BC’s open net salmon farms are about to abandon, but replacement systems may differ from region to region

“We would also like to consider things … specific to the area like time windows for wild salmon that are migrating,” said Allsion Web, director of aquaculture management at DFO.

“We could customize the terms of the sea lice management license to protect those wild stocks, observing their specific timing versus a stencil approach across the province.”

Open pen salmon farming is a pulsating problem in BC

Some scientists say farms transfer pathogens and sea lice to wild salmon and believe they are a factor in the collapse of wild BC stocks, particularly the Fraser River salmon which are returning to record levels this year.

Terry Beech, parliamentary secretary to the fisheries minister, said the government remains committed to banning open-mesh farms by 2025 and moving to a sustainable model.

Closed ground containment systems have been advertised as a solution in the past. But Beech says new fish farming models are evolving.

“There are other ocean-based systems, I know there are hybrid systems,” he said.

“Our main goal here is to move from open mesh fences to more sustainable technology. What that technology is and what fits British Columbia best for the foreseeable future is part of what needs to be looked into.” .

In September, a 101 BC First Nations consortium, sport and commercial fishing groups and ecotourism operators joined together to call for the removal of 18 fish farms in the Discovery Islands near Campbell River.

The group said the farms pose a serious danger to wild young salmon that they have to swim across as they migrate to the ocean.

Beech said he is consulting with First Nations, the aquaculture industry and environmental stakeholders on an interim report that will be ready in the spring.