History of Salmon Farming in British Columbia

Salmon farming began in the 1970's with small locally owned establishments mostly on the Sunshine Coast. Poor environmental conditions, poor siting choices, disease outbreaks and a challenging market caused many farms to go out of business or be purchased by larger companies.

By the mid 1980's, First Nations, local communities, fishermen, and environmentalists were voicing serious concerns about the growing number of fish farms and their impact on the ocean and local communities.

In 1995 the provincial government, in consultation with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, implemented a moratorium on the fish farm industry, setting a cap on the number of tenures at 121. 

The setting of the moratorium was followed by an environmental review of the industry. The 16 month-long Salmon Aquaculture Review (SAR) made 49 recommendations that covered a range of issues including location of farm sites, how to deal with escaped Atlantic salmon, waste management, and research priorities. Although many groups and individuals felt that these recommendations did not go far enough to protect our ocean, it was a step in the right direction. Furthermore, the BC Salmon Farmers Association supported the 49 recommendations and encouraged the government to implement them.

However, most of the recommendations of the Salmon Aquaculture Review (SAR) have not been implemented and the salmon farming industry continues to cause environmental degradation and social unrest within coastal communities. Several First Nations governments have repeatedly stated that they do not want salmon farms in their traditional territories; in some cases they have served eviction notices to the salmon farms, only to have their requests ignored.

Since the completion of Salmon Aquaculture Review, thousands more farmed salmon have escaped into the wild., Juvenile Atlantic salmon have been found in 81 BC rivers that were surveyed on Vancouver Island (indicating escaped fish have successfully spawned in the wild). A single sea lice outbreak is estimated to have killed upwards of 400 million juvenile wild salmon. And over 1.6 million pounds of fish have been destroyed as a result of Infectious Haematopoietic Necrosis, a highly contagious virus. These are only a few of the incidents that have occurred, highlighting the fact that serious risks are associated with salmon farming, yet little has been done by government or industry to effectively address them.

In 2001, the Federal Auditor General released an internal audit, stating that the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans is in a conflict of interest as they are promoting the expansion of salmon farming while being legally mandated to look after wild fish and fish habitat.

Despite the risks to wild salmon and the oceans, the provincial government of British Columbia is supporting the expansion of this industry. In September of 2002 the newly elected Liberal government lifted the moratorium on new tenures allowing the industry to expand freely.

Government also introduced a very flawed waste management regulation and weakened the escape regulation and siting criteria, letting farms cause more, not less impact on the ocean. Finally, they have eliminated many monitoring and enforcement jobs in the government, leaving farms to monitor themselves - in other words, the fox is now supposed to guard the henhouse.

Currently, three multinational corporations based in Norway own 90% of the farms in BC. 

First Nations, environmental groups, commercial fishermen and coastal residents have tried to work cooperatively with industry and government to find solutions. These groups have worked many long hours in processes such as the Salmon Aquaculture Review, and Salmon Aquaculture Implementation Advisory Committee.

Government and industry continue to ignore the growing body of science showing that salmon farming is bad for humans and bad for the ocean. As a result the Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform is asking consumers to stop buying farmed salmon until industry takes steps necessary to clean up their act. Learn more about actions you can take.

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