New Pacific aquaculture regulations coming to B.C.
When the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) issued its draft set of regulations for aquaculture in B.C. in July, it gave everybody 60 days to provide input and recommendations for changes, additions or deletions. The draft regulations on their own is a short document, but along with it came a Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement ( RIAS) that has caused some optimism within the aquaculture sector for growth through new production licenses, but widespread criticism from environmental groups that would rather not see another fish farm set up in the Province.
The Executive Summary of the RIAS states- among else- that “A federal regulatory regime is required to be in place by this date (December 18, 2010) to ensure that all new and existing aquaculture operations are able to obtain licenses to operate lawfully under the Fisheries Act”. In other words, there will be no separate law to govern aquaculture in B.C., but rather a set of regulations within this law that was originally established in 1867 and “Enacted during frequent fishing disputes with the United States, the Fisheries Act is designed to "manage and protect" the fishing resources of all Canada's "fishing zones, territorial seas and inland waters," according to Fisheries and Oceans Canada (ehow.com).
The DFO RIAS statement goes on to say that “The proposed Regulations would maintain the current economic activity in rural communities and boost investor and consumer confidence. The proposed Regulations would be designed to reduce regulatory burden while ensuring proper management of the sector, particularly with respect to protection and conservation of fish and fish habitat. Financial uncertainty and risks for farms would also be reduced through specific provisions for management of environmental impacts”.
Aquaculture operators, coastal communities hard hit by the downturn in forestry and tourism and many First Nations in coastal B.C. were glad to see wording like “This in turn would improve the investment climate, and may contribute to increased economic opportunities for disadvantaged communities through growth in the sector”.
The environmentalists that caused the shift of regulatory responsibility from the Province of B.C. to the federal government in the first place are now complaining about this proactive language and demanding that the new regulations include a provision that all existing and any new farms must be put into some form of closed containment rearing system.
Stay tuned for more details about this development in a future issue of FishfarmingXpert.
