Aquaculture

Aquaculture Act

• The Department is moving forward in developing Canada’s first-ever Aquaculture Act, as stated in my mandate letter from the Prime Minister.
• The proposed Act would provide more clarity and certainty, while respecting existing jurisdictions. It would also foster a nationally consistent legislative framework, taking into account regional differences.
• On August 17, 2020, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) launched the next round of online engagement on the Aquaculture Act, anchored by a discussion paper as well as a “What We Heard” report summarizing engagement to date.
• In addition, DFO is planning targeted, virtual engagement sessions with key partners this fall.

Background:

• Your mandate letter includes a commitment to “begin work to introduce Canada’s first-ever Aquaculture Act”. In December 2018, the Canadian Council of Fisheries and Aquaculture Ministers agreed to support the development of a federal Aquaculture Act of “limited scope that respects federal, provincial, and territorial jurisdictions, and provides greater clarity to the sector”.
• From March to June 2019, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) conducted 23 preliminary engagement sessions on the proposed legislation across Canada. An online consultation was also held from June to December 2019, which invited the public to provide input on the Act. A new round of consultations was launched in August of this year.
• In June 2016, the Standing Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans tabled a report, An Ocean of Opportunities: Aquaculture in Canada. The report called for a unified legislative framework to make the aquaculture industry in Canada more competitive.

Commitment by 2025 – BC Net Pen

• This government takes the interactions between farmed salmon and wild salmon seriously, which is why my mandate letter directs me to work with the Province of British Columbia and Indigenous communities to create a responsible plan to transition open net-pen farming in coastal British Columbia.
• Partnering with First Nations and the Province of British Columbia will be essential to the development and success of the plan, as we expect all parties will want to see a plan that is workable, economically feasible and takes into account social considerations.
• As announced on November 12, Parliamentary Secretary Beech will begin engaging with partners and stakeholders in British Columbia.

Background:

• Your mandate letter, released December 13, 2019, includes a commitment to work with the Province of British Columbia and Indigenous communities to create a responsible plan to transition open net-pen farming in coastal British Columbia.
• Close collaboration with Indigenous partners and the Province of British Columbia will be key to the successful development and implementation of the plan.
• In the summer of 2020, Departmental officials began the creation of a federal/provincial/Indigenous governance body to oversee and lead the development of the plan. Its first task will be to create a planning and engagement strategy, with engagement and consultations beginning in 2021.
• There was a delay in the creation of the steering committee due to COVID-19, as well as several changes in leadership at the provincial level. However, the Committee held its first meeting on October 16, 2020, with Fisheries and Oceans Canada officials and members of the First Nations Fisheries Council. Provincial officials will be invited following their election.

Fisheries and Oceans Clean Technology Adoption Program

• The Government of Canada is aware that some Canadians have concerns about potential impacts of fisheries and aquaculture on the environment.
• In 2017, we announced the $20 million Fisheries and Aquaculture Clean Technology Adoption Program to assist fisheries and aquaculture producers to acquire technologies to improve environmental performance.
• To date, the program plus its provincial and private sector partners have invested or committed to invest $23.8 million to improve the environmental sustainability of 106 fisheries and aquaculture operations across Canada.

Background:

• In December 2017, the Government announced the Fisheries and Aquaculture Clean Technology Adoption Program (FACTAP), a new Grants and Contribution program, to provide $20 million over four years to assist fisheries and aquaculture companies incorporate clean technologies into their operations.
• The program offers funding to assist adoption of market-ready clean technologies, processes, and/or sustainable practices into the day-to-day operations of aquaculture facilities and wild capture harvesting.
• The initiative contributes to fulfilling the Minister’s mandate letter commitment to protect Canada’s oceans and waterways while providing economic opportunities for Canadians and coastal communities by enhancing the sustainability of fisheries and aquaculture operations across Canada.
• To date, the program and its provincial and private sector partners have committed to or have already provided ~$23.8M towards a total of 106 projects including 24 projects in Atlantic Canada, 28 projects in Central Canada, and 54 projects along the Pacific coast. The program is set to expire on March 31, 2021.

Morton-‘Namgis Lawsuit – PRV

• Our government continues to protect and recover wild Pacific salmon stocks.
• After thorough consideration and analysis, we have determined that testing for the B.C. strain of PRV-1a is not required to authorize the movement of live fish.
• My department will adapt and adjust its approach to aquaculture management, as needed, as new scientific evidence becomes available.
• We will continue to work with the Province of B.C., Indigenous peoples, industry, and environmental groups to protect wild salmon and enhance the environmental sustainability of aquaculture in B.C.

Background:

• On November 4, 2019, the ‘Namgis filed its most recent application for Judicial Review in Federal Court, challenging the Piscine Orthoreovirus (PRV) Policy adopted by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), in response to the February 4, 2019 Court decision, which instructed the Policy be reconsidered.
• In the Judicial Review, the ‘Namgis are challenging, among other things, that the PRV Policy is unreasonable and unlawful, fails to satisfy section 56 of the Fishery (General) Regulations, fails to apply the precautionary principle, and fails to account for the principle of reconciliation.
• On October 3, 2019, DFO determined that testing for the British Columbia (B.C.) strain of PRV-1a is not required prior to authorizing the release or transfer of live fish pursuant to section 56 of the Fishery (General) Regulations because the Department has determined, based on best available science, that the level of risk PRV-1a B.C. strain poses to wild fish is minimal.

Salmon aquaculture technology

• Our government takes the health of salmon and the impacts from salmon aquaculture seriously. That is why we commissioned a study on the state of salmon aquaculture technology to examine the risks and opportunities of emerging technologies for salmon farming in British Columbia.
• The study was conducted in close collaboration with an advisory committee representing First Nations, government, industry and philanthropic groups and the results of the study have been made public.
• Over more than a decade, our government has supported the development of various closed containment technologies, and we remain committed to further advancing any technology that reduces the environmental interactions of fish farming and wild fish.

Background:

• This study was commissioned and funded by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), Sustainable Development Technology Canada, and the Province of British Columbia.
• The study provides a good synthesis of the strengths, weaknesses and uncertainties of four key production systems: land-based recirculating aquaculture systems; hybrid systems; floating closed containment systems; and, offshore systems.
• The Government of Canada, through DFO and Sustainable Development Technology Canada, has invested over $10 million in closed containment technology development projects ranging from improving waste management to pilot-scale demonstration facilities.

Shellfish traceability

• The responsibility to protect Canada’s food supply is shared by industry, federal, and provincial governments. Federal oversight of shellfish harvest is through the Canadian Shellfish Sanitation Program.
• Harvest that does not follow established regulations may negatively impact shellfish conservation and food safety.
• Therefore, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is targeting illegal harvest and sale of shellfish in British Columbia, including suspected laundering of illegal products through aquaculture businesses.
• DFO will investigate reports of illegal harvest and will take appropriate enforcement actions. If needed to protect public health we may consider more restrictive management approaches.

Background:

• Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) has become aware of the issue of significant quantities of British Columbia (B.C.) shellfish (manila and littleneck clams and Pacific oyster) being harvested, sold, and/or handled illegally.
• To address this, DFO created an action plan focused on compliance, enforcement, management changes, communications, engagement, and governance.
• While work to date has focused on B.C., the identified conservation and enforcement risks have national and international implications. For this reason, a national bivalve traceability initiative has been created to bring Quebec and Atlantic regions into this discussion.
• DFO is working with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, as well as provinces regarding communication on this issue. Commercial growers and harvesters are being reminded that they are legally required to follow specific record-keeping and tagging requirements.

Sea lice

• Protecting wild Pacific salmon is a top priority for our government, and we recognize First Nations’ historical cultural connection to wild salmon.
• Our government manages risks from sea lice, using a science-based adaptive management approach.
• This spring, in consultation with our partners, my department revised the licences of marine aquaculture finfish operators in British Columbia to increase the enforceability of licence conditions pertaining to the management of sea lice.

Background:

• In June 2019, former Minister Jonathan Wilkinson announced that Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) would take action to improve aquaculture farms’ compliance with sea lice management regulatory requirements in British Columbia (B.C.).
• Following this, DFO consulted with First Nations, non-government environmental groups, industry, and stakeholders who contributed ideas toward improving sea lice licence conditions, such as through the Fish Health Technical Working Group (under the Indigenous and multi-stakeholder advisory body).
• On February 28, 2020, DFO issued updated licences to marine aquaculture finfish operators in B.C. These updates were made to increase enforceability of licence conditions for the purpose of addressing wild fish conservation.
• Further consultation and science advice is being sought to inform additional changes that will be incorporated during the 2022 licensing renewal process.
• Farmed fish are free of sea lice when they enter the ocean but can pick them up in the marine environment. If not properly managed, sea lice levels will become elevated and wild juvenile salmon can be exposed to higher than natural levels during the spring out-migration period. Ensuring that sea lice levels on salmon farms are low from March 1 to June 30 of each year protects wild salmon smolts from exposure to unnaturally high sea lice levels.

Infectious Salmon Anemia

• My department has been made aware of the detection of a federally reportable disease, Infectious Salmon Anemia, or ISA, at two Northern Harvest Sea Farms sites in Newfoundland and Labrador; at each site, there was a single fish in a single cage detected with ISA.
• In Newfoundland and Labrador, the province is the lead regulator for onsite aquaculture management, including fish health monitoring, and is managing follow-up requirements, including confirmation of ISA status, from this detection.
• ISA is a federally reportable disease to the Canadian Food Inspection agency, which is the lead for the National Aquatic Animal Health Program.
• ISA poses no risk to food safety or human health.

Background:

• The province of Newfoundland and Labrador has a policy that any detection of a federally reportable disease at an aquaculture site must be publicly reported within 24 hours. This new (2019) policy to report following detection, has resulted in an increase in public reporting on potential disease outbreaks.
• On Friday, October 9th, Northern Harvest Sea Farms released a public notice that during routine fish health monitoring, two of their sites, McGrath Cove North and Ironskull Point, had suspected detection of Infectious Salmon Anaemia virus (ISAv) in one fish in one cage at each site.
• Confirmation of ISAv outbreak has not yet occurred; however, the sites with suspected ISA-positive fish have been quarantined pending further confirmation.
• ISA is a federally reportable disease, endemic to Atlantic Canada, and listed under the Health of Animals Act administrated by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), which is the lead for the National Aquatic Animal Health Program. Given the disease is considered endemic and the provincial role in leading onsite fish health monitoring, the province will lead any follow-up to the detection (in consultation with CFIA).
• Regional Fisheries and Oceans Canada staff have been informed of the detected ISAv, and will respect existing quarantines and adopt appropriate biosecurity protocols prior to going onto the site.