Please find linked below CAIA's formal submission to the federal pre-budget consultation process, which outlines the priorities and recommendations on behalf of Canada's aquaculture sector.
Submission for the Pre-Budget Consultations (July 31, 2025)
The submission outlines five (5) recommendations:
BC Salmon Farming: On June 9, 2024, the DFO announced a ban on salmon aquaculture in BC, with all current licences set to expire in 2029. This federal policy decision is scientifically unnecessary and economically and technologically unachievable and is the biggest impediment to the survival of the sector in Canada. A clear performance-based pathway that establishes stabilization, investor confidence and a path to future growth is needed.
South Coast Newfoundland NMCA and MPAs: National Marine Conservation Areas (NMCAs) and Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) must not be proposed for areas where there is the potential for real and significant economic opportunity, seen most clearly in the NMCA proposal on the south coast of Newfoundland. The federal government must undertake comprehensive economic and social impact analyses of current and future implications for jobs, economic activity and food security before NMCAs and MPAs are proposed and take a multi-use approach that achieves sustainable job and economic growth and environmental protection. In particular, and based on economic potential, the proposal for the South Coast NMCA must be significantly redesigned or withdrawn completely.
CSSP Modernization: That the government DOUBLE the funding for the Canadian Shellfish Sanitation Program (CSSP), co-managed by CFIA, ECCC and DFO.
AAFC Leadership for Sector: That the government develop a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) under the leadership of Agriculture and Agri-food Canada (AAFC) with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), granting AAFC leadership over sector development strategy, innovation and farm-support programs.
Pilot BRM for PEI Shellfish Farmers: That the government launch a pilot program for a Business Risk Management (BRM) insurance program for Canadian shellfish farmers.