A Considered Future
Arguments for Rational Salmon Conservation Policy
Andrew S. Wright PhD
Technical Advisor to
SOS Marine Conservation Foundation
Tides Canada Aquaculture Innovation Fund
and DFO
1
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 $500 million/annum but a lack of social license
has stalled growth
– Burgeoning multi-billion eco-tourism business at risk
• Summary
– BC/Canada’s eternal dilemma of Resources & Jobs vs. Environment
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SOS Marine Conservation Foundation - Long Term Vision
• Integrated multi-trophic - polyculture agriculture business
• Delivering full size salmon and plate size salmon per year
• Waste from 200kg living salmon support 3,000 head of lettuce every 6 weeks
• Diverse vegetable crop line for value add – lettuce, spinach herbs, tomatoes, peppers…
3
B.C’s First Mover Advantages – the logical place to locate
•
Access to source water
•
Significant transportation cost advantage to US ($.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)
4
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
5
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
7
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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