NOVEMBER 2017 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC


17


Salmon farms work towards sustainability Pen collapse in Washington State not standard practice


Stories by TOM WALKER CAMPBELL RIVER – The


failure of a salmon pen off the coast of Washington State put farmed salmon – the newest addition to the BC Agriculture Council’s


membership – in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons this summer but the BC Salmon Farmers Association says there’s little cause for concern. On August


government attempts to establish Atlantic salmon in Pacific waters over the last century met with no success. West Coast salmon farmers experienced numerous escape events in the early years of the industry. Atlantic salmon were often found in the spawning areas of BC rivers. But the fry


JEREMY DUNN


19, a 30-year-old net pen in Washington’s San Juan Islands containing approximately 305,000 Atlantic salmon broke. The best estimates indicate approximately 165,000 salmon escaped. BC Salmon Farmers


Association executive director Jeremy Dunn says the incident doesn’t reflect the realities of salmon farming in BC. “That incident never should


have happened,” he told Country Life in BC following the association’s annual general meeting in October. “It is not an example of farming practices in BC. Farms in BC are engineered to different standards.” While both commercial and


recreational fishermen raced to catch the non-native fish at the urging of Washington authorities, the release poses negligible risk to the environment, Dunn says. “The scientific studies that


have been done around Atlantics in the Pacific show that there is very little ecological concern about Atlantics colonizing the Pacific Ocean or out-competing Pacific salmon for food,” says Dunn. Indeed, several


never survived. “If they were going to take, I think we would have seen that,” Dunn points out.


Dunn admits that the


August escape has once again put salmon farming in the spotlight. There have been repeated calls for salmon farms to be moved onto land. In addition, members of several First Nations are occupying two Marine Harvest farm sites in the Broughton Archipelago. Dunn downplays the sit-in, pointing out that the area is the only one in the province where farms don’t have operating agreements with local First Nations. “Our members have


agreements with First Nations in every area they farm except the Broughton Archipelago,” Dunn explains.


He adds that many of the


agreements stemmed from eviction notices, showing how relationships with First Nations have greatly improved over the past two decades. “Twenty years ago, the Ahousaht nation told us to get out of their territory,” Dunn points out. “And yesterday, a representative of the Ahousaht hereditary chiefs addressed our AGM.”


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250.280.7653 The hold-outs in the


Broughton Archipelago haven’t been as co-operative. “The nations in the


Broughton have been steadfast in their lack of


interest in having a conversation with our members,” says Dunn. “They have told us that this current issue it is not about science, it’s about rights and title, so it


is a bigger discussion than aquaculture. This is an issue they have with the Crown and, unfortunately, we are somewhat caught in the middle.”


Good news story for fish farms


A new economic impact study and certification program highlight the progress BC salmon farmers are making to be good stewards of the waters and their livestock.


An economic impact study


for the BC Salmon Farmers Association (BCSF) indicates that salmon farming delivered a total benefit to the BC economy of more than $1.5 billion in 2016, up 37% from three years earlier. The increase comes despite a marginal increase in salmon production at BC farms to 92,800 tonnes in 2016. Higher sales have led to


greater employment, which is up 33% to more than 6,600 full time equivalents. The industry also pays 39% more taxes than three years ago, or $86.1 million. Strong salmon sales have been good for the industry, says BCSF executive director Jeremy Dunn. “We’ve seen a very steady demand over the last three to four years and stability in a marketplace that has traditionally been quite volatile,” says Dunn. “This has allowed our members to invest in the their businesses like never before.” He says more investment leads to higher environmental performance, better growth rates for fish and a better and more stable cost of production. “The grow-out of a salmon


to market size takes up to three years so it’s important


for members to have a good handle on future prices,” says Dunn. “Investment decisions are very large dollars, $120 million for one of our members over the last three years and well over $200 million for the industry as a whole.”


BC-farmed Atlantic salmon


have been upgraded to a ”good alternative” by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program, Dunn added. “This is very important


from a reputation stand point,” he says. “It shows how others, both locally and internationally, are viewing our practices in BC.” While the rating sends “a fantastic signal” to BC salmon farmers, there’s miles left to travel. “This isn’t by any means the destination of the sustainability journey, to be called a good alternative,” quips Dunn. “It gives an important boost to move in the right direction.”


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