A letter writer says what's deemed good for East Coast aquaculture is not good enough for West Coast aquaculture. Why?
"ONP aquaculture in B.C. will be stopped in its tracks, and the industry, if it is to survive, must transition to a more sustainable alternative, such as land-based. Meanwhile, on Canada’s East Coast, the federal government is not only ignoring the many serious environmental problems that the ONP industry poses, it is supporting expansion through the Atlantic Canada
Opportunities Agency and now the federal Ocean Super Cluster. Worse still, the province is a significant investor in ONP aquaculture while maintaining the posture of regulator."
"DFO does not believe that ONP aquaculture poses any problems on Canada’s East Coast. This was revealed during public consultations on a Federal Aquaculture Act. What this means is there has not been sufficient public outcry [on East Coast]. DFO, in this region, has a well-staffed aquaculture section that owes its existence to the industry. Its mandate is to support the industry regardless of the negative impacts on the marine environment and wild Atlantic salmon. This puts DFO in a conflicted and compromised position because of its responsibility to protect wild fish populations"
ATLANTIC CANADA - AN AQUACULTURE GHETTO
"The ONP aquaculture industry in Newfoundland and Labrador is not new; it has been developed over 40 years and has shown itself to be neither sustainable nor stable — quite the opposite. In spite of financial support and favourable government regulation, it has actually declined from 26,000 metric tonnes to only 15,000 last year with mass die-offs, ISA outbreaks, shutdowns and quarantines as a backdrop. If this situation continues, our south coast will become an aquaculture ghetto while more sustainable aquaculture will flourish in B.C. and the rest of the world."
Leo White, St.John's.
Excerpts above published: March 4, 2021 | The Chronicle Herald
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