A report on salmon farming in Canada, released by the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, Julie Gelfand on April 24, concluded “that Fisheries and Oceans Canada did not adequately manage the risks associated with salmon aquaculture consistent with its mandate to protect wild fish.”
The report also said that DFO had not “made sufficient progress in completing the risk assessments for key diseases that were required to understand the effects of salmon aquaculture on wild fish.”
The focus of the federal audit contained in the Commissioner’s spring reports, focused on whether Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency managed the risks associated with salmon aquaculture in a manner that protected wild fish.
“This audit is important because salmon aquaculture is a growing industry in Canada that provides an important source of fish, given declining wild fish stocks. Globally, aquaculture now provides half of all fish for human consumption. Raising farmed salmon in net pens in the ocean has potential effects on wild fish that need to be understood and addressed, as appropriate.”
The audit of salmon farming concludes that Fisheries and Oceans Canada had not adequately managed the risks associated with salmon farming. The audit noted that the department had some measures to control the spread of infectious diseases and parasites to wild fish in British Columbia, but it had only completed one-tenth of risk assessments for key known diseases that were required to understand the effects of salmon farming on wild fish. As a result, Fisheries and Oceans Canada had no way of knowing what impacts salmon farming has on the health of wild fish stocks.
“Among our recommendations, we stated that Fisheries and Oceans Canada should clearly articulate the level of risk to wild fish that it accepts when enabling the aquaculture industry,” stated Gelfand in a press release.
The audit contained eight recommendations:
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada should conduct its planned disease risk assessments by 2020 to increase its knowledge of the effects of aquaculture on wild salmon, as it committed to doing in its response to the Cohen Commission report.
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency should clarify their roles and responsibilities for managing emerging disease risks to mitigate the potential impacts of salmon farming on wild fish.
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada should determine and communicate how it applies the precautionary approach to managing aquaculture when there is uncertainty about the effects of aquaculture on wild fish. The Department should also clearly articulate the level of risk to wild fish that it accepts when enabling the aquaculture industry.
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada should establish thresholds for the deposit of drugs and pesticides into net pens to more effectively minimize harm to wild fish.
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada should develop and implement an approach to validate the accuracy of information that aquaculture companies report regarding their drug and pesticide deposits.
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada should initiate discussions with its counterparts in the Atlantic provinces to address the quality and maintenance of equipment on salmon farms to prevent fish escapes.
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada should more effectively enforce aquaculture regulations and pursue additional enforcement measures.
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada should provide timely public reports with detailed information on companies’ drug and pesticide deposits, and on the health of farmed fish in British Columbia.
“The audited entities agree with our recommendations and have responded.”
AUDIT DIDN’T TAKE INTO ACCOUNT PROVINCIAL REGULATIONS
“We are disappointed that the commissioner only looked at the federal processes and failed to consider the strong and robust regulatory framework we have in place here in Nova Scotia for our aquaculture industry,” said Chrissy Matheson, spokesperson for the provincial Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, when asked about the audit.
“We think the commissioner would have been very pleased with the strong approach we take provincially to regulating our aquaculture industry. In Nova Scotia, we have one of the safest and most heavily regulated aquaculture industries in the country, and arguably the world.”
Matheson said as part of Nova Scotia regulations and licensing processes, “aquaculture businesses are required to develop and maintain solid farm management plans that are approved by the department. In their farm management plans, aquaculture operators must document site specific procedures to achieve regulatory outcomes for aquatic animal health and welfare, environmental monitoring, containment management and site operations. The department undertakes continuous monitoring of these plans, and enforcement is an option if issues are identified,” adding the plans are updated from time to time, when necessary, with the approval of the department.
In Newfoundland and Labrador, “It is important to note that this audit and subsequent report did not examine regulations and policies at the provincial level or within other federal departments and agencies that provide regulatory oversight of the industry,” said Mark Lane, executive director of the Newfoundland Aquaculture Industry Association (NAIA).
“The aquaculture industry of Newfoundland and Labrador supports well-informed recommendations and regulatory proposals that are based on robust science, clarify regulator roles and responsibilities, achieve sustainable growth, and protect wild salmon populations and the environment,” said Lane noting the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador “has very stringent regulatory policies and regulations that our industry complies with; such as our code of containment, which exists as a current condition of licensing. In the report, the commissioner also stated that Canadian producers demonstrate high compliance with licensing conditions.”
