Report highlights hope behind BC closures
A warning has gone out that aquaculture in British Columbia, Canada, is likely to decline by up to a third over the next few years.
BC open pen salmon farm - facing closure
It comes in a report on the future of the industry from the independent Blue Economy Consulting Group which it has prepared for the BC Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, and Oceans Canada.
The main reason for the decline is due to imposed farm closures on the Discovery Islands and Broughton Archipelago, but adds that things could also trend upwards after the industry adapts its production systems with new technologies mandated by the Department of Fisheries & Oceans Canada.
The report says that in partnership with those First Nations already engaged in salmon farming, the industry is planning for the transition, adding that significant investments. will be required. The expectation is that industry expansion will be enabled in this new scenario.
There were still major challenges for the expansion of the land-based salmon farming sector, such as high initial capital costs and ongoing operating costs that are a significant barrier to both entry and building scale.
The report says: “A commercially viable land-based RAS facility requires 4-5 hectares of land, which can support 2,500 plus tons of salmonid production per year with a target harvest size of 4-6 kg, which is the current practice for open net pen Atlantic salmon production.
“Land-based RAS facilities require sufficient 3-phase power, good quality fresh water, and existing access to transportation routes, with saltwater proximity as a secondary benefit for higher growth rates and lower incidence of off-flavours.
“Over 98% of the energy generated in BC is from clean, renewable sources, primarily hydroelectric power, however recurring drought conditions are forcing BC Hydro to occasionally rely on costly energy imports at a time when BC’s electricity needs are growing faster than expected.”
Blue Economy Consulting also maintains that the majority of marine-based, semi-closed and closed containment technologies have not been tested for growing salmonids to a harvest size of 4-6 kg and are currently focused on growing smaller smolt to a post-smolt size of 500-1000g.
They then move the fish to open net pens, thus reducing the time in the sea and the interaction of farmed salmon with wild salmon and other marine life.
To produce salmonids profitably in closed containment systems, proponents must pick the best available site and the best technology that has a proven track record for operational efficiency and manageable capital cost.
In British Columbia there are suitable sites for growing salmonids in closed containment systems, both land and marine-based, the report maintains.
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