“The presence of seafood farmers in rural coastal areas across Canada is more than just economic, it’s personal, impactful, and deeply embedded in a sense of responsibility.”
We are at a point of time where Canadians are more cognizant than ever about supporting local and growing domestic production capacity, said CAIA Chair, Joel Richardson during the BC Salmon Farmers Association Annual General Meeting in Campbell River, BC on Tuesday, June 3rd.
See below for Richardson's full remarks
This fall will be my eighth anniversary with the Cooke family, and from the very first moment I joined the company and the seafood sector, the industry association network has been so valuable to me personally and to our company as members.
Remarks delivered at the BC Salmon Farmers Association Annual General Meeting
June 3, 2025, Campbell River, BC
It’s really meaningful to be able to be here in BC with you this week as Chair of the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance. I’d like to ask you to join me in thanking Tim, Aimee, Sheri and Lynn at CAIA for all their hard work advocating on our behalf in Ottawa and across the nation.
I want to start with a reminder of what so many of us already know to be true. In many rural coastal communities, aquaculture is so much more than an industry. It’s a key component of strong working waterfronts. It’s a source of year-round jobs, a driver of economic development, and a cornerstone of local, sustainable food production.
Our industry supports thousands of good-paying jobs, both directly and indirectly. In rural coastal Canada, where opportunities can be limited, aquaculture has stepped in to keep wharfs busy, people at work, and families in their hometowns.
As a father of a thirteen-year-old daughter, I’m proud to say that aquaculture boasts the youngest, most culturally and gender-diverse workforce of any food-producing sector in Canada. I can’t think of a better reflection of the role of aquaculture and potential for its future.
Beyond our own operations, aquaculture has a remarkable and robust supply chain. The companies providing equipment, feed, transportation, and professional services are part of this growing ecosystem. And as we grow, we want them to grow right along with us to lift entire regional economies.
These are careers that support families and enable people to contribute to their communities in endless and impactful ways. Our culture at Cooke is one that supports our people giving back to their communities and I know that to be true across CAIA’s membership.
On any given day in Atlantic Canada, you will find our employees volunteering with food banks, shelters, local churches, coaching and mentoring youth, and welcoming and supporting newcomers who are building new lives in Canada.
The presence of seafood farmers in rural coastal areas across Canada is more than just economic, it’s personal, impactful, and deeply embedded in a sense of responsibility.
Our work is rooted in a belief that sustainability is about more than the environment. Truly sustainable businesses must go beyond the bottom line. They must be: fiscally sound, environmentally responsible and socially committed.
This is the way our communities, and our planet, will thrive. To be successful, we have to be focused on leveraging the technologies and tools that are available and emerging to make us more productive, efficient, and proactive in dispelling the mis and disinformation that’s out there.
The adage that “a lie will go around the world while the truth is putting its boots on” is one that rings true for aquaculture. We’re up against well-funded, connected organizations, many of which are backed by foreign sources with competing interests.
They are building campaigns meant to sow confusion and fear, and are building business and fundraising models designed to undermine and ostracize the very people whose livelihoods depend on aquaculture.
In my view, ENGO’s who conduct these activities and spread false information putting domestic food security and jobs at risk should have their charitable or not-for-profit status revoked.
The most effective and powerful opposition to these false narratives is the voice of aquaculture workers, which is backed by research by credible scientists.
The most compelling example of this is in the case of wild salmon. The reality is this: aquaculture is not the cause of wild salmon declines, but it is part of the solution.
Wild salmon face many threats — from ever changing weather and habitat destruction to overfishing, pollution, predation, and damming. These are the real culprits. It is unscientific and unfair to pin the blame on a sector that is committed to co-existence, stewardship, and collaboration.
On the East Coast in Nova Scotia there are nearly 600 dams on freshwater waterways including rivers previously thriving with Atlantic salmon. Less than 15% of those dams have fish passage technology.
The Southern Uplands Atlantic salmon population along the South Coast of Nova Scotia is impacted by 279 dams, resulting in an upstream habitat loss of thousands of kilometers of stream length for spawning. The most extensive amount of loss occurred from 1920-1930.
The Inner Bay of Fundy Atlantic salmon population, which is the population we are working with Fort Folly First Nation to recover on rivers south of Moncton in New Brunswick was found to have 131 dams resulting in an upstream habitat loss of over 1,200 km of stream length for spawning. The most extensive amount of upstream habitat loss occurred from 1930-1940. This habitat destruction occurred with government support nearly fifty years before commercial salmon farming came into existence.
Our company believes that the aquaculture industry holds the key to wild salmon recovery and we must all work together with First Nations and academia to help wild salmon populations across the country.
Here in BC the federal and provincial governments have a duty to support Rights Holders First Nations who have made agreements with the industry for salmon farming in their territories.
These partnerships must be respected. CAIA urges our elected leaders to recognize this moment and to stand with communities rather than pander to a vocal, urban minority in Vancouver.
More broadly, we are looking to our federal and provincial governments to recognize that aquaculture is agriculture, and to support the future of smart farming and local, sustainable food production.
We are at a point of time where Canadians are more cognizant than ever about supporting local and growing domestic production capacity. Domestic food farming is a key driver of economic growth and trade, and aquaculture in particular is very well positioned to enable Canada to become a science and innovation hub.
BC producers and BC Salmon Farmers Association have done a tremendous job of presenting truthful and science-backed facts about our industry to governments and the public.
Producers and associations across the country have your back and are here to help spread the message that the aquaculture industry is only getting stronger and has such a compelling story to tell.
We’re embracing new technology and tools designed to protect the environment, increase productivity, and ensure our work is more efficient and more transparent than ever before.
We are creating jobs for young people, women, Indigenous workers, and newcomers. We are offering a path to home ownership, family stability, and rural revitalization.
So much of the political rhetoric we have heard over the last few months has referenced the need for nation building projects.
Just yesterday Prime Minister Carney met with the Premiers, and he reminded them that his government wants nation building projects, projects that diversify our markets and projects that are sustainable.
The aquaculture sector will answer that call.
In my view, local decision making in BC needs to be empowered as we have in Atlantic Canada where the provinces are the regulators. Define and treat the BC sector as a farming sector and therefore make the province, local communities and BC Indigenous communities the authoritative voices to make decisions and drive collaboration.
All we are asking of our elected officials is that they put fact over fiction, treat our industry fairly, and allow us the freedom to farm responsibility.
That’s the Canadian thing to do.
To everyone who is standing up here in Campbell River and across rural British Columbia — and across the country — thank you. Stay strong. Keep fighting. The facts are on our side. So are the communities. And so is the future.
Thank you for the invitation to visit this heavenly place and thank you for your warm hospitality.
About the Author
Joel Richardson leads public and government relations for family-owned Cooke Inc. from its global headquarters in Saint John. In his former role as Vice President NB/PEI with Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME), Joel worked on issues impacting business competitiveness. He led Export Development and Foreign Investment during his twenty-year career with the Government of New Brunswick. Joel is also a former city councilor and volunteers in his community as a member of the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary – Maritimes Region, to provide marine first responder and search & rescue duties.