Atlantic Canadians and our family-owned salmon farming companies deserve a respectful conversation about the realities of fish farming, both the challenges and the benefits.
There is no such thing as open pen salmon farming. Our ocean farms, where our salmon spend the latter half of their lives in their natural habitat, are not open. Farms are securely moored on the ocean floor with systems that are designed and built to withstand local conditions by experts right here in Atlantic Canada. A multiple system of durable nets keep the salmon on the farm and the predators out, and our track record of containing our fish has been exemplary.
Cooke Aquaculture has been investing in closed containment, recirculation salmon farming systems for many years. Our salmon spend the first half of their lives — from egg to smolt — in hatcheries where they are nurtured by a team of freshwater experts led by Dr. Jake Elliott, a world leader in this field. His expertise has frequently been sought out by the very same conservation organizations that attack us.
