Post on 21-Jan-2016
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A Considered FutureArguments for Rational Salmon Conservation Policy
Andrew S. Wright PhDTechnical Advisor to
SOS Marine Conservation Foundation
Tides Canada Aquaculture Innovation Fund
and DFO
West Coast Salmon Aquaculture
• West Coast Salmon Aquaculture has two key issues
– Global use of precious forage fisheries for feed
– Local environmental impacts
• Disease, lice, benthic fowling etc
• In 2007-2008 the SOS Marine Conservation Foundation attempted to resolve the conundrum
– Shrinking wild fishery worth $500 million/annum
– Farmed salmon industry also at $500 million/annum but a lack of social license has stalled growth
– Burgeoning multi-billion eco-tourism business at risk
• Summary
– BC/Canada’s eternal dilemma of Resources & Jobs vs. Environment
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SOS Marine Conservation Foundation - Long Term Vision
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• Integrated multi-trophic - polyculture agriculture business
• Delivering full size salmon and plate size salmon per year
• Waste from 200kg living salmon support 3,000 head of lettuce every 6 weeks
• Diverse vegetable crop line for value add – lettuce, spinach herbs, tomatoes, peppers…
B.C’s First Mover Advantages – the logical place to locate
• Access to source water
• Significant transportation cost advantage to US ($.20 vs. $1.20/lb from Chile)
• Localized feed production industry
• Localized harvest, processing and packaging
• Initial Pacific Northwest consumers are highly food-aware and looking for farmed
salmon alternatives
• Trained employee and strong skill set base (Gov’t & Industry)
• Access to low lease Crown and private social venture investment land
• Lowest continental power costs
• Low carbon – near zero GHG power source
• Nascent equipment industry (Pr Aqua - Point 4 etc)
• Potential Government funding programs (AIMAP, SRED, VCC investment credits)
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The Closed Containment Opportunity
• Provides a socially acceptable means to expand the industry
– Increase the landed tonnage of fish
• Vegetable & secondary aquaculture crops extend profitability
• Supplementary fertilizer and energy revenue options
• Premium, sustainable products that satisfy market demand
• BC Benefits Include
– Jobs (Fish culture, fish husbandry, mechanical engineering, aquaponics, construction)
– Localized agricultural food security
– Equipment industry in B.C can differentiate and grow on sustainability platform
• Breaks the Resource Jobs vs. Save the Environment paradigm
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Dogma, Ideology and Clouded Judgments
• Biologically, technically and economically unfeasible
– The unified response from both industry, provincial and federal politicians
– Despite real world examples in North America
• An example of the elimination of science and analytic based decision making in policy recommendations
• Yet there is hope for we have found federal support!
• SOS Marine Conservation Foundation, Tides Canada AIF and the Federal Government came together to build a 400MT fish farm with the ‘Namgis nation.
• Yet overseas major investments are now being made by Scandinavian companies building full size land based farms
• BC is simply missing this opportunity
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The Cost of Poorly Informed (Ideologue) Decision Making
• Kaho’olawe –exploitation left the island devoid of topsoil and life.
• Cost to recover - $500,000,000 to date!
• Brief present day riches achieved by exploitive industries burden subsequent generations
• It undermines progress in human well being that science has provisioned thru responsible economic development
• The current political zeitgeist of attacking science is really an attack on future human well being and rejects centuries of scientific contributions
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Hope, Leading from in Front – the ‘Namgis Project
• Construction has started
• Fish in by this winter
• Land based bio-secure facilities with no harmful local environmental impacts
• Fish will be raised free of chemical theraputants, pesticides and vaccines
• No interaction between wild and farmed populations
• Carbon footprint lower than ocean farms due to BC hydro power and heat
pumps
• Global issues of fish farming can be resolved
– Requires university research into sustainable algae and plankton based salmon diets
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Science – the key to progress
• Simon Fraser University, University of British Columbia, Victoria University, Watershed Watch, Alexandra Morton, Fresh Water Institute at University of Virginia, Provincial and Federal Scientists
• These institutes have lent their scientific expertise and knowledge to helping us contemplate, design and build the ‘Namgis farm
• Thus rational informed decision making leads to enduring economies and sustained human well being
• This illustrates the very essence of responsible progress and the importance of scientific institutions and a populous that is literate in science
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Conclusions
• The Cohen commission has revealed great failures in management by our government in protecting our oceans
• Preservation and conservation should be prime directives in future wild salmon governance
• Closed containment salmon farming should be central in the responsible development of Canada’s aquaculture industry
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