Salmon Farming to be Banned in Canada

In order to protect wild salmon and favour other more sustainable methods of salmon farming, the Canadian government has decided to ban salmon farming in open net pens in the ocean from July 2029.

There have long been concerns that salmon farms negatively affect wild salmon in many different ways. Canada has had several outbreaks of salmon lice and various diseases among farmed salmon, which have been able to spread through the open net pens into the ocean.

– The Government is committed to taking concrete action to protect wild Pacific salmon, The Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard said in a press release.

– Today, I am announcing the centrepiece of a responsible, realistic and achievable transition that ensures the protection of wild species, food security and the important economic development of British Columbia’s First Nations, coastal communities and others, while we continue to work towards a final transition plan in 2025.

Salmon farming in the sea is already banned in a number of countries, including Denmark, Argentina and Australia. And Canada is now doing the same.

The ban has been heavily criticised by the salmon industry, which says it will be extremely expensive to move all farms into closed systems on land or in the water. But it has also been hailed by conservation groups and wild salmon advocates.

Already now, from June this year, no new open-cage salmon farms in the sea will be authorised, only fish farms on land or in fully closed systems at sea.