Open net salmon farm exodus expected in BC, documents reveal
Internal documents reveal Ottawa is bracing for major industry players to walk as it phases out open-net pens, leaving closed containment ventures scrambling for salmon eggs.
The federal government is preparing for the possible exit of international salmon farm operations on the BC coast following the government’s promise last summer to phase out open-net pen farms by 2029.
If big operators like Mowi Canada West, Cermaq and Grieg Seafood leave the province — shuttering broodstock hatcheries in their wake — that could put closed containment salmon farms in a tough position, cut off from their supply of Atlantic salmon eggs, an internal memo obtained by Canada’s National Observer through a federal Access to Information request shows.
The three multinational companies that own the majority of aquaculture licences on the coast have indicated the “timelines of the aquaculture transition plan are insufficient” to make the shift to closed containment facilities, according to a Feb. 2 memo to Department of Fisheries and Oceans Deputy Minister Annette Gibbons.
“Should these producers leave BC, they would likely terminate their local broodstock along with their farm operations,” the memo said.
https://fipa.bc.ca/nm/open-net-salmon-farm-exodus-expected-in-bc-documents-reveal/
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