Canadian Aquaculture Species

Canadian aquaculture production in 2006 was dominated by four main categories by volume: salmon 66.7%; mussels 15.8%; oysters 8.7%; trout 3.4%. Other commercial species include: Manila clams, Soft shell clams, Arctic char, Tilapia, Atlantic cod, Sablefish, Geoducks, Atlantic halibut, Quahogs, White Sturgeon and Scallops. Emerging aquaculture species include: Spotted wolffish, American eels, Abalone, Sea cucumbers, Sea urchins, Cockles and Marine plants.

More than 85% of Canadian aquaculture production is exported – the largest export market is the United States.

Major Finfish Species

Salmon
Farmed salmon is by far the most important finfish species grown by Canadian aquaculturists. With a production volume of 118,058 tonnes and a value of $748 million, farmed salmon accounted for ~85% of both the volume and value of finfish produced by Canada’s aquaculture industry in 2006.

Canada accounts for 8.2% of global farmed salmon production – and ranks 4th behind Norway, the UK and Chile as a producer of farmed salmon.

British Columbia and New Brunswick are the predominant producers of Canadian farmed salmon. In 2005, British Columbia accounted for 59% of Canada’s total farmed salmon production – while New Brunswick accounted for 36%. Farmed salmon is British Columbia’s largest agricultural export product - and the largest crop in the New Brunswick agri-food sector.

The United States is Canada’s major export market for farmed salmon - accounting for 93% of Canada’s farmed salmon exports in 2006.  In 2006, the US imported 78,733 tonnes of Canadian farmed salmon worth $505 million.

Major Shellfish Species

Canada’s total shellfish production in 2006 was 38,676 tonnes with a value of $71 million. By volume, mussels and oysters are the primary shellfish species cultured in Canada: in 2006, mussels accounted for 62% of the total national shellfish production while oysters accounted for an additional 32%. Canada ranks 12th globally in the production of both mussels and oysters.

The United States is Canada’s major export market for farmed shellfish. In fact, Canada is the largest supplier of shellfish to the United States.

Mussels
In 2006, Canadian farmed mussel production was 23,822 tonnes valued at over $33 million. Eastern Canada produced 99% of Canada’s total production in 2006. Prince Edward Island is the major mussel producing province – followed by Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Quebec and New Brunswick.

Eastern Canadian mussels are  primarily marketed in the northeastern US and the Canadian fresh, live market – these markets consume 97% of the Canadian mussel harvest.  In 2006, the value of the Canadian mussel exports to the United States was $23 million.

Oysters
In 2006, Canadian farmed oyster production was 12,488 tonnes valued at $18.5 million. Oyster production is distinctly divided between two Canadian regions: in 2006, 60% of the volume of Canada’s oysters were produced in British Columbia; the remainder were produced in Atlantic Canada.

The majority of BC oyster exports go to the United States.

Clams
British Columbia is Canada’s largest producer of farmed clams – in 2006, it produced 1,600 tonnes of farmed clams valued at $8.3 million

Canada is the largest supplier of clam products to the United States.

Scallops
Canadian production of farmed scallops occurs in British Columbia, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Quebec. In 2006, Canada produced 58 tonnes of scallops with a value of $0.5 million. British Columbia accounted for 76% of this volume.

Aquaculture Species By Province