It would appear that the government is serious about the transition away from open-net salmon farms. In a decision announced in mid-June, licenses for the remaining salmon farms were renewed for a period of five years, until 2029. Following that, they are “banned”. The long-awaited Transition Plan was unveiled only in September, along with a policy that clearly states that any new licenses for in-ocean or on-land salmon farms must employ “closed containment” technology. And there’s the rub: that technology doesn’t exist for in-ocean applications. We suspect that won’t stop the Department of Fisheries and Oceans from coming up with a definition of “closed containment” that allows semi-closed systems to be licensed.
It is entirely unclear that wild Pacific salmon could withstand the continued operation of farms that allow sewage, pathogens and parasites to enter their habitat; and that’s what semi-closed systems do. Those systems also rely on open-net pens to grow the fish for up to 12 months of the production cycle, so allowing them to be licensed would be transitioning from open-net pens…to open-net pens.
It’s also unclear how a government running a dismal 24% in national opinion polling is going to weather a 2025 election and stick around to give effect to their 2029 “ban”. They say there will be regulatory changes, but those have not been made public and may not be in place prior to the next election.
Equally troubling is the news that 9-year licences will be made available for industry if it chooses to use “closed containment” technology in the marine environment. Leaving aside the fact that the technology does not presently exist and assuming industry chooses to experiment to create it, the noise factor alone would make it unacceptable. The powerful pumps and generators that must operate 24/7 to keep the water circulating through a semi-closed system would render the marine environment inhospitable for any marine mammal and possibly for fish as well.
Longer licences would also be available for land-based closed containment. None of the companies operating ocean farms here has indicated the slightest interest in land-based aquaculture, although the parents of at least two of them have invested in it elsewhere in the world. If we aren’t transitioning the industry to land-based farms and in-ocean closed containment is beyond technological achievement by 2029, it would appear there’s only one choice for MOWI, Grieg and Cermaq: leave.
We have been urging the government to view the “Transition Plan” as a plan for workers and communities, especially First Nations communities that have enjoyed a revenue stream from royalties on the tenures in their territory for the past few years. The Task Force appointed to lead the whole-of-government approach to implementing the Transition Plan seems to be making serious effort to understand how best to stimulate alternative economic development opportunities and provide jobs and retraining for affected workers. We will continue to work with the Task Force to ensure that transition is achieved.
