Statement on Bill C-228: ocean farming good for BC

STATEMENT RE: BILL C-228 – OCEAN SALMON FARMING IS GOOD FOR BC

CAMPBELL RIVER, B.C. – The BC Salmon Farmers Association is issuing the following statement in regards to Port Moody-Coquitlam MP Fin Donnelly’s Private Member’s Bill C-228.

“The World Wildlife Fund has set a new global standard for environmentally sustainable salmon farming and B.C. salmon farmers are accelerating towards meeting that standard faster than any region in the world. The BCSFA does not support Bill C-228 and believes B.C’s competitive advantage is our vast ocean resource, and that responsible stewardship of that resource will provide economic advancement for coastal communities, First Nations, and protect wild salmon for generations to come. Globally, salmon farmers have come a long way from the either-or dialogue of land-based or marine-based farming and have adopted practices that utilize both to their maximum advantage to develop the industry in a responsible way. Salmon farmers in B.C. alone have invested over $50-million in environmentally advanced modern farming infrastructure over the past two years alone in both land and marine based farming technology.”

Top 10 facts on Salmon Farming in B.C.

1. Every BCSFA member operated salmon farm has achieved at least one third-party environmental certification including all farms raising Atlantic salmon 100% certified to the Global Aquaculture Alliance’s Best Aquaculture Practices standard, 15% of active Atlantic salmon farms certified to the Aquaculture Stewardship Council’s (ASC) salmon standard, and 100% of Chinook salmon farms are Certified Organic.

2. The BCSFA is collaborating with multiple organizations on six key scientific research projects through the $1.5-million Marine Environmental Research Program designed to learn more about wild and farm raised salmon interactions. Collaborating organizations include; Pacific Salmon Foundation, University of B.C., North Island College, Vancouver Aquarium.

3. Ocean farm-raised salmon has the lowest overall environmental cost. Based on the valuation of greenhouse gases, land use, water use, and eutrophication, B.C. salmon farming has a lower total environmental cost than beef, chicken, or pork. Farm-raised salmon is 24% less costly to the environment than chicken, while beef has a cost that is 500% greater than salmon raised in an ocean environment.

4. Farm-raised salmon is B.C.’s highest valued agricultural export, generates more than 5,000 jobs, and has a total economic impact of $1.1 billion.

5. Salmon farmers are working closely with coastal First Nations and have 20 economic impact benefit agreements in place, accounting for 78% of all salmon raised in B.C.

6. Members of the BCSFA produced 75,000 tonnes of salmon in 2015, which is about 98% of the total provincial harvest of farm-raised salmon. Over 95% of the salmon raised in B.C. are Atlantic salmon.

7. No GMOs or hormones are used to enhance growth in B.C.’s farm-raised salmon.

8. Salmon on farms in B.C. are extremely healthy with about 90% of salmon surviving through to market.

9. Salmon farming companies in B.C. continue to invest in farming systems resulting in improvements in key indicators such as escapes. In 2015, 3 salmon escaped from farms into the marine environment.

10. Less than 0.05% of B.C’s total coastline is used for raising salmon on farms.

For more information visit BCSalmonFarmers.ca

Media Contact:

Jeremy Dunn
Jeremy@bcsalmonfarmers.ca
604-202-2147 (mobile)
@jdunn14 (twitter)