fish farms

The federal government decision to ban fish farms from B.C. waters has been controversial, to say the least. Episode 17 of The Salmon People — The Big Decision delves into the mixed reaction

Season 2 is here with some startling stories about the division among First Nations on the removal of the fish farms. Sandra Bartlett documents the tumultuous journey of the DFO’s final decision, which came after six months of consultation with First Nations, industry, scientists and all interested parties.  

Both sides of British Columbia's contentious fish farm debate are welcoming Ottawa's move to delay a decision on a planned transition from open-net salmon farms in the province's coastal waters.

Our podcast The Salmon People earned the nod this week. The award honours a Canadian organization that embodies exemplary journalism with a resulting impact on the community it serves.

The Nova Scotia government says no new fish farm applications will be accepted until it completes a campaign promise mapping what areas are best suited for aquaculture. The moratorium doesn’t include a fourfold expansion already proposed by the industry.

Minister Joyce Murray says the Discovery Islands area is a key migration route for wild salmon where narrow passages bring migrating juvenile salmon into close contact with the farms.

Open net-pen fish farming on the Pacific coast took a one-two punch after operations closures were announced in both B.C. and Washington state this week. 

The ASC, which certifies and labels almost all farmed fish in British Columbia and 45 per cent of the global salmon farming industry, now allows farmers to harvest and sell fish with up to three motile sea lice, which are free-moving, fully grown lice that are able to travel off fish.

Coming Tuesday, Aug. 9 on iTunes: The Salmon People builds on the success of CNO’s 2021 debut podcast series, Race Against Climate Change, which earned a nomination for Best Climate Solutions Reporting from the Canadian Journalism Foundation. This new collaborative podcast cements CNO’s commitment to telling impactful and creative stories about the climate.

The federal government says open-net pen salmon farming may continue off British Columbia's coast outside the Discovery Islands area, while Ottawa undertakes consultation on the plan to transition away from the practice.

This approach to salmon farming is already banned in California, Oregon, and Alaska, leaving British Columbia and Washington state as the last two holdouts.

Fish farm operators Mowi Canada West, Cermaq Canada and Grieg Seafood applied for a judicial review of the order that prevented them from restocking their farms, arguing it lacked reasons and didn't "show an appreciation of the facts." 

First Nations supportive of salmon farming are entitled to make economic decisions in their territories, and failing to renew operating licences would violate the federal government’s stated commitment to the rights of Indigenous peoples, says a new coalition.

One of the largest farmed salmon producers operating in B.C. says it's permanently closing its processing plant in Surrey, B.C., because of a federal government decision to phase out some fish farms.

Open-net salmon farm opponents want the new federal fisheries minister to new deny any aquaculture applications to expand production in B.C. waters