Still no new licences in BC
Opinion
There is a saying in Norway that goes something like this; “When the Devil wanted nothing to happen, he established the first committee”.
While some of the wording might be lost in translation, the intent of this expression fits well with the current stalemate in the approval of new salmon farm licences by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) which took over the regulatory responsibility for aquaculture in British Columbia over four years ago.
In connection with this regime shift, DFO has established two committees aimed at facilitating consultation about the new realities and regulations of the marine finfish aquaculture industry in BC. The first was the Finfish Aquaculture Industry Advisory Panel (FAIAP), which consisted of representatives of governments and the industry. Meetings were held in January, April, July and October, 2012 and in February 2013.
While the FAIAP meetings were reasonably productive, DFO then established the Aquaculture Management Advisory Committee (AMAC) for marine finfish aquaculture (and a parallel committee for shellfish aquaculture), with a much broader representation, including local governments, First Nations, environmental organizations and other interested parties, and this is when things would grind to a halt.
A similarly failed initiative was started by the Provincial government years ago - the “multi-stakeholder” Salmon Aquaculture Implementation Advisory Committee (SAIAC) was established to provide advice to government regarding the implementation of 49 recommendations from the exhaustive Salmon Aquaculture Review - the most extensive environmental assessment of an industry ever undertaken in BC. The SAIAC initiative came to an end when the eNGO representatives on the committee decided not to play anymore.
The AMAC committee has now met on five occasions - in March and October 2013, in March and October 2014 and in March 2015. Where this meeting activity will go is anybody’s guess, but it would appear that DFO is happy to play the meeting game as long as everybody still shows up.
In the meantime, salmon farmers in BC have spent over a million dollars (~€731,000) on environmental surveys and reports required for new licence applications. And the irony is that all of these applications are strongly supported by the First Nations on whose Traditional Territories the new sites are located. Meanwhile, DFO has conducted 13 meetings with First Nations between June 2009 and December 2014 - mostly for the purpose of trying to appease a vocal minority that is hell-bent on getting rid of the salmon farming industry in British Columbia.
