Salmon Farming

Opening Statement to the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans

Salmon Farming

(Report 1—2018 Spring Reports of the Commissioner of the Environment Sustainable Development)

23 October 2018

Julie Gelfand
Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development

Mr. Chair, I am pleased to be here today to discuss my report on salmon farming, which was presented to Parliament in April 2018. I am accompanied by Sharon Clark, the Principal responsible for this audit.

In our audit, we examined whether Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency oversaw the salmon farming industry to protect wild fish. This industry creates risks for wild fish, including exposure to diseases, drugs, and pesticides.

We found that Fisheries and Oceans Canada conducted research on these and other risks. We also found that the Department determined where salmon farms could be located or expanded, and under what conditions farms could operate.

However, we found that the Department had completed only 1 out of 10 risk assessments of key known diseases that it had committed to conducting by 2020, in response to the recommendations of the Cohen Commission. We have noted that the Department announced last month that it has launched a second risk assessment to examine the risk of a piscine reovirus transfer from farmed Atlantic salmon. These assessments do not include addressing the risks of new and emerging diseases.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada was also not monitoring the health of wild fish. As a result of the assessment and monitoring gaps, the Department did not know the impacts that salmon farming was having on the health of wild fish. In our view, consistent with the precautionary principle, this gives even more importance to assessing actions that could harm wild fish.

We found that Fisheries and Oceans Canada did not adequately enforce compliance with salmon farming regulations. Enforcing compliance is important since the regulations are designed to protect wild fish.

As well, the Department had not set limits on the amount of drugs and pesticides that fish farms can use to treat diseases and parasites. This is important because drugs and pesticides used in salmon farming can harm wild fish, especially those living on the ocean floor. The Department also had no national standard for nets and other equipment to prevent escapes from fish farms.

These findings led us to conclude that Fisheries and Oceans Canada had not managed risks from salmon farming in a way that protected wild fish. Among our recommendations, we stated that the Department should clearly articulate the level of risk to wild fish that it accepts when enabling the salmon farming industry. We also recommended that the Department establish thresholds for the deposit of drugs and pesticides into net pens more effectively to minimize harm to wild fish.

This concludes my opening statement. We would be pleased to answer any questions the Committee may have. Thank you.