Aquaculture is agriculture, seafood farmers tell politicians

Candian fish and shellfish farmers have continued their push for support from the federal government by holding a gathering in Ottawa on what they have declared as "Seafood Farming Advocacy Day".

MPs and senators from east to west Canada joined the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance (CAIA) in Ottawa this week to support seafood farming jobs, tech investment and trade.

“Engaging discussions highlighted the major economic, food security and Indigenous reconciliation opportunities that aquaculture offers Canada,” said the CAIA.

Part of agriculture

The seafood farming sector’s “Aquaculture is Agriculture” campaign advocates for the recognition of aquaculture as an integral part of Canada’s agriculture and agri-food sector.

In British Columbia, salmon farmers are attempting to persuade the federal government to reverse its decision to end open net pen farming by mid-2029.

The decision was made last year under former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s mandate to transition fish farming in BC from net pens to closed containment in the sea or land-based facilities.

Pushing for a U-turn

Fish farmers say Trudeau’s transition policy was based on winning votes in urban Vancouver rather than any evidence that fish farms posed a threat to wild Pacific salmon. They point out that at least nine studies by the federal government’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans scientists have concluded that fish farm poses no more than a minimal risk to wild salmon.

The salmon sector hopes that current prime minister Mark Carney, a former governor of the Bank of England who is seen as more business-minded than Trudeau, will recognise the value of the industry to BC and Canada, and allow net pen farming to continue.

But that hasn’t yet happened, and thousands of jobs are at risk, including those of First Nations members in areas where there are no other employment opportunities.