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Salmon Farming

Environmental impacts: Open net-pen salmon farms benefit from the ocean but the ocean doesn’t benefit from salmon farms

Open net-pen salmon farms are located in areas along the coast where they can take advantage of ocean currents to deliver oxygen to their fish and disperse their wastes -- all at no cost to the industry. But there are costs to the ocean from these operations that extend from the surface to the seabed. The waste products (faeces and feed) from the farmed salmon in the pens are released directly into the surrounding water and settle to the sea floor. These wastes can change the chemical make-up and biological diversity of the seabed around the pens.

Pathogens and Disease: Open net-pens allow a free exchange of pathogens between farmed and wild species

Pathogens - whether viruses or bacteria – are micro-organisms that can cause disease outbreaks in animals and plants. All organisms cope with pathogens in their natural environment. The ocean also has its share of ‘bugs’ that affect animals in the marine environment. Open net-pen salmon farms hold large numbers of fish at high density over long periods of time upsetting the natural balance and creating the right conditions for pathogens to amplify, mutate and spread to wild species that may be in the vicinity.

Bycatch of wild fish on salmon farms

By-catch is the accidental harvest of marine species other than target species being fished or farmed. Open net-cage fish farms catch wild fish that can swim into their nets and until recently it's been hard to know just how big the problem is. A recent court action spotlighted this issue and now salmon farmers in British Columbia are required to report all bycatch of wild species and to immediately return them to the ocean outside the pens in a manner that causes the least harm as a condition of their aquaculture licence.

The transition to closed containment is gaining momentum

The transition to closed containment is gaining momentum as pilot projects are now either on the drawing board or up and running.

One company in Washington State is already supplying coho salmon raised in a land-based containment system to Overwaitea Food Group stores in B.C. and Alberta.
The company has announced plans to double production to serve the growing demand for more sustainable farmed salmon.

We are co-sponsoring a collaboration to share sea lice data and research in the Broughton Archipelago

Through the Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform (CAAR), we are co-sponsoring a scientific collaboration with industry, government and academics to share data and conduct research and analysis to monitor and assess the interactions among sea lice, farm salmon and wild juvenile salmon in the Broughton Archipelago. The monitoring program is known as the Broughton Area Monitoring Plan (BAMP). More information about the collaboration, the research and the results is posted on the BAMP website.

Keeping the bar set high on Aquaculture Stewardship Certification

Living Oceans is an active stakeholder in the Aquaculture Stewardship Certification process, responding to every application for certification in Canada and participating in the scheme's various projects to revise the Salmon Standard.

ASC's Salmon Standard was created through a formal dialogue with industry.  It was only implemented in 2015; almost immediately, we began to notice problems.

Working with grocery retailers to grow the demand for more sustainably produced farmed salmon

People around the world are increasingly aware of the crisis facing global fish stocks. Many wild fish species are in decline and there is growing demand for more ocean-friendly options in grocery stores. Living Oceans led a markets campaign for over a decade, encouraging shoppers and retailers to demand more sustainably produced farmed salmon. Thanks to your help, our efforts were rewarded with significant steps by leading grocery chains.

Promoting commercial-scale closed containment systems

Land-based salmon aquaculture was pioneered right here in B.C., in the Kuterra facility owned by 'Namgis First Nation, near Port McNeill. While recirculating aquaculture technology has been used all over the world to raise fish to smolt size, Kuterra was among the first to tackle raising salmon to market size in its recirculating tanks.

Today, the industry stands on the cusp of change and B.C. can benefit from the work done at Kuterra, capitalizing on the global trend toward closed containment facilities.

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