Vancouver Island First Nations worry feds flip-flopping on B.C. fish farms transition
First Nations fighting to get salmon farms out of the ocean are dismayed in the wake of federal Fisheries Minister Joyce Murray’s recent engagement tour on a plan to transition open-net pen operations in B.C.
Rather than removing open-net pens by 2025, the minister is now talking about progressively minimizing interactions between farmed and wild fish, incentivizing innovations in aquaculture technology, tougher regulations for fish farm licences, and ensuring that area-based operations have First Nations partners.
First Nations that want open-net pens out of the ocean feel the engagement process is flawed, and feel open-net pens aren’t going anywhere inside the next three years, said Bob Chamberlin, chair of the First Nations Wild Salmon Alliance. She is aiming to develop “a pathway for existing aquaculture operations to adopt alternative production methods,” Murray said.
Prescribing closed containment production methods aren’t part of her mandate, Murray added, saying devising new farming methods would rely on the industry’s creativity and investment in emerging technology.