Industry Positions
March 20, 2013
CAIA Response to The Hill Times Opinion Editorial
Will Fisheries minister act in response to the Cohen Commission?
I am writing in response to a recent OpEd by Elizabeth May in your pages (“Will Fisheries Minister Act In Response to the Cohen Commission” – March 18th). Although few would dispute Ms. May’s passion on environmental matters, we must take exception to the veracity of a number of assertions contained in her article.
Full Article
March 7, 2013
CAIA Response: Fisheries and Oceans Committee Report on Closed Containment Salmon Aquaculture
The Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans has tabled its report on closed containment fish farming.
Full Article
June 15, 2012
Salmon Aquaculture Dialogue Concludes with Release of Standard
The World Wildlife Fund Salmon Aquaculture Dialogue (SAD) has now released their final global standards.
CAIA, representing the Canadian salmon farming industry, participated as a member on the Dialogue’s Steering Committee for the past seven years.
Full Article
March 28, 2012
CAIA Response to Ottawa Citizen Blog Post
Food for thought: Sustainable seafood, the happy fish story at a restaurant near you
As a representative of Canada’s aquaculture industry, I read your Blog: “Food for thought: Sustainable seafood, the happy fish story at a restaurant near you” with interest.
I agree – certification programs are becoming increasingly important as a means for consumers to identify that a seafood product is safe, sustainable and produced/caught with minimal environmental impacts.
Without one global standard, customers are tasked with deciding which certification method to trust. As the number of standards increase, customers are becoming confused in the entire certification system.
While your work then to address this is issue through your blog post is commendable, the post contains misleading generalizations which discredit farmed seafood.
February 14, 2012
CAIA Position: Salmon Aquaculture Dialogue
The World Wildlife Fund Salmon Aquaculture Dialogue (SAD) released the final draft of its global standards on February 7, 2012.
CAIA, representing the Canadian salmon farming industry, participated as a member on the Dialogue’s Steering Committee and is appreciative of the opportunity to collaborate respectfully on sustainability issues with its fellow committee members from environmental non-governmental organizations and international aquaculture colleagues.
Full Article
July 12, 2011
CAIA Response to Time Magazine Article
The End of the Line
Bryan Walsh's cover article, The End of the Line, is a compelling, 'big picture' look at why our planet needs aquaculture - the farming of finfish, shellfish and sea plants. The global human population is growing, per capita demand for seafood is increasing, and our over-stressed oceans can't keep up.
Full Article
April 20, 2011
Canadians overwhelmingly support regulated expansion of national aquaculture industry
A new survey reveals the majority of Canadians support national legislation to govern and enable the growth of our aquaculture industry.
Conducted from April 7 – 14, 2011, the survey found that eight in ten Canadians (81 percent) either strongly support (40 percent) or somewhat support (41 percent) a national Aquaculture Act. Only 4 percent oppose national legislation.
Full Article
March 21, 2011
Canada Needs an Aquaculture Act
Hill Times
According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, per capita seafood consumption has reached an all-time high. Fish and shellfish farming – called aquaculture – supplies half of global demand, and is poised to overtake wild fisheries production.
Canada’s $2.1 billion aquaculture industry can’t meet demand for its products, yet has difficulty expanding because of inefficient legislation and coordinated opposition campaigns that spread false and outdated information to the public and politicians.
Full Article
March 17, 2011
An Act for Fish Farms
Financial Post
Aquaculture industry needs updated legal oversight
According to the latest United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization report, per-capita seafood consumption has reached a record high.
With much of the world’s fisheries production holding steady, aquaculture — the farming of fish, shellfish and sea plants in marine or land-based facilities — is playing a growing role in meeting that demand. Aquaculture is the world’s fastest-growing animal-food-producing sector, and is set to overtake wild fisheries output.
Canada’s $2.1-billion aquaculture industry is strong, but stagnant. Demand for our cultured seafood products remains steady. But while other countries ramp up aquaculture production, our industry is having difficulty expanding, largely because of inefficient legislation and co-ordinated opposition campaigns that spread false and outdated information to the public and politicians.
Full Article
March 15, 2011
Dangers of Aquafarmed Fish
NBC Washington.com
CAIA response
The outright lies and misleading statements in Lisa Cleary’s ‘Dangers of Aquafarmed Fish’ article represent an unprecedented level of journalistic laziness.
Ms. Cleary could be forgiven for not being educated about the industry. But rehashing one-sided arguments from a single, biased source is unprofessional and does a huge disservice to the public.
Far from being raised in ‘cramped conditions’, our salmon occupy less that 4 percent of the net pen in a typical farm. This low stocking density helps replicate natural schooling behaviour.
Full Article
March 7, 2011
Huffington Post response
Sea lice study uses questionable methodology
The key point in this sea lice debate is that last year’s Fraser Sockeye returns were among the largest in recorded history, while salmon farming management practices in BC remained the same.
The latest attempt by the usual coalition of activists to link salmon farms, sea lice and Fraser sockeye is problematic because the study’s authors chose a control site – a sample area with no farms – that had significantly lower salinity levels than sample areas where farms existed. Sea lice levels are known to be lower in low salinity conditions.
Full Article
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January 12, 2011
Response to Medical News Today
Farmed salmon: Healthy, sustainable protein
In comparing the health attributes of wild vs. farmed salmon, your article correctly points out that farmed salmon are high in heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. However, as a representative of Canada’s salmon farming industry, I’d like to correct the following points:
Diseases in our farmed salmon are rare, since the smolts (babies) are often individually vaccinated. The stocking density of the fish is regulated by government, and our salmon farmers depend on a clean marine environment for their livelihoods. Far from being fed ‘dye’ pellets, our salmon are actually given carotenoids – which are part of the vitamin B family – to mimic their diets in the wild. In addition to giving farmed salmon their characteristic pink/orange color, carotenoids are antioxidants that are necessary for the salmon’s health. While trace amounts of PCBs are present in the most common foods we eat, PCB levels in both wild and farmed salmon are well below the 2,000 parts per billion safety threshold set by both the US Food and Drug Administration and Canadian Food Inspection Agency. The levels of PCBs and dioxins in our farmed salmon are lower than in other commonly eaten foods such as beef, chicken, pork, eggs, and butter. In fact more than 90 percent or the PCBs we eat come from meats, vegetables, and dairy products.
Canadian farmed salmon are available fresh, year-round, and take pressure off wild fish stocks.
Ruth Salmon
Executive Director
Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance
December 14, 2010
CAIA Position: Sea lice study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science journal
Independent researchers have concluded sea lice from salmon farms are NOT responsible for fluctuations in wild salmon populations.
The University of California Davis study, which was undertaken in partnership with the BC Centre for Aquatic Health Sciences, has been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science journal.
“For years, activists have blamed the aquaculture industry for the pink salmon population crash of 2002,” says Ruth Salmon, executive director of the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance. “This new study clearly states that sea lice are not responsible for the decline of wild pinks in BC’s Broughton Archipelago.”
Resources:
September 10, 2010
CAIA Position: Genetically modified salmon
A Massachusetts-based company is seeking US regulatory approval for its genetically modified salmon eggs, which have been claimed to grow faster than conventional salmon. Full Article
June 1, 2010
Response to 'How to make healthier fish choices'
By Ruth Salmon
New England Health Advisory
Comparing salmon farms to ‘floating pig farms’ is sensational and misleading. Far from excessive amounts of uneaten feed, as your article suggests, Canadian salmon farmers employ state-of-the art feed monitoring systems that use real-time technology – such as underwater cameras and sensors – to detect uneaten feed and adjust feed delivery to the appetite of the salmon. Full Article
April 23, 2010
Response to CBS.com
Katie Lee no doubt has good intentions in her attempt to ‘demystify’ food health issues, but her farmed salmon facts need to be corrected. The omega-3 levels (DHA and EPA) in farmed Atlantic salmon are 3,650 grams per serving vs. 3,000 grams for wild salmon. Full Article
  April 23, 2010
CKNW live interview, Vancouver
Ruth Salmon discusses a new economic impact report that outlines aquaculture's $2.1 billion contribution to the Canadian economy.
CAIA CKNW Ruth Salmon Interview Transcript (PDF 90KB)
April 23, 2010
Canada’s Aquaculture Industry Contributes
$2.1 Billion to National Economy
Ottawa, ON – Canada’s finfish and shellfish farming industry generates $2.1 billion annually for the Canadian economy, according to a new report commissioned by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Full Article
April 14, 2010
Letters to the Editor
Globe and Mail
The B.C. First Nations class action lawsuit directed at the provincial government won’t address the real threats to wild salmon, which include fishing, logging, development, habitat destruction and changing ocean conditions. (B.C. bands seek class-action status to sue over fish-farm regulation). Full Article
April 1, 2010
CAIA response to Huffington Post article
Huffington Post
Jennifer Grayson makes wise recommendations in her article ‘5 Farmed Fish That Get The Green Light’. As a representative of Canada’s aquaculture industry, I agree that shellfish don’t get the attention they deserve for being excellent sustainable seafood choices. Few consumers realize the vast majority of mussels and oysters – two species that Canadian growers sell fresh to US markets – are farmed, rather than collected in the wild. Also farmed in Canadian waters, Rainbow Trout (another ‘Green Light’ choice) are delicious, sustainable and available fresh, year-round. Full Article
March 31, 2010
CAIA response to Huffington Post article
Huffington Post
In his photo-essay, ‘9 Surprising Fish Farming Facts’, Travis Walter Donovan (an intern at the Huffington Post) correctly points out that overfishing is steadily depleting the world’s wild fish stocks. With the global population on the rise, and with many wild fisheries in decline, the United Nations predicts a seafood shortage of 40 million tonnes by 2030. Full Article
March 31, 2010
CAIA response to Huffington Post article
'9 Problems Destroying Our Oceans’
In his photo-article, ‘9 Problems Destroying our Oceans’, Huffington Post intern Travis Walter Donovan should be commended for conveying a central – but often overlooked – point: The environmental issues affecting our oceans are numerous and complex. Full Article
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