Canada backs new Aquaculture Act
FISH farmers in Canada have thrown their weight behind proposals for a national Aquaculture Act, the first of its kind in the country.
The Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance said the move, by the Senate Standing Committee of Fisheries and Oceans, will recognise seafood producers as farmers.
‘It will also result in an open, accountable and transparent regulatory process and ensure that important environmental safeguards are in place,’ said Ruth Salmon, executive director of the CAIA.
‘It would allow Canada to emerge as a global leader in sustainable seafood farming.’
Canada is the world’s only major farmed seafood producing country without modern national legislation. The current federal and provincial regulatory system is based on legislation 150 years old. The CAIA describes the regime as ‘complex, uncertain and confusing’.
‘Few jurisdictions can match Canada’s natural advantages when it comes to aquaculture,’ said Salmon.
Aquaculture in Canada accounts for $3.1 bn in economic activity and employs more than 15,000 people. It generates one third of the total value of the country’s seafood production.