{"id":94158,"date":"2024-12-18T22:14:00","date_gmt":"2024-12-18T22:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/resourcework2.devstudio.work\/?p=94158"},"modified":"2025-03-30T01:15:23","modified_gmt":"2025-03-30T01:15:23","slug":"fishy-ottawa-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/resourcework2.devstudio.work\/?p=94158","title":{"rendered":"Ottawa\u2019s salmon-farm plan more than fishy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As Ottawa works behind closed doors on its promised 2025 transition plan for salmon aquaculture, it\u2019s getting a clear message from BC salmon farmers: It could cost taxpayers $9 billion \u2014 or more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The BC Salmon Farmers Association (BCSFA) has told<\/a> the federal government:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDespite 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis policy ignores the real-world consequences for thousands of workers, First Nation communities, and the broader economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe BC salmon farming sector generates over $1.2 billion annually and directly employs over 4,500 people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On that last point, the association says the closures will result in the loss of 400 million meals a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it would mean Canada would then be importing foreign salmon from… ocean salmon farms like those Ottawa wants to close in Canadian waters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 \u201cmarine or land-based closed-containment systems\u201d by June 30, 2029.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ottawa has already closed 32 ocean salmon farms in BC, leaving some 60 in operation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The feds and opponents of current ocean farms say they endanger wild salmon, but SeaWest News<\/em> says<\/a>: \u201cFederal 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A consultants\u2019 report<\/a> to the BC Salmon Farmers Association in November forecast Ottawa\u2019s 2029 ban on current salmon farms would mean annual losses of:<\/p>\n\n\n\n