On Wednesday, June 19, the Government of Canada issued its long-awaited announcement on the extension of BC Salmon Aquaculture Licenses. In response, the Northwest Aquaculture Alliance (NWAA) has issued the following statement:
The Northwest Aquaculture Alliance (NWAA) stands in solidarity with the British Columbia Salmon Farmers Association (BCSFA), the First Nations in whose territories BC’s salmon farms produce sustainable seafood, as well as the young aquaculture workers for whom salmon farming represents a secure future. We are shocked and dismayed by this decision, which affects many of our member companies that operate in Canada as well as in the United States.
Furthermore, we call on Canadian Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Jonathan Wilkinson, to correct the false and misleading statement about aquaculture in Washington State made during a press conference, as reported in Wild First Canada, suggesting net-pen farming was banned here in 2022. In fact, it was not.
In 2018, the Washington State Legislature passed HB 2957, which allows for the production of native species only in state aquatic lands, a decision upheld unanimously by the State Supreme Court in 2022. Currently there is no prohibition (or “ban”) on net-pen aquaculture in Washington State, as ruled by Thurston County Superior Court Judge Indu Thomas in October 2023.
Respecting the great responsibility of government agencies to share true and factual information with the public, NWAA respectfully requests that Minister Wilkinson set the record straight about net-pen aquaculture in Washington state, which has been legal since the state’s Aquaculture Law was enacted in 1985 and again upheld by the state legislature in 2018.
We share the frustration of our Canadian colleagues who have watched special interest groups opposed to aquatic food production destroy 40 years of building strong communities by growing one of the world’s most nutritious, delicious foods: salmon.
Furthermore, NWAA remains committed to returning native finfish farms to Washington, and we remain committed to support the aquaculture industry in Canada. It ain’t over.