Canada
BC at the crossroads Canada’s new Fisheries Minister has inherited a fierce controversy BY ROBERT OUTRAM AND VINCE MCDONAGH
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HE news in October that Joyce Murray had been appointed as Canada’s Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Na�onal Coastguard was greeted with warm words from the country’s fish farming industry. The Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance issued a diploma�cally worded statement congratula�ng Murray on her appointment. It said: “Our members would like to welcome the Honourable Joyce Murray as the new Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and Canadian Coast Guard, and express their enthusiasm to work together to realise the opportuni�es for Canada through sector development. “According to the United Na�ons’ Food and Agriculture Organiza�on, the global and domes�c demand for seafood con�nues to increase 7% to 10% a year. The new government has commi�ed to ensuring that Canada is posi�oned to succeed in the fast-growing global sector of the blue economy.” Grieg Seafood also warmly welcomed Murray. Grieg Seafood BC (Bri�sh Columbia) Managing Director Rocky Boschman said: “On behalf of myself and Grieg Seafood, I would like to extend a warm welcome to Minister Murray and her team. We look forward to reaching out to both her and her staff in the coming weeks to extend these sen�ments directly, as well as extend an invita�on to come and view our opera�ons and learn more about Grieg, our employees and our fish, as well as our commitment to con�nuous improvement, innova�on and the adap�on of technology into our opera�ons.” The coming year may see rela�ons turn fros�er, however. Murray was appointed as the successor Bernade�e Jordan, who failed to win re-elec�on last year despite her party, the Liberals, returning to power.
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Like Jordan, Murray has a reputa�on for being cri�cal of aquaculture’s environmental impact and she has inherited a crucially important court case over the industry’s future. In December 2020, Jordan effec�vely ordered an end to net-pen fish farming ac�vity in the Discovery Islands region of Bri�sh Columbia by June 2022. The Government even put a stop on the movement of juvenile salmon to Bri�sh Columbia, which angered companies such as Mowi, which warned that up to three million fish would have to be culled and many jobs lost as result. Cermaq also condemned the decision, accusing Jordan of a lack of understanding about fish farming. All four companies affected by the Government’s decision launched an appeal in the Federal Court, O�awa. Their case is based on the claim that the orders lacked fairness, were totally irra�onal and driven by poli�cal considera�on rather than led by scien�fic evidence. Mowi Canada told the court that the minister’s decision was made without any consulta�on, saying it threatened its opera�ons in Bri�sh Columbia. Grieg and Cermaq have also asked the court to intervene in Jordan’s decisions. Following hearings last autumn, a ruling from the Federal Court is expected in the first half of this year. The Bri�sh Columbia Salmon Farmers Associa�on told Fish Farmer that the industry requires certainty about its future in order to invest in be�er technology and improved fish welfare: “In terms of the future of salmon farming technology, we follow science and research for the best direc�on in technological advancements and want to pursue the technology with the lowest carbon footprint and environmental
This page from top: Joyce Murray MP; Bernade�e Jordan; Klemtu Spirit salmon Opposite: Grieg, Nootka Sound
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11/01/2022 14:36:05
