Click here to download the letter to the Prime Minister

Dear Prime Minister:

In your December 13, 2019, mandate letter to the Hon. Bernadette Jordan, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard, you requested that she lead the development of “a comprehensive blue economy strategy.” Your supplementary mandate letter of January 15, 2021, emphasized that Canada’s Blue Economy Strategy must recognize that “climate change still threatens our health, economy, way of life and planet. Clean growth is the best way to create good jobs and power our long-term economic recovery.”

Given this priority to drive post-COVID economic development through clean growth, the Canadian aquaculture industry has a central role to play in Canada’s Blue Economy Strategy and Canada’s low carbon future. Canadian aquaculture and fish processing activities already deliver significant economic benefits in Canada – mainly within rural and coastal communities where well-paying, full-time jobs are greatly in need. In 2018, farming and fish processing activities generated an estimated $6 billion in economic activity, $2.45 billion in GDP, and full-time jobs for almost 25,000 Canadians earning an estimated $1.14 billion in wages.

With Canada’s extensive coastline and biophysical capacity, Canadian aquaculture could make a much greater contribution to economic development. A recent paper by the multi-national High-Level Panel on a Sustainable Oceans Economy (HLP) estimated that investments in oceans economic activity can have an economic net positive benefit ratio of 5:1, while increasing production of sustainably sourced ocean-based proteins is 10:1.1.

Expanding Canadian aquaculture production would allow Canada to capitalize on the world’s rapidly increasing demand for seafood. The UN Food & Agriculture Organization projects that global seafood demand will increase 7-9% per year. With many wild fish stocks facing serious pressures, future growth in seafood demand will be largely met by aquaculture. Today, approximately half of all global seafood production for human consumption is farmed, and this is expected to rise to over 60% by 2030.

Importantly, the expansion of Canadian aquaculture to meet the increased global need for high quality protein would be fully compatible with your government’s requirement for clean growth. In fact, Canadian aquaculture has the smallest environmental footprint of all animal protein-producing

industries.

Farm-raised finfish, compared to terrestrial animal protein production:

• Has a smaller carbon footprint

• Produces less waste per kilogram of food produced

• Requires less feed per kilogram of body weight gained

• Has a lower freshwater requirement; and

• Has a lower land requirement

Farmed shellfish further contribute to a healthy environment by:

• Being the most efficient animal protein production, in terms of food conversion, carbon output, or water usage

• Providing a long-term carbon sink and addressing ocean acidification by incorporating dissolved atmospheric carbon into shells

• Improving water quality by removing particulates, excess nutrients, and organic material from the water column; and

• Helping to control harmful algal blooms, such as red tide, by removing algal cells before they accumulate to harmful levels

Farmed seaweed has a negative carbon footprint, absorbing twenty per cent more carbon dioxide than it produces, as well as reducing excess nitrogen and phosphorus. As an animal feed, it also has great potential to reduce animal methane emissions.

As a result of aquaculture’s low carbon footprint, low land use, low freshwater consumption, and efficient feed conversion ratio, the HLP identified aquaculture production as a major solution towards a lower-carbon food future:

“The largest potential (carbon reduction) gains for food production lie in the sustainable expansion of marine aquaculture.”

(Expert Paper for the HLP, 2019)

This ability of aquaculture to support lower-environmental impact economic development is a key reason underlying the importance of seafood in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Canadian aquaculture ensures its environmental sustainability through regular monitoring of all sites using state-of-the-art computer modeling, water quality sensors, satellite imaging, and GIS technology coupled with sea floor sampling and video recording. Every aquaculture site must also adhere to a strictly enforced array of federal and provincial statutes, regulations, policies and guidelines. Farms often must also comply with numerous municipal, regional district, and First Nations’ land use and development regulatory instruments.

Many Canadian seafood farmers surpass government environmental standards by achieving certification through independent, globally recognized certification systems, that cover environmental, social, food safety, full traceability and animal welfare. Canadian farm-raised seafood is certified or recognised by:

• Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC)

• Global Aquaculture Alliance Best Aquaculture Practices 4 Star Program (BAP)

• Canadian General Standards Board Aquaculture Organic Production Standards

The Coller-FAIRR Index, a global ranking of publicly-traded food protein producers, has a Canadian-producing salmon company in the top spot, and three others among the top ten. Canada’s farmed salmon is close to 100% certified to internationally recognised ASC and BAP standards. Farmed salmon (BC), trout, mussels, oysters, arctic char and sablefish have also been recognized by Monterey Bay Aquarium, Seafood Watch, and Ocean Wise.

Committed to continual improvement, there is certainly more to be done to expand transparency, innovation and partnership to be the very best sustainable seafood producers in the world. Given aquaculture’s tremendous capacity to support low environmental impact economic development, the Canadian aquaculture industry is committed to working with you to realize the full potential of Canada’s Blue Economy Strategy.

To realize this opportunity, our sector once again asks you to formally identify a federal department to champion our sustainable growth, and for this department to develop a plan and sustainable growth strategy. We ask for your government’s support on these key issues that are major blocks for our sector’s further development.

Sincerely,

Timothy J. Kennedy

President & CEO

Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance

CC:

Hon. Bernadette Jordan, PC, MP, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard

Hon. Chrystia Freeland, PC, MP, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance

Hon. Dominic LeBlanc, President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs

Hon. Jonathan Wilkinson, PC, MP, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada

Hon. Mélanie Joly, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages

Hon. François-Philippe Champagne, PC, MP, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry

Hon. Marie Claude Bibeau, PC, MP, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food

Hon. Carolyn Bennett, PC, MP, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations

Hon. Mary Ng, Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade

Other Key Federal Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries engaged with the Blue Economy Strategy

Premiers and Lead Ministers for NL, NS, NB, PEI, QC, ON, BC

Mr. Erin O’Toole, PC, MP, Leader of the Official Opposition

Mr. Richard Bragdon, MP, Critic to the Minister of Fisheries & Oceans

Mr. Pierre Poilievre, MP, Critic to the Minister of Finance

Mr. Jagmeet Singh, Leader of the New Democratic Party

Click here to download the letter to the Prime Minister

Dear Prime Minister:

The strong potential of Canada’s aquaculture sector aligns closely with many of your government’s stated priorities. We continue to be hopeful that within those priorities there can be smart growth of our sector under your government. There is arguably no other sector that has the same potential for good middle-class job growth, sustainable food development and security, a low-carbon footprint, rural coastal community economic development and the potential for real and lasting Indigenous reconciliation.

Numerous reports under your government have been produced that identify this great potential, as highlighted below:

“The central message of this report is that there is an ocean of opportunities for aquaculture in Canada. Our country has the world’s longest marine coastline, the largest number of freshwater lakes, a diversified aquaculture industry, a rigorous regulatory regime and world-class aquaculture-related research. Canada is, therefore, well positioned to help supply the growing global demand for fish and seafood and to do so sustainably – environmentally, economically and socially. The Committee supports the goal of doubling Canadian aquaculture production within the next decade.”

(Senate Report on Aquaculture: “An Ocean of Opportunities,” 2016)

“What would Canadian leadership in global food production look like?...Increase global market share (for aquaculture) to 0.6% (from 0.2%) and exports by almost US $2.6B. Do so by adopting…an economic development strategy that reforms ill-adapted traditional fisheries regulations for this emerging subsector to create opportunities for provincial, regional and aboriginal stakeholders…”

(Advisory Council on Economic Growth “Barton Report”, Feb 2017, pp.10,12)

“Achieving our growth targets hinges on all sectors meeting their full potential. Right now this is not always the case. A key example is the Canadian aquaculture sector, which has the potential to nearly double production from 200,565 tonnes in 2016 to 381,900 tonnes in 2028 to meet rising demand.

However, there are significant barriers to achieving this growth:

• There is not a strong economic development focus for this sector within the federal government

• Licensing requirements do not facilitate long-term growth strategies…”

(Agri-Food Economic Report from Canada's Economic Strategy Tables: The Innovation and Competitiveness Imperative, 2018)

“The largest potential (global carbon reduction) gains for food production lie in the sustainable expansion of marine aquaculture.”

(Expert Paper for the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy, 2019)

Aquaculture represents the future of reliable seafood production while reducing pressure on wild stocks in a growing world hungry for seafood. It is also the key for coastal job growth where there are few other jobs. Other ocean-resource countries around the world, including the United States, China, and Russia, have aggressive plans to develop their marine aquaculture sectors.

Marine farm-raised Atlantic salmon sector is close to 90 per cent of the value of the entire aquaculture sector in Canada. It is the anchor from which the total sector – shellfish, seaweeds, new marine and land-based technologies – can develop and thrive. Our recent market research for Canada revealed that salmon (the vast majority of which is farmed Atlantic salmon) is by a large margin the top seafood choice of Canadians, making up more than 30 per cent of their seafood diet, and even more importantly, Canadians (and the world) want more Canadian Atlantic salmon.

However, to date, and despite good-faith constructive efforts by our sector, your government has not delivered one positive structural or program change for the aquaculture sector that supports growth. Minister Jordan’s decision on the Discovery Islands, one week before the holidays, at the end of an unprecedented year of emotional and social upheaval and stress, is a terrible blow to the sector’s positive aspirations. The stress for our federally and provincially recognized “essential” employees, already at a high with COVID-19, has been severely exacerbated by this decision. We are deeply concerned for the present mental and physical health of our British Columbia employees, their families and their futures.

The consultation process employed to reach this decision was superficial: industry was given a single short opportunity to speak with the Minister and local communities were not granted any meeting. Multi-year peer-reviewed federal science establishing a minimal impact of farms to wild salmon was sidelined. This decision does not bring people together to create a pathway towards real reconciliation.

We will continue to hope and work for a reasonable path forward. The solution is relatively simple. Effective federal leadership will bring multiple interests together to develop a vision, strategy and plan for the sustainable growth of aquaculture across Canada. Your government can still do this, and realize the clear opportunity for Canada to be a global leader.

The explicit identification of a federal department that can champion the development of this sector is also critical. DFO seems structurally and culturally unable to do this. Without a significant new commitment to change in the department, another department must be given the responsibility to champion our sector.

We remain committed to working with you to realize the Blue Economy opportunity for this modern, forward-looking and innovative sector. But we stand together against a flawed decision that undermines the future for Canadian opportunity, our employees and communities.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Woodland

Chair, CAIA

President & CEO

Nu-chah-nulth Seafood LP

Timothy J. Kennedy

President & CEO

Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance

CC:

Hon. Bernadette Jordan, PC, MP, Minister of Fisheries & Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard

Hon. Chrystia Freeland, PC, MP, Minister of Finance Hon. François-Philippe Champagne, PC, MP, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development

Hon. Marie Claude Bibeau, PC, MP, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food

Hon. Carolyn Bennett, PC, MP, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations

Hon. Mary Ng, Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade

Terry Beech, MP, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of DFO

Premiers and Lead Ministers for NL, NS, NB, PEI, QC, ON, BC

Mr. Erin O’Toole, PC, MP, Leader of the Official Opposition

Mr. Richard Bragdon, MP, Critic to the Minister of Fisheries & Oceans

Mr. Pierre Poilievre, MP, Critic to the Minister of Finance

Mr. Jagmeet Singh, Leader of the New Democratic Party