CAIA Newsletter ~ Summer 2019

Fish Health meeting with Ottawa Regulators

One of the key areas of focus for CAIA in the past two years has been to further develop our fish health team and attempt to improve the situation for access to fish health products. A major challenge is the multiple agencies that exist, and the need to break down silos and build solutions so that Canadian producers can better compete.

In late June, CAIA was able to bring together our fish health members with representatives from all the federal regulators who touch on fish health: Veterinary Drugs Directorate (VDD), Health Canada’s Healthy Communities program, CFIA, Pest Management Centre, Pest Management Regulatory Agency, and Environment Canada and Climate Change (ECCC).

The purpose of the two-hour meeting made up of twenty-seven people was to provide a level-set and ground from which this group could grow in collaboration. CAIA and member participants provided an overview of the sector and of some of the key fish health concerns facing the salmon sector in Canada. A very positive roundtable discussion ensued, and there were two take-aways from the meeting: 1) A map of responsibilities of the different departments is to be drawn up to provide greater transparency and accountability; 2) CAIA will provide an updated description of fish health needs in the sector. A second meeting has been scheduled for February 5, 2020.