The federal government will reportedly stop open-net salmon farming and give the industry five years to transition, with an announcement expected as soon as Wednesday.
Recent reports say B.C. salmon farming licenses will be renewed for five years with the expectation of moving to land-based operations once those licenses expire.
Brian Kingzett, executive director of the BC Salmon Farmers Association, told Now You Know host Rob Snow that rumours of a transition are news to him.
“So right now, we are treating it all as hearsay. And we are looking forward to actually hearing from the federal minister of fisheries, who has been telling us, for the last year, to expect a responsible, realistic, and achievable transition plan,” said Kingzett.
Kingzett says there is a gap between the promise of land-based salmon farming and reality.
“No land-based closed-containment facility in the world right now is producing market-sized Atlantic salmon at anywhere near their total projected production capacity. Right now, land-based farms account for 0.7 per cent of global production. And on Vancouver Island here, it’s logistically not possible,” said Kingzett.
He warned, if the ban does come to pass, more than 6,000 jobs could be lost.
“That includes [jobs in] over 500 First Nations. And those First Nations are critically worried about the loss. The loss of this sector will have devastating social effects on their communities. We’re responsible for about $1.2 billion in the B.C. economy.”
Kingzett claimed farmers do not pose a risk to wild salmon, as activists posit, saying that the technology is in place to mitigate the risk of sea lice.