The presence of more than $750 million worth of imported salmon in Canada’s grocery stores is the source of renewed friction between the region’s salmon farming sector and organizations seeking to protect the wild salmon population and other marine life.
A recent report commissioned by the Atlantic Canada Fish Farmers Association showed the value of imports has doubled since 2016. During the same period, the amount of salmon farmed in Canada fell by more than 25 per cent.
“The products that were imported into Canada could be raised here and should be raised here, because we have the people, we have the coastline, we have the knowledge and we have the will,” said Tom Taylor, the executive director of the Atlantic Canada Fish Farmers Association.
Taylor said Atlantic Canada is faring better than British Columbia, where production has fallen dramatically with a ban on ocean-based, net-pen farming coming into effect in 2029.
He believes there is room to double the production of farmed salmon in Atlantic Canada to offset declines in British Columbia and replace imports.
Tom Taylor, the executive director of the Atlantic Canada Fish Farmers Association, said the industry could double in size in Atlantic Canada. (Roger Cosman/CBC)
To get there, the report made a series of recommendations mostly centred around government reform of regulations and better promotion of the industry.
The association stressed the need to cut down on the amount of time it takes to get an expansion or a new project approved,
This story was brought to Nouzie by RSS. The original post can be found on https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/atlantic-salmon-farmers-push-growth-here-9.7348424?cmp=rss
