Clarity from Fisheries and Oceans Canada on British Columbia open net‑pen salmon farm issues

Petition: 492

Issue(s): Biological diversity; Environmental assessment; Fisheries; Governance; Water

Petitioner(s): A Canadian organization

Petitioner location(s): Powell River, British Columbia

Date received: 30 June 2023

Status: Completed - Response(s) to petition received

Summary: The petition raises concerns about open net-pen salmon farming in British Columbia given the decline in the province’s wild salmon stocks and Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s inaction in addressing this decline.

According to the petition, this farming method is controversial because it could potentially transmit parasites, viruses, and bacteria to wild salmon. The petition states that some farms within the department’s Aquaculture Management Division are impeding the transition from open net‑pen salmon farming in coastal British Columbia waters by 2025. This transition is an objective identified in the Prime Minister’s mandate letter to the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard. The petition requests a copy of all of the data used to substantiate the results in the department’s sea lice science response report. The petition refers to the department’s claim that open net‑pen farms do not negatively affect wild salmon populations and asks for an assessment of the evidence and studies that were considered in this assessment.

The petition asks the department to disclose the cost of managing the salmon farming industry in British Columbia for the last 5 years. Furthermore, the petition seeks to know the total amount of money that the department provided to the salmon farming industry in the form of grants and subsidies during the same period. The petition requests the total cost to Canadians of the open net‑pen transition process. Lastly, the petition asks the department and its minister to provide a list of all of the actions taken in response to the recommendations of Report 8 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans on the use of science in the department’s decision‑making process.

Federal departments/organizations responsible for reply:  Fisheries and Oceans Canada