The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has initiated a process, the National Aquaculture Strategic Action Planning Initiative (NASAPI), to develop targets to ramp up aquaculture development nationwide. As part of the process, a series of stakeholder meetings have been held across the country. In British Columbia, where a shift from provincial to federal jurisdiction has been legislated for the management of fin fish aquaculture, public consultations to support the development of new BC regulations are being held in tandem with the strategic planning discussions. In early December DFO held public consultations in Campbell River to gather input from British Columbians. There was so much interest DFO had to move the consultation to a larger venue.
There were many comments and expressions of concern from First Nations, commercial fishermen, the public and CAAR members. ( Click here to read an article on the event.) Transparency around industry data and operations, as well as the need to transition to closed containment were emphasized by CAAR and others. Unfortunately, the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands also indicated that there is currently no moratorium on issuing farm licenses, there are 7 new applications in process and 24 applications for expansion!
If you were unable to attend the public consultations, you can still have your say on what aquaculture in BC should look like. Now is the time! Please write your own submission to DFO, they need to hear how many people are concerned about the impacts of net pen salmon farms -- from BC and beyond. Don’t forget to mention the need for:
- Immediate removal of open net-cage salmon farms from the Wild Salmon Narrows and other Fraser Sockeye migration routes, and
- Long-term solutions that transition the industry to more sustainable closed containment technology.
Thank you, this is your opportunity to be heard!
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