Regulating and monitoring British Columbia’s marine finfish aquaculture facilities - 2019

Sea lice management at BC salmon farms

Integrated pest management

SLICE® (emamectin benzoate) is a commonly used chemotherapeutant licensed for sea lice management in farmed salmon. In BC, SLICE® resistance has emerged in some farmed Atlantic salmon populations, necessitating the development of alternative treatments for lice management to prevent wide-spread resistance. Having multiple treatment options is a key feature of Integrated Pest Management and involves numerous methods of controlling sea lice in order to reduce reliance on chemotherapeutants, prevent the development of resistance, and to have different tools for different situations. Some other treatment examples include hydrogen peroxide or freshwater baths, mechanical sea lice removal (e.g., using a hydrolicer boat), or simply harvesting all the fish out of the water in a timely fashion.

DFO Marine Finfish Aquaculture Sea Lice Audits in BC, 2011 to 2019

DFO audits aquaculture facilities to verify the accuracy of industry procedures and reporting. On the day of the sea lice audit, DFO and industry conduct sea lice counts on an equal number of fish. The results of DFO and industry counts are compared to determine statistical agreement. DFO also assesses industry’s counting procedures. In some cases where DFO and industry counts do not agree, the difference may be attributed to sample selection and not methodology. In these cases no follow up action is required. If methodology is incorrect, it is documented by DFO and the company is expected to provide training for their staff.

Environmental

What is benthic (seabed) monitoring

Benthic means “of, or relating to, or occurring at the bottom of a body of water.” In BC, Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s (DFO’s) comprehensive benthic monitoring, auditing and regulation framework restricts the effects of fish farms on the surrounding environment.

Organic waste from fish farms, including feces and excess food, falls to the sea floor below and around aquaculture sites. In small amounts this provides food for species living below, but if too much accumulates, organisms can be smothered or the seabed altered. With time, the seabed will recover.

Soft and hard bottom sites

Benthic monitoring activities depend on the sea floor beneath the farm. In BC, the sea floor is generally defined as soft bottom or hard bottom.

These are benthic monitoring procedures that the industry must follow. DFO biologists follow these same procedures during benthic audits:

Industry-reported benthic monitoring events

Benthic monitoring data

This is a summary of the seabed sampling reports submitted in 2019. 13 site audits were conducted by DFO, and DFO’s audits indicated that 100% of results were consistent with industry-submitted reports.

Environmental reports

Incidental catch

Incidental catch are wild fish that are caught or found dead within an aquaculture facility during harvest or transfer of farmed fish. Efforts must be made to release wild fish live and with the least harm. All incidental catch must be recorded and reported to DFO at the end of each production cycle. Complete data for 2019 will not be available until mid-2020 and will be included in the next annual report.

As compared to a percentage of Total Allowable Catch (TAC) in commercial fisheries, the amount of dead incidental catch related to aquaculture in BC is negligible. For example, the 2017 herring incidental catch represents the estimated equivalent less than 0.001% of the commercial TAC for the Strait of Georgia herring fishery.

Numbers refer to total individual fish caught

	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Herring	7,833	11,264	23,374	26,128	29,075	45,023	75,240	15,760
Cod species	290	2,155	2,010	858	13,550	2,501	16,800	1,435
Rockfish species	1,753	38	2	46	30	1,468	10,250	3,370
Perch species	1,316	182	129	545	346	736	677	710
Salmon species	58	89	43	20	58	25	6	11
Other	195	351	266	26	150	3,430	5,898	2,356
Total	11,443	14,028	25,818	27,616	43,170	52,840	105,450	22,485

2019 escapes

All reasonable measures must be taken to prevent the escape of farmed fish. If an escape occurs, licence holders must take immediate action to stop further escapes, correct the issue, and report the event. DFO staff perform regular inspections to ensure compliance with Conditions of Licence.

In 2019, the number of escaped fish was higher than normal, mostly due to a single event caused by a fire at a farm site. DFO responded to the event by issuing the local First Nation a scientific licence to conduct a recapture fishery; however, attempts to harvest the escaped fish were unsuccessful. Subsequently, DFO engaged the farm operator and First Nations in the area to develop a coordinated plan to monitor for escapes.

• 4 escape events were recorded
• 21,031 fish escaped

2019 marine mammal interactions

All reasonable measures must be taken to prevent marine mammals from coming into conflict with facility infrastructure and farmed fish. Interactions that result in the death of pinnipeds (harbour seals or California sea lions) or any interactions with whales must be reported within 24 hours of discovery. DFO staff perform regular inspections to ensure compliance with licence conditions.

There were 0 marine mammal fatalities in 2019.

Looking forward - 2020 and beyond

Marine finfish aquaculture will continue to evolve in British Columbia as new science, tools, and social values emerge.

Sea lice conditions of licence

As part of an adaptive management approach, DFO will implement new sea lice Conditions of Licence (COL) in March 2020 to coincide with the wild salmon out-migration window. These are being developed in consultation with First Nations, industry, and environmental non-governmental organizations, and will include new, stricter monitoring and reporting requirements. The new licence conditions will be more precautionary and enforceable. DFO will conduct additional targeted audits to ensure compliance.

Area-based aquaculture management

DFO is moving towards an area-based approach for the management of aquaculture. The anticipated outcomes of this transition would include nation to nation collaboration, ecosystem-based planning and management, improved economic benefits for coastal and rural communities, shared accountability, and transparent decision making leading to increased social licence. One example of Area-based Aquaculture Management (ABAM) that was implemented in 2019 is managing the fish health performance of all the farms in an “area” collectively, rather than treating them individually.

Indigenous and multi-stakeholder advisory body and technical working group process

In 2019 DFO established an Indigenous and Multistakeholder Advisory Body (IMAB) comprised of representatives from the Province of British Columbia (BC), Indigenous communities, environmental organizations, the aquaculture industry, and other key stakeholders. Under the IMAB, three Technical Working Groups (TWGs) were asked to provide recommendations to the Department for the improvement of aquaculture management in B.C. in three main areas: areabased management, alternative production technologies, and fish health. By the summer of 2020, the recommendations to improve aquaculture management in BC developed through the IMAB and the TWGs will be put forward for consideration by the Minister.

Aquaculture act

DFO has begun development of a proposed national Aquaculture Act. Also proposed is the consolidation and amendment of all aquaculture-related regulatory provisions under the Fisheries Act, including those of the Pacific Aquaculture Regulations and Aquaculture Activities Regulations, into one set of regulations under the proposed act. During the development of the new aquaculture-specific legislation and regulations, the Department will seek to:

• foster national consistency, while respecting federal, provincial, and territorial jurisdiction;
• improve clarity and certainty for the industry;
• enhance environmental protection; and
• help sustainably grow the industry for the benefit of Indigenous and rural communities.

Transition plan for open net-pen mandate

In 2019, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans was mandated by the Prime Minister to work with the Province of BC and Indigenous communities to create a responsible plan by 2025 to transition open net-pen aquaculture in BC. Over the next 5 years, the Department will advance this commitment, in partnership with the Province of BC and Indigenous groups, by using the best available science, evidence and input to develop a plan for the aquaculture industry in BC that supports the sustainable growth of the industry and also protects the environment.

Risk assessment in the Discovery Islands

In 2020, DFO will be completing risk assessments looking at the impacts of marine finfish farms in the Discovery Islands on the health of migrating Fraser river sockeye salmon in response to the 2012 Cohen Commission recommendations. DFO will be consulting with First Nations in the Discovery Islands to discuss the results of risk assessments and aquaculture licences in the area.

Finfish conditions of licence renewal

Through consultations and working groups created to seek recommendations from Indigenous People and various stakeholders, DFO has heard that Canadians would like to keep developing the ways that aquaculture can be managed in British Columbia. DFO will begin consulting on ways to improve the marine finfish aquaculture licence conditions in 2020, to be implemented when licences are renewed in 2022.

Important web links

• DFO aquaculture page (National)
• DFO aquaculture page (Pacific Region)
• Aquaculture public reporting (National)
• Aquaculture regulations and compliance (Pacific Region-annual compliance report, IGMF, IMAPs)
• Aquaculture licensing (info on user fees, CoLs, report on applications and decisions, siting guidelines)
• Aquaculture maps (facility locations, Fish Health zones, transfer zones)
• Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) reportable diseases

Marine finfish aquaculture public reporting in British Columbia

1. Aquaculture Activities Regulations (AAR) drugs and pesticides
2. Monthly mortality by category, by facility (open data)
3. Quarterly average mortality by category, by zone (figure)
4. Fish health monitoring activities, number of carcasses sampled
5. Audit activities, fish health, sea lice, benthic (figures)
6. Fish health events, by facility, 2016-ongoing (open data)
7. Fish health events, annual (graph)
8. Mortality events, by facility, 2011-ongoing (open data)
9. Mortality events, annual (graph)
10. Fish Health audits, by facility, 2011-ongoing (open data)
11. Monthly sea lice abundance, by facility (open data)
12. DFO sea lice audits, by facility (open data)
13. Average sea lice abundance, by zone (graph)
14. Use of Antibacterials (graph)
15. Use of Anti-lice Therapeutants (graph)
16. DFO benthic audits, by facility (open data)
17. Industry benthic monitoring, by facility (open data)
18. Benthic performance, annual (graph)
19. Incidental catch, by facility (open data)
20. Marine mammal fatalities, annual (graph)
21. Marine mammal interactions, by facility (open data)
22. Escapes, by facility, 2011-ongoing (open data)
23. Escapes, annual (graph)
24. Atlantic Salmon Watch Program (open data)
25. Salmon transfers, 2015-ongoing (open data)
26. Regulating and monitoring British Columbia’s marine finfish aquaculture facilities
    • 2011-2014
    • 2015-2016
    • 2017
    • 2018