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British Columbia’s death sentence

The Canadian government is looking to land-based aquaculture to replace net pen salmon farming in British Columbia’s coastal waters. But, few in the industry are optimistic about this move. 

All eyes were on British Columbia (B.C.) this past summer as Fisheries and Oceans Canada (formerly known, and still commonly recognized as the Department of Fisheries and Oceans or DFO) announced its transition plan to permanently close salmon net pen farming in its coastal waters by 2029. 

As part of this transition plan, DFO Minister Diane Lebouthillier announced on June 19 that the office is looking to issue nine-year licenses for new closed containment projects on land and at sea. 

“Only closed containment systems in water or on land will be considered for salmon aquaculture licenses in coastal British Columbia,” said Min. Lebouthillier, as translated from French. 

“Our government, however, recognizes that closed containment systems are much more expensive and can also result in an additional financial burden. That is why in order to ensure greater predictability for these businesses, I’m announcing nine-year licenses to successful applicants for closed containment production.” 

The official document of the transition plan is set to be released at the end of July. However, with the initial details shared at the press conference, many aquaculturists are criticizing the feasibility of Min. Lebouthillier’s path forward. 

Feasibility concerns
More than 65,800 tonnes of Atlantic salmon are produced annually in open net farms along the province’s west coast. 

According to a study published in April in the Sustainability journal, these farm closures would divert C$1.2 billion (US$875 million) away from B.C.’s local economy, or about C$447 million (US$328 million) in the country’s GDP contributions. 

The study, titled “Assessing Consumer Implications of Reduced Salmon Supply and Environmental Impact in North America,” forecasts that the decrease in Canadian salmon supply will also trigger significant price increases to more than C$30 per kilogram by 2026. Canadian salmon is currently priced at around C$22/kg. Increased salmon imports to North America could also mean increased carbon emissions from shipping and transport.

“There hasn’t been any considerations, or so it seems, on the social science side of things, and the economics and the cultural importance to Indigenous and coastal communities,” said Dr. Stefanie Colombo, an author of the study and Canada Research Chair in Aquaculture Nutrition at Dalhousie University.

“The current government is very focused on carbon emissions and carbon credits… All of the social consequences, I don’t think are part of the decision.”

Regulatory hurdles
Five years is not remotely feasible for new projects to be able to replace B.C. salmon production, said K.C. Hosler, general manager and chief technical officer at PR Aqua. Site selection, permitting, design, and construction can take more than five years to accomplish. And yet, Hosler said the government has not done its due diligence in helping streamline these processes. 

“I think that demonstrates just how ill-informed the government is about the decision,” he said. “We routinely talk to people who put in their application and the government uses every minute available to them, out of the year they have to respond, before they will grant the licence, right up to the day. They will not process it faster. They are not motivated to do so.” 

PR Aqua has been part of the B.C. aquaculture industry for 35 years. Hosler said that he is heartbroken to see the DFO move forward with a decision that hurts the potential for aquaculture to grow.

“We grew out of the salmon farming industry, and in support of the salmon farming industry,” said Hosler. “Despite the fact that we’ve moved from an equipment manufacturing company into a company that is focused on land-based technology… we’re still very supportive of the local industry and the net pen industry in particular.”

Given the many challenges he and his team have faced in the permitting process for Gold River Aquafarms, CEO Rob Walker is also skeptical of the government’s intention to replace 65,800 tonnes of farmed salmon production. 

(Photo: Gold River Aquafarms)

Gold River Aquafarms plans to build a land-based recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) facility in a former sawmill in northern Vancouver Island. Once built, the facility is designed to raise 3,000 tonnes of Steelhead annually. The Gold River project’s permitting process with the DFO took more than two years to complete and is currently, applying for its provincial water permits.

“I think the government has really played on that antagonism, setting one industry against the other and it doesn’t make sense to me. We can grow together,” said Walker. 

Losing confidence
DFO first announced its intention to shut down salmon farms in Discovery Islands and Campbell River, B.C. in December 2020. The federal ministry outlined an 18-month phase-out period in which no transfer of fish between hatcheries and farms was permitted. 

Mowi Canada West, Cermaq Canada and Grieg Seafood BC filed a lawsuit against the DFO and in April 2022, the federal court overturned the ministerial order, ruling that DFO breached the licence holders’ rights to procedural fairness, as it came without warning or proper consultation and engagement with the industry.

Even still, the uncertainty within the industry resulted in millions of fish culled, salmon farms closed operations, and young professionals began moving away.

“That’s probably my biggest fear,” said Hosler. “With the decline in it and the uncertainty in it over the last few years, we’ve seen a lot of talented people just leave B.C., seeking jobs elsewhere, so they could stay in salmon farming.”

More than 6,000 jobs are affected by the salmon farm closures in the province. Additionally, there are about 1,000 supply companies that will also be affected indirectly, including feed suppliers, technology providers, engineers, etc. 

“This decision will signal continued industry stagnation and uncertainty, resulting in a continued lack of investor confidence,” said Trevor Stanley, managing director of fish feed supplier, Skretting North America. “The result is reduced investment in innovation, ultimately forcing us to look for growth and investment opportunities in other progressive aquaculture sectors.”

Potential for RAS
B.C.’s rugged coastline stretches for 25,725 kilometres between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It’s diverse geography features sandy beaches and dramatic cliffs, dominated by valleys and fjords.

Hosler said there is great potential for land-based aquaculture to flourish in his home province, but this is a potential that has to be explored in the long term. 

“I think there needs to be a deep dive on looking beyond the obvious, industrial sites that exist to understand where we could build sites,” he said. “I just know that people are coming to B.C. and talking to us about projects, are spending a year to two years to find appropriate sites for their production.” 

Hosler said he believes that the province still has great potential for RAS. Most of the smolt facilities operated by Mowi Canada West, Cermaq Canada & Grieg Seafood B.C. use RAS but the final growout is done in the ocean in net pens.  For full land-based production, Kuterra Salmon, Taste of B.C. Aquafarms, and Habitat Life are some examples currently in operation.

“There’s probably 20 sites that can support 1,000-ton production to every one that can support 5,000 tons of production,” he said. “So there’s probably a need to almost look at a distributed approach to spread out those infrastructure requirements. So I can see that being a potential path to explore.”

Infrastructure would be the biggest challenge for potential recirculating aquaculture sites. Access to large amounts of freshwater is a challenge, as well as access to the B.C. power grid. 

“Perhaps you don’t need freshwater, if you’re bringing in fingerlings, in the case of trout or smolts from another facility, maybe you can make that work. There are, of course, Atlantic salmon hatcheries all over the place because of the existing industry, so maybe a land-based farm could somehow use saltwater only,” explained Walker. 

The province runs mostly on hydroelectric power, and so the drought conditions of the past few years have also affected its power utilities. In the past few years, many parts of the province conducted planned outages during the colder months to relieve the strain on electricity production. The government has also had to import power from out of the province.  

“In my mind, the DFO decision is very siloed thinking,” said Walker. “They just made a decision that they think is just easy, just move everything into a container. And they haven’t taken all of these other big environmental effects into account. And so it’s really going to be challenging.”

Even still, Walker believes there is great potential for land-based projects in the province. In fact, during their site studies, he says his team considered many potential locations for their project.