workers position their boats at a Cooke Aquaculture salmon farm near Blacks Harbour, N.B., in July, 2017.Robert F. Bukaty/The Associated Press
The heated dispute over open-net salmon farms in B.C. waters has caused a political rift, with Liberal backbencher Wayne Long accusing his own party of betraying rural and Indigenous stakeholders.
The MP for St. John-Rothesay in New Brunswick was responding to Ottawa’s announcement on Wednesday that it is working on a transition plan to end open-net salmon farming in British Columbia within five years.
Mr. Long said in a statement that Ottawa’s decision “confirms our government has sided with well funded environmental groups and has chosen urban politics, vote pandering and seats over rural and Indigenous communities whose future and livelihood depends on responsible aquaculture growth.”
Ottawa had promised in the 2019 election campaign to phase out open-net salmon farms by 2025, but on Wednesday, the government said industry, First Nations and communities needed time to make the change.
“To facilitate a successful transition, we know it’s important to give everyone the time they need to adapt to this new reality,” federal Fisheries Minister Diane Lebouthillier said in Ottawa. She promised a draft plan by July 31 to help the industry through the changes she is imposing and a final plan in 2025.
Environmental groups and some First Nations have lobbied to shut open-net salmon farms because of the risks they pose to wild salmon stocks, while producers have defended the operations as economic lifelines for some communities and a source of high-quality food.
In Vancouver, federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson acknowledged scientific and social disagreements about the impact of open-net salmon farms, but said the wild fish are in such dire straits that the government needs to take a precautionary approach.
“Given the dramatic declines we have been seeing in wild salmon runs and the existential threat this poses to the future of this species, the federal government agrees it is important for authorities to act on the basis of the precautionary principle – which means we must address all potential causes of the dramatic declines we are seeing,” Mr. Wilkinson said.
Industry groups criticized the decision.
“Salmon farming in B.C. has been a vital sector contributing significantly to Canada’s economy and food security,” Brian Kingzett, executive director of the BC Salmon Farmers Association, said in a statement.
“However, the political conditions on the licences increase the uncertainty for aquaculture in B.C. and Canada.”
Licensing for salmon farms on the east coast falls under provincial jurisdiction while Ottawa issues licences for salmon farms in B.C.
Timothy Kennedy, president and chief executive of the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance, in a statement called the federal plan unrealistic, saying transferring the sector to closed containment by 2029 is “logistically impossible.”
The draft transition plan will focus on how to support affected First Nations, workers and communities, Ms. Lebouthillier said, adding that when current open-net salmon licences expire on June 30, licence holders will have the option to apply for five-year licences.
Those licences would include new conditions designed to protect wild salmon, including improved management of sea lice, a pest that can latch on to migrating salmon, the minister said.
Nine-year licences will be available to companies that commit to a fully-closed containment system.
There are 85 marine finfish licences in B.C. that will expire on June 30. DFO received renewal requests for 66 of those licences, 63 of which are for salmon. The other three are for sablefish, said Carolyn Svonkin, press secretary to Mr. Wilkinson.
The B.C. government urged Ottawa to work closely with affected stakeholders to steer them through the consequences of the new policy.
“The federal government needs to work directly with impacted communities and workers on next steps, and they must make sure First Nations have a direct role in determining what the transition looks like in their territories,” Nathan Cullen, the B.C. Water, Land and Resources Stewardship Minister, said in a statement.
The Coalition of First Nations for Finfish Stewardship, which has been pushing for a gradual transition that would keep open-net operations open, said Ottawa’s plan falls short.
Spokesman Dallas Smith cited the sector’s economic impact in remote communities, saying “a family-supporting job in First Nation communities is like four jobs anywhere else.”
Bob Chamberlin, chair of the First Nation Wild Salmon Alliance, said the majority of First Nations in the province support the phase-out of open-net operations, calling Ottawa’s decision a substantial step toward economic reconciliation.
NDP fisheries critic Lisa Marie Barron said, in a statement, that British Columbians have been waiting for years for a plan on dealing with open-net farms.