serving as a countdown for how long the industry would continue to be allowed to operate in the province. Canadian Minister of Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard Diane Lebouthillier said the move extends a previous deadline that would have halted salmon-farming licenses on 30 June 2024 and fulfills the mandate from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party, which called for a transition away from net-pen salmon farming in the region.
However, the actual details of the transition plan haven’t materialized, and the DFO has now potentially delayed the plan's release until September. The B.C. Salmon Farmers Association (BCSFA) has sharply criticized the delay, calling it a disappointment and another piece of uncertainty for the industry to grapple with.
“The rural coastal communities and employees who rely on salmon farming have been in a constant state of uncertainty since 2019 when the transition commitment was first announced,” BCSFA Executive Director Brian Kingzett said in a release. “The ongoing delays and decisions made by the federal government continue to cause concern and stress on these families and communities as they do not know what the future holds for them.”
The process of transitioning away from net-pen salmon farming started with a letter from Trudeau to then-fisheries minister Bernadette Jordan in 2019, which outlined a set of priorities including transitioning in-ocean net-pen salmon aquaculture to land-based aquaculture. Jordan followed up on that letter with a plan to phase out all existing salmon farming in the Discovery Islands – which are located in B.C. – within 18 months.
Communities and government officials in the province said they were blindsided by the decision, and since that time, salmon-farming companies have been forced to cull fingerlings. Cermaq CEO Steven Rafferty said the government’s decision-making and hasty transition plan had already cost the salmon-farming sector 1,500 jobs.
The latest delay in the transition plan adds to the uncertainty the salmon-farming industry has already been dealing with for five years, BCSFA said. The industry was pushing for at least a six-year license renewal due to the time it takes to raise a salmon from egg until harvest but now has to grapple with a shorter timeline.
“Our sector has worked tirelessly over the past few years and submitted thousands of pages of documentation to the federal government to show our commitment to this process. The federal government knew that the five-year timeline to transition to closed containment or land-based was unrealistic, and the delay in releasing the draft Transition Framework will further inhibit our sector’s ability to meet the already demanding timeline set by DFO,” Kingzett said.
As the government continues to delay its transition plan, B.C. salmon farmers also have to contend with a new lawsuit from the ‘Namgis and Kwikwasut’inuxw Haxw’amis First Nations contesting the DFO’s decision to extend farm leases operated in B.C., claiming that the First Nations were not adequately consulted on the licensing decision.
In response, BCSFA said that every salmon farm in B.C. is operated via a partnership with the First Nations in whose territories that the companies operate in.
“Our sector has consistently stated that we will not farm where we do not have consent, and we have stayed true to that commitment,” Kingzett said. “We are committed to working with all levels of government, the rights-holder First Nations in whose territories we operate, and various other stakeholders to continue on a responsible, realistic, and achievable path forward.”
