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A Considered FutureArguments for Rational Salmon Conservation Policy

Andrew S. Wright PhDTechnical Advisor to

SOS Marine Conservation Foundation

Tides Canada Aquaculture Innovation Fund

and DFO

West Coast Salmon Aquaculture

• West Coast Salmon Aquaculture has two key issues

– Global use of precious forage fisheries for feed

– Local environmental impacts

• Disease, lice, benthic fowling etc

• In 2007-2008 the SOS Marine Conservation Foundation attempted to resolve the conundrum

– Shrinking wild fishery worth $500 million/annum

– Farmed salmon industry also at $500 million/annum but a lack of social license has stalled growth

– Burgeoning multi-billion eco-tourism business at risk

• Summary

– BC/Canada’s eternal dilemma of Resources & Jobs vs. Environment

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SOS Marine Conservation Foundation - Long Term Vision

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• Integrated multi-trophic - polyculture agriculture business

• Delivering full size salmon and plate size salmon per year

• Waste from 200kg living salmon support 3,000 head of lettuce every 6 weeks

• Diverse vegetable crop line for value add – lettuce, spinach herbs, tomatoes, peppers…

B.C’s First Mover Advantages – the logical place to locate

• Access to source water

• Significant transportation cost advantage to US ($.20 vs. $1.20/lb from Chile)

• Localized feed production industry

• Localized harvest, processing and packaging

• Initial Pacific Northwest consumers are highly food-aware and looking for farmed

salmon alternatives

• Trained employee and strong skill set base (Gov’t & Industry)

• Access to low lease Crown and private social venture investment land

• Lowest continental power costs

• Low carbon – near zero GHG power source

• Nascent equipment industry (Pr Aqua - Point 4 etc)

• Potential Government funding programs (AIMAP, SRED, VCC investment credits)

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The Closed Containment Opportunity

• Provides a socially acceptable means to expand the industry

– Increase the landed tonnage of fish

• Vegetable & secondary aquaculture crops extend profitability

• Supplementary fertilizer and energy revenue options

• Premium, sustainable products that satisfy market demand

• BC Benefits Include

– Jobs (Fish culture, fish husbandry, mechanical engineering, aquaponics, construction)

– Localized agricultural food security

– Equipment industry in B.C can differentiate and grow on sustainability platform

• Breaks the Resource Jobs vs. Save the Environment paradigm

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Dogma, Ideology and Clouded Judgments

• Biologically, technically and economically unfeasible

– The unified response from both industry, provincial and federal politicians

– Despite real world examples in North America

• An example of the elimination of science and analytic based decision making in policy recommendations

• Yet there is hope for we have found federal support!

• SOS Marine Conservation Foundation, Tides Canada AIF and the Federal Government came together to build a 400MT fish farm with the ‘Namgis nation.

• Yet overseas major investments are now being made by Scandinavian companies building full size land based farms

• BC is simply missing this opportunity

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The Cost of Poorly Informed (Ideologue) Decision Making

• Kaho’olawe –exploitation left the island devoid of topsoil and life.

• Cost to recover - $500,000,000 to date!

• Brief present day riches achieved by exploitive industries burden subsequent generations

• It undermines progress in human well being that science has provisioned thru responsible economic development

• The current political zeitgeist of attacking science is really an attack on future human well being and rejects centuries of scientific contributions

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Hope, Leading from in Front – the ‘Namgis Project

• Construction has started

• Fish in by this winter

• Land based bio-secure facilities with no harmful local environmental impacts

• Fish will be raised free of chemical theraputants, pesticides and vaccines

• No interaction between wild and farmed populations

• Carbon footprint lower than ocean farms due to BC hydro power and heat

pumps

• Global issues of fish farming can be resolved

– Requires university research into sustainable algae and plankton based salmon diets

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Science – the key to progress

• Simon Fraser University, University of British Columbia, Victoria University, Watershed Watch, Alexandra Morton, Fresh Water Institute at University of Virginia, Provincial and Federal Scientists

• These institutes have lent their scientific expertise and knowledge to helping us contemplate, design and build the ‘Namgis farm

• Thus rational informed decision making leads to enduring economies and sustained human well being

• This illustrates the very essence of responsible progress and the importance of scientific institutions and a populous that is literate in science

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Conclusions

• The Cohen commission has revealed great failures in management by our government in protecting our oceans

• Preservation and conservation should be prime directives in future wild salmon governance

• Closed containment salmon farming should be central in the responsible development of Canada’s aquaculture industry

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