Recent federal government licensing decisions to shut down salmon farming operations in parts of British Columbia (BC) mean that Canadian salmon is costing more for families, is harder to find in grocery stores and is being replaced by farm-raised salmon flown in from elsewhere in the world, according to the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance (CAIA).
The national association advises that spot prices for farm-raised, west coast, fresh Atlantic salmon are at record highs for this time of year, up 20% over the last few years, with the price jump being driven by reduced supply of BC-grown farm-raised salmon.
Grocers looking for more Canadian-grown products in response to consumer demand are being forced to import salmon from other countries, it added.
CAIA explains that in December 2020, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans announced a decision to shut down salmon farming in the Discovery Islands region of BC. This decision was subsequently overturned by the federal court, but in response to the original federal decision, salmon farmers closed down farm sites, thus reducing production levels.
The minister is expected to soon make new decisions regarding the same farms in a follow up to the federal court’s ruling, with numerous First Nations in the area demanding the federal government supports their rights to oversee and host salmon farming in their territories.
CAIA said that an already constrained global supply market for salmon and increasing demand for salmon is resulting in the highest prices ever and a further reduction of supply will exacerbate this situation.
The supply from the Discovery Islands region was approximately 20,000 tonnes of salmon, the equivalent of 120 million meals and approximately one-quarter of BC’s production. Replacing this Canadian salmon with product from other nations will result in an increased carbon footprint estimated at 163,000 tonnes of carbon due to airfreight, the alliance estimates.
“At a time of major food inflation resulting in higher prices for consumers, recent government decisions to shut down sustainable salmon farms, without scientific basis, and reduce supply to consumers is having a major price impact on this healthy, fresh and sustainable supply from Canada,” CAIA President & CEO Timothy Kennedy said. “When the supply of farm-raised salmon drops, and demand continues, prices go up for Canadian families – it’s economics 101.”
Kennedy further highlighted that the salmon farming licensing decisions also impact Canada’s economy, and that less Canadian farm-raised salmon for Canadian domestic consumption and export means lost jobs in rural, coastal and Indigenous communities.
“It doesn’t make sense to have a policy to reduce production of a sustainable, healthy, affordable, food product like Canadian farm-raised salmon, and these past licensing decisions must be corrected by the federal government,” he said.
CAIA members generate over CAD 5 billion in economic activity, CAD 2 billion in GDP and employ over 20,000 Canadians.
