Washington’s net-pen fish farm ban may have consequences for Canada

SEATTLE — A conservationist says Washington state legislature’s decision to phase out oceanbased Atlantic salmon farms shows how pushing a species’ biological limits can be bad for Canadian business.

Neville Crabbe of Canada’s Atlantic Salmon Federation said a bill passed by Washington state lawmakers could pose “incredible business loss” for New Brunswick-based company Cooke Aquaculture.

Cooke Aquaculture said in a statement it is “deeply disappointed” with Friday’s vote to phase out ocean-based net-pen farms — where fish are raised in pens that allow water to flow between the containment area and marine environment — as leases come up for renewal over the next seven years. The bill was passed in response to an incident last summer when high winds collapsed the pens of a fish farm owned by Cooke Aquaculture Pacific.

The incident let up to 263,000 Atlantic salmon loose into the Pacific Ocean, raising concerns the invasive fish could harm native Pacific salmon runs.

Washington state officials have fined Cooke Aquaculture US$332,000 for the escape of invasive salmon.

Washington Sen. Kevin Ranker, who sponsored the bill, has said his state’s ban on ocean-based Atlantic salmon farms will be more effective if British Columbia follows suit.

There are more than 100 Atlantic salmon farms in B.C. waters, compared with less than ten in Washington state.

Natural Resources Minister Doug Donaldson has said the province is working with First Nations, the aquaculture industry and the federal government as it reviews the fish-farm tenures, many of which come up for renewal this June.

The topic has sparked controversy in B.C., where some First Nations and environmentalists have occupied farms and hosted protests. They say net-pen fish farms pose too great a risk to already-threatened native species, which are vulnerable to viruses and diseases.

The B.C. Salmon Farmers Association, meanwhile, maintains the province’s industry is well managed. It employs more than 6,000 people, it says, and constitutes the province’s largest agricultural export — valued at $524 million in 2016.

Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc said in a statement that Ottawa is committed to regulating a responsible and sustainable aquaculture sector.

“We understand Canadians’ concerns around aquaculture and are committed to science and evidence-based decision making,” LeBlanc said.

“We ... are committed to science and evidencebased decision making.” — DOMENIC LEBLANC CANADIAN FISHERIES MINISTER