B.C. salmon industry stuck waiting for a clearer path forward
Policy uncertainty clouds future of both open-net and land-based salmon farming, industry insiders say
Daisy Xiong about 12 hours ago
B.C.’s salmon industry is waiting for direction from Ottawa as capital leaves the sector faster than it flows into alternative aquaculture ventures.
The federal government has yet to release a final transition framework for its draft Salmon Aquaculture Transition Plan released in 2024. The plan aims to shift B.C.'s salmon farming industry away from traditional open-net pens in ocean waters toward “closed-containment” systems by 2029.
Opponents of the plan are urging Ottawa to reverse course to preserve jobs and investment generated by the industry, while supporters say the transition is necessary to build a more sustainable salmon farming sector in the province.
Both sides say they need clarity from policy makers to move forward.
“We were under the impression we were going to have an answer in September, and now it's … May and we're still waiting, so the anxiety is fairly high,” said Brian Kingzett, executive director of the BC Salmon Farmers Association (BCSFA).
Salmon farming companies have continued investing in brood stock and production cycles, but many of them will start making changes this summer, according to Kingzett.
“If the current policy stands, we will start seeing the industry make very difficult decisions, that will most probably mean leaving British Columbia,” he said.
There has long been debate over the environmental impact of open-net salmon farming. Critics say the farms can spread sea lice, parasites and diseases to wild salmon migrating nearby, while supporters argue there is no scientific evidence showing the industry is a primary driver of declining wild salmon populations.
One aspect that is less disputed, however, is that capital has already responded. Capital flight has occurred since 2019, when the federal government first introduced the transition plan, according to Kingzett.
Since then, salmon farming production has decreased by 45 per cent, now sitting at about 55,000 metric tons per year, leading to the loss of about 1,500 jobs, he added. Grieg Seafood ASA, one of the three largest salmon farming corporations operating in B.C., sold its Canadian businesses last summer.
“With the Eby government having a $13 billion operating deficit, if there was ever a time for B.C. to need [the industry], that is now,” said Kingzett, adding that uncertainty around the sector has also delayed or led to the cancellation of projects aimed at reducing the industry’s impacts on the ocean.
If the federal government led by Prime Minister Mark Carney decides to move along with the plan, it will be a “final nail in the coffin” for the B.C. salmon farming industry, said Kingzett.
Tony Pantages, president and CEO of Octaform Systems Inc., a Vancouver-based company that produces land-based aquaculture containment materials. | Rob Kruyt, BIV
But supporters of the plan say land-based aquaculture has greater financial potential than ocean farming, with ocean seafood stocks declining due to factors including pollution and climate change, while population and consumer demand continue to rise.
“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to become the global leader in land-based aquaculture,” said Tony Pantages, president and CEO of Octaform Systems Inc., a Vancouver-based company that produces land-based aquaculture containment materials.
“It's about replacing an outdated model with a larger, cleaner and more resilient coastal economy,” he added. “That's going to be able to protect both wild salmon and coastal jobs.”
B.C.’s bet on land-based aquaculture
Octaform has grown fivefold over the last five years as land-based aquaculture projects expand rapidly in markets including Iceland, Norway, China, the U.S., and others, according to Pantages.
Although capital is leaving traditional salmon farming in B.C., it has not yet flowed into land-based aquaculture here in large volumes, said Pantages, who attributes the hesitation to policy uncertainty.
“The transition's already happened elsewhere. Canada's been left behind … and it's super frustrating,” he said.
“We need a core plan … we will be left in the dust if we don't create a strong transition plan right now.”
At the centre of the debate is whether land-based salmon farming can be economically viable at scale in B.C.
Pantages said the province’s abundant cold fresh water, energy supply and supply-chain access to global marketers put it in a unique position to become a leader in land-based salmon farming.
He noted that land-based farming has seen positive commercial momentum in some markets in recent years. Iceland’s First Water project, for example, has projected annual revenues exceeding 481 million euros (C$774 million) and expects to achieve sustained profitability when it reaches full production capacity by 2030, according to the company.
“Land-based aquaculture is no longer experimental. It's fourth-generation infrastructure,” said Pantages.
Vancouver-based Octaform Systems Inc. supplies containment materials for major land-based aquaculture projects globally and has grown fivefold over the past five years. | Submitted
Others say they believe those expectations may be overly optimistic.
“I don’t think [land-based salmon farming] is going to work here,” said Kyran Clarke, owner of Delta-based Aquatrans Distributors Inc., an aquaculture transportation company.
“The majority of the salmon are exported. Businesses would prefer to build the land-based farms near where the market is, versus doing it [here in B.C.].”
Clarke, who has seen a 40 per cent decrease in his salmon transportation business over the past five years, has been trying to diversify to other sectors such as the logging industry, which is also facing a downturn.
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada did not provide Business in Vancouver with a timeline for a final transition framework.
“The government is reviewing all the different perspectives in considering how it can best move sustainable aquaculture forward in British Columbia,” the department said in a statement.
