An industry that employs thousands, generates millons of dollars, and drives Indigenous progress is under threat
British Columbia's salmon farming industry and the thousands of vital jobs that it supports are on life support. With federal policies to phase out open-net salmon farming by 2029, coupled with uncertainty over U.S. tariffs, the industry that was once one of B.C.’s most innovative agri-food exports is in crisis.
For Indigenous operators like the Kitasoo Xai’xais Nation, salmon farming is not just a business, it’s a lifeline that lifted them out of economic despair to near full employment. More than ever, they need support to survive this storm.
The numbers are grim. At its peak, salmon farming employed 6,500 people and generated $2 billion a year for B.C.’s economy. But federal decisions, like the closure of farms in the Discovery Islands in 2020, have reduced production by 45 percent from 90,000 to 50,000 tonnes, and led to annual losses of over $770 million in economic output, $286 million in GDP, while costing 3,000 jobs and $170 million in family incomes.
That’s hurt companies like Cermaq and Mowi, who have lost 30 and 40 percent of their production, respectively. For Indigenous groups, it’s personal. The Kitasoo Xai’xais based on remote Klemtu rely on salmon farming for 51 percent of their $3 million economy. Councillor Isaiah Robinson credits aquaculture with a 99 percent employment rate and no suicides in 18 years—a far cry from the days before aquaculture arrived.
But the federal government’s transition plan, driven by environmental concerns, ignores its own scientists who say open-net farms pose “minimal risk” to wild salmon. This push to land-based systems sounds green but it’s a fantasy. Experts say it would take at least a decade to make land-based farms viable and even then they’d struggle with high costs, power shortages and unproven economics.Meanwhile the US which buys 60 percent of the product sold my companies like Cermaq, are threatening universal 25 percent tariffs on Canadian goods.
Cermaq’s Nick Dicarlo says even a week of tariffs is brutal, last week’s shipment cost an extra $33,000. Indigenous operators feel this deeply. Seventeen First Nations have agreements with salmon farmers yet Ottawa’s policies are impeding their right to economic self-determination. The Coalition of First Nations for Finfish Stewardship says closing the remaining farms would kill 4,560 jobs, 1,000 of which are held by Indigenous people.
For the Kitasoo Xai’xais losing half their economy means mortgages unpaid and dreams shattered, as industry advocates have asked, how are they supposed to keep going? The Wei Wai Kum and We Wai Kai Nations are even suing Ottawa claiming their title rights to decide what happens in their territory are being ignored.
There’s a better way. Industry advocates have proposed a no-cost solution: innovate ocean-based systems with new technology to protect wild salmon and keep jobs. By 2030 this could grow the sector to $2.5 billion in output and 9,000 jobs—sustainable, and without taxpayer billions. It’s a plan that respects Indigenous voices and coastal realities, unlike the path of closures and vague promises.
Support now means action: pause the 2029 ban, fund this alternative transition and shield the industry from tariffs. Canadians can help too—buying local salmon could ease the pressure though it won’t replace the US market.
Without intervention B.C. will lose a sector that feeds millions, employs thousands and anchors Indigenous progress. The Kitasoo Xai’xais and others aren’t asking for handouts—just a fair chance to keep what they’ve built.