Minister of Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard Bernadette Jordan has launched the “next phase” of Canada’s public engagement on its Aquaculture Act.
According to Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), the act is intended to “provide more clarity and certainty” to the aquaculture industry in the country. Coinciding with the public engagement, DFO released a 14-page discussion paper providing background on aquaculture in Canada and the rationale for creating the Aquaculture Act.
"The women and men in Canada's aquaculture sector have been feeding Canadians and the world for years – and as the industry grows, we need to ensure the rules and regulations keep up with its growth,” Jordan said. “This act will provide more certainty, improve the regulatory regime across the country, and will help position Canada as a global leader in sustainable, high-quality, aquaculture products.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has outlined his goals surrounding aquaculture, including the expansion of marine protected areas to cover 25 percent of Canada’s oceans by 2025. Trudeau also gave the mandate to Jordan that led to the creation of the Aquaculture Act. That mandate reflected the Liberal Party’s platform, which called for a shift of all net-pen fish farming in British Columbia to land-based, closed-containment systems.
The seeds of an Aquaculture Act were planted in 2018, when a meeting of the Canadian Council of Fisheries and Aquaculture Ministers confirmed the support for a federal act.
According to the DFO’s discussion paper, the organization “intends to table federal legislation of limited scope” that would meet four main goals: foster national consistency while respecting local jurisdictions, improve clarity for the industry, enhance environmental protections, and help sustainably grow the industry for the benefit of indigenous and rural communities.
“It is proposed that the Aquaculture Act would define in Canadian federal law – some for the first time –the many aspects of aquaculture, including definitions of aquatic species and the practice of aquaculture itself,” the paper states.
The new act also plans to “establish a forward-looking licensing regime that captures new types of aquaculture, including new species, methods and locations.” Part of that includes tailoring the new act to allow the government to develop new regulations without having to go through the process of amending the act.
“If and when offshore aquaculture becomes viable, the government would be able to develop regulations to lease and license offshore activities, without having to amend the act,” the discussion paper states. “Further, as the aquaculture industry develops innovative technologies to address new opportunities and meet federal legislative and regulatory environmental requirements, the proposed act would be developed from a technology-neutral, outcomes-based perspective that would not hinder the sustainable development of the industry.”
Comments on the proposed Aquaculture Act are being accepted from the public through 15 January, 2021.
Photo courtesy of the Government of Canada
