Canada’s farmed seafood production last year totaled 200,565 metric tons (MT) achieving revenues of more than CAD 1.3 billion USD 1 billion, EUR 852.5 million), which were record levels for the industry, according to a new report produced by the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance (CAIB).
With around 70 percent of Canada’s farmed seafood production exported, mainly to the United States, CAIB’s “Sustainable, Diverse and Growing: The State of Farmed Seafood in Canada 2017” finds that the value of these exports soared to more than CAD 1 billion (USD 777.5 million, EUR 655.8 million) last year. The report further highlighted that while the demand from China has grown steadily in recent years, exports to Asia only account for between 3 and 10 percent of the total.
However, several new export trade agreements, including the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with the EU and the Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement, as well as the potential to introduce new species such as geoduck could expand opportunities in Asia and Europe, said CAIB.
With 27 different finfish species and 20 varieties of shellfish, Canada’s aquaculture and processing activities generated an estimated CAD 5.2 billion (USD 4 billion, EUR 3.4 billion) in economic activity last year, CAD 2 billion (USD 1.6 billion, EUR 1.3 billion) in gross domestic product (GDP) and 25,000 full-time jobs. When factoring in the full value chain, the sector generated more than CAD 7.3 billion (USD 5.7 billion, EUR 4.8 million) in economic activity, CAD 3.8 billion (USD 3 billion, EUR 2.5 billion) in GDP and employment for almost 54,000 workers.
Canada currently ranks 26th in the world in terms of farmed seafood production and fourth in the world for salmon output. But assuming that a new national Aquaculture Act is implemented, and other key regulatory and policy reforms take place in a timely manner, CAIB anticipates that production could increase to over 380,000 MT within 10 years.
If such a level of production is achieved, the alliance estimated that farming and processing activities alone would generate CAD 9.8 billion (USD 7.6 billion, EUR 6.4 billion) in economic activity, CAD 4 billion (USD 3.1 billion, EUR 2.6 billion) in GDP and jobs for 47,700 Canadians.
Canada also imported more than CAD 135 million (USD 105 million, EUR 88.5 million) worth of farmed seafood products in 2016, mostly from the United States.
