A fish-farm company whose bid to have a federal fisheries ruling reconsidered was denied by the Federal Court last week says the federal fisheries minister’s initial decision on the matter was politically motivated.
Cermaq Canada director David Kiemele said in a statement that Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan, in denying a final transfer of 1.5 million smolts in the Discovery Islands, “ignored her department’s advice in favour of what we can only assume is a politically driven agenda.”
He said Jordan’s recent decision to revoke 60 per cent of commercial fishing licences in B.C. shows her “lack of understanding of rural coastal communities, First Nations rights and the reconciliation process, and the role that all seafood needs to play in order to support a growing global population.”
Kiemele said salmon farming supports many of Jordan and Prime Minister Trudeau’s goals for the country, including the creation of a strong marine economy, creating food security, furthering reconciliation, and helping Canada reach it carbon targets.
Last week, the Federal Court sided with the fisheries minister when it dismissed Cermaq’s request to reconsider Jordan’s decision not to allow the company to transfer young salmon to net pens in the Discovery Islands and extend their licences until February 2023.
Cermaq wanted to relocate close to 1.5 million Atlantic salmon from its Cecil Island fish farm to farms at Brent Island and Venture Point, where they would mature for 18 to 22 months prior to being harvested.
Moving the fish would have gone against the intent of a Dec. 17, 2020, announcement from Jordan ordering that all fish farms in the Discovery Islands, between Campbell River and the mainland, be closed by the end of June 2022.
B.C. salmon farmers operating in the Discovery Islands have banded together to seek a judicial review of Jordan’s decision. That review is scheduled for Oct. 18 in Federal Court in Vancouver. Cermaq has said it will have to cull the fish if they can’t be transferred.
This week, Cermaq produced a memorandum from fisheries staff to the minister that was included in court documents showing the department supported the option of allowing the transfer of salmon to the Venture Point and Brent Island facilities, and extending the licences of the facilities until 2023.
According to Cermaq, the company has been working with the Wei Wai Kum Nation, in whose territory both the farms are located. The company said they had an agreement that would have allowed for shared wild salmon conservation initiatives, an economic transition, and the creation of a program giving the nation oversight of Cermaq’s operations.
“We are perplexed as to why we find ourselves in this position. Both the nation and Cermaq have been working hard to find middle ground and offer solutions to Minister Jordan which would not only support her plan to develop a blue economy and support wild salmon, but also support the overall Liberal government’s commitment to truth and reconciliation in Canada,” said Linda Sams, Cermaq’s sustainable development director. “Overall, this is a sad day for us as an organization, for our employees and the local communities who rely on local industry such as salmon farming.
“It is also a blow to First Nations and their struggle to assert self-determination and to have their rights recognized within their own territories.”
