OTTAWA, ON (APRIL 9, 2025) – A new federal government must be focused on reviving Canada’s economy. Seafood farming is a critical economic solution for Canada.
Seafood farming, otherwise known as aquaculture – the farming of fish, shellfish and seaweeds – is a massive economic opportunity that Canada has a responsibility to sustainably develop. It is a major untapped source of jobs, Canadian home-grown food while supporting environmental stewardship, Indigenous reconciliation and community revitalization.
Released today, Canada’s Ocean Supercluster’s report, “Blue Bioeconomy Insights,” provides an overview of the opportunities for aquaculture, as well as other ocean-related biological and food innovations..
The report echoes analysis by the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance (CAIA) that Canada is only using 1 per cent of its viable ocean area for seafood farming development. In comparison, Norway has about a third of the ocean potential of Canada, while Norway produces almost twenty times the farmed seafood production of Canada.
“Canada has the most cold-water aquaculture production potential in the world but we are not responsibly developing this. The global seafood industry is in the midst of historical change as precision farming grows the majority of healthy seafood for a growing global population,” says Timothy Kennedy, CAIA President & CEO, and a Steering Committee member for the report. “It is the lowest carbon-footprint and most sustainable large-scale animal protein production in the world and should be embraced as a major opportunity for Canada.”
However, Canada’s production has flatlined for twenty years. With the Trudeau government’s irresponsible decision in 2024 to “ban” ocean net pen farming in British Columbia there has been a great chill on all investment in the aquaculture sector across Canada - despite the fact that net pen farming makes up almost 99 per cent of farmed salmon production in the world and is the most popular seafood choice in North America.
Three solutions are immediately available to revitalize the sector: First, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) must be given federal responsibility for all development activities for the sector to properly support sustainable growth. Second, a truly responsible pathway must be established for B.C. salmon farming that provides science-based environmental outcomes, provides investor confidence and certainty, grows jobs and supports rights-holder First Nations to make decisions in their own territories. Third, the modernization of the federal shellfish management system must be achieved.
“Canada has a choice before it: continue to be complacent about this major opportunity, or seize the moment to make Canada more economically and food secure and revitalize coastal communities. We can make great things happen with the right framework for growth,” concluded Kennedy.
About Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance
Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance is the national association that speaks for Canada’s seafood farmers, representing their interests in Ottawa and internationally to regulators, policy makers and political leaders. CAIA members generate over $5.3 billion in economic activity, $2 billion in GDP, and employ over 17,550 Canadians delivering a healthy, growing and sustainable seafood farming sector in Canada. www.aquaculture.ca