BC salmon farmers and First Nations warn Ottawa's 2029 open-net salmon farming ban could cost taxpayers $9 billion, devastate communities, and ignore both science and economic realities.
As Ottawa works behind closed doors on its promised 2025 transition plan for salmon aquaculture, it’s getting a clear message from BC salmon farmers: It could cost taxpayers $9 billion — or more.
The BC Salmon Farmers Association (BCSFA) has told the federal government:
“Despite clear scientific evidence, the decision to ban current marine net-pen salmon farming in British Columbia by 2029 is driven by political motivations rather than long-term, responsible planning.
“This policy ignores the real-world consequences for thousands of workers, First Nation communities, and the broader economy.
“The BC salmon farming sector generates over $1.2 billion annually and directly employs over 4,500 people.
“These jobs are vital to coastal communities and many First Nations. Yet the government is pushing forward with policies that could destroy this sector, risking thousands of jobs and removing a crucial source of healthy, affordable food from Canadian tables.”
On that last point, the association says the closures will result in the loss of 400 million meals a year.
And it would mean Canada would then be importing foreign salmon from... ocean salmon farms like those Ottawa wants to close in Canadian waters.
"The BCSFA calls on the Trudeau government to rethink this reckless course of action and work directly with rightsholder First Nation communities to find a path prioritizing job creation, economic growth, and long-term sustainability.
“It’s time for the government to listen to workers and communities dependent on this sector and their own public service rather than bowing to political pressure from anti-salmon farming activist groups.”
The feds first began discussing a transition plan in 2019. Federal Fisheries Minister Diane Lebouthillier then ruled last June that open-pen salmon farms in BC waters must be replaced by “marine or land-based closed-containment systems” by June 30, 2029.
Ottawa has already closed 32 ocean salmon farms in BC, leaving some 60 in operation.
The feds and opponents of current ocean farms say they endanger wild salmon, but SeaWest News says: “Federal scientists have consistently found that the risk posed by salmon farms to wild stocks is minimal. Claims about sea lice and disease outbreaks have been largely debunked, with studies showing that... sea lice levels have not decreased in areas where farms were closed.”
A consultants’ report to the BC Salmon Farmers Association in November forecast Ottawa’s 2029 ban on current salmon farms would mean annual losses of:
- $1.17 billion in economic activity
- $435 million in GDP
- $133.6 million per year to First Nations
- 4,560 well-paid full-time jobs across Canada
- Elimination of 50,000 tonnes of farm-raised Canadian salmon.
“The proposed ban is a reckless decision by the Trudeau government that ignores both science and economic reality,” says Brian Kingzett, executive director of the salmon farmers association.
And the Coalition for First Nations for Finfish Stewardship added: “What wasn’t included in the $9 billion bill to Canadian taxpayers announced today is the social cost to First Nations if Ottawa continues to ignore the rights, title, and self-determination of coastal Nations hosting salmon farming in their traditional territories.”
Dallas Smith, spokesperson for the coalition, said: “You cannot cut a cheque for the damage that will occur to impacted Indigenous communities if our salmon farming partners are forced to leave BC.
“This includes increased suicides, overdoses, poverty, and the loss of our rights. Canada can avoid these unnecessary social and economic costs if they let rightsholder First Nations lead the transition of salmon farming in their territories.”
The coalition (which has 17 First Nations as members) has proposed its own “Nations-led, science-backed, and industry-supported plan” for salmon aquaculture.
It bills its plan as responsible, realistic, and achievable, and says it would drive the following five outcomes for their rural communities:
- Wild salmon revitalization
- Economic reconciliation
- An Indigenous-led Blue Economy
- Social and ecological well-being for their territories and communities
- Food security and affordability for their communities and all Canadians
“The plan ensures that the future of salmon farming in BC is led by the Nations in whose territories the farms operate, while retaining good, sustainable, year-round jobs and building economic and scientific capacity in Indigenous communities.”
And the coalition points out: “Today, 100 percent of farmed salmon is raised in partnership with BC First Nations. We believe this is a first for any industry in the province.”
As of 2022 (the latest available data), open-net salmon farming in BC directly and indirectly employed more than 700 Indigenous people, provided $120 million in annual economic benefits to First Nations (including $42 million directly to Indigenous communities), and injected $24 million annually into Indigenous-owned businesses.
Smith is far from alone when he says: “The ability to do closed containment or land-based aquaculture in British Columbia is just a fairy tale. As much as I hope the tech eventually gets [there], it doesn't exist right now.”
And SeaWest News asserts that the transition plan “is not just ambitious—it’s wildly unrealistic.”
Earlier, a BC government-commissioned report projected that replacing the province’s current salmon-farm production with recirculating aquaculture systems, as signalled by Ottawa, would require an investment of $1.8 billion to $2.2 billion.
The BC report also estimated that it would be at least 10 years before a significant land-based salmon production sector could operate at a steady rate in BC.
So now, as for the last five years, we await a new federal transition plan. Anyone think it will actually recognize and deal with all the points made by the industry and the First Nations coalition?