. . World News – CA – Fish Farms on Key B. . C.. . Salmon migration route should expire by 2022

The federal government says it is phasing out fish farms along a key stretch of a wild salmon migration route in British Columbia’s waters within the next 18 months.

Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan says 19 fish farms around the Discovery Islands near Campbell River, B. . C, licenses are issued that expire on 30. It will expire on June 30th, 2022 and has no plans to renew it.

« It was a very, very difficult decision that I didn’t make lightly. I realized that coastal communities will be affected, « Jordan said in an interview.

However, the government heard a « sweeping » message from seven local First Nations that they wanted to shut down the fish farms, she said. The Discovery Islands are located in the traditional First Nations territory of Homalco, Klahoose, K’omoks, Kwaikah, Tla’amin, We Wai Kai and Wei Wai Kum.

The federal government is determined to work with industry on a « fair » transition to sustainable aquaculture, she said.

Nine of the farms are out of fish, and Jordan said she intends to stop the remaining ten from adding additional fish to the stables.

All farms should be fish-free by the time the licenses expire, but existing fish on the site can complete their growth cycle and be harvested, Jordan said.

Environmentalists have long argued that the open net pen farms harbor parasites and diseases that can spread to already struggling wild salmon stocks and are not worth the risk.

In 2012, the Cohen Decline of Fraser River Sockeye Commission recommended that fish farms in the Discovery Islands be phased out by September. 30, 2020.

That deadline has passed, but Jordan says there are currently three million fish on the farms and the government wants the exit to be fair and reasonable.

« I don’t think anyone wants us to kill three million fish. We have food insecurity in this country, there are challenges in the whole process and we want to make sure we let them expire fairly and sensibly, ”said Jordan.

End of net breeding in B. . C.. . Waters until 2025 was a liberal election promise in the federal elections.

Government figures show that there are around 130 marine fish farms in B. C.. . and the vast majority breed Atlantic salmon. They are concentrated in the Campbell River, Port Hardy and Tofino areas around Vancouver Island.

Jordan said the process of phasing out the remaining farms by 2025 will be different from the measures for the Discovery Islands, which have been of concern since the Cohen Commission’s report.

« This is a much bigger conversation, » she said, adding that Parliament Secretary Terry Beech will begin the consultations in January.

“We will work with stakeholders, industries and First Nations to find the best way forward. ”

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Discovery Islands, British Columbia, salmon, fish farming, Canada, Mowi, salmonid aquaculture