The salmon industry faces international protests and bans – E24

Washington State, located on the West Coast of the United States, is the latest state to ban offshore aquaculture facilities.

Commercial fish farming is harmful to salmon, killer whales and marine habitats. I’m proud to stand with the rest of the West Coast today in saying our waters are too important not to risk the profits of fish farming,” said Hilary Franz of Washington Local Government. The decision was published in November.

She added – By my order to ban commercial open-cage fish farming, we are removing an unnecessary threat from our marine ecosystem.

Other US states that have imposed similar bans include Alaska, California and Oregon.

Atlantic salmon are mainly grown in Norway, Chile, Scotland, Faroe Islands, Ireland, Iceland, Canada, USA, Australia (Tasmania) and New Zealand, where nature and sea temperature are most suitable.

But it does not happen without opposition, and it is not necessarily easy and profitable to take out farming operations, which can be felt when the land rent debate rages on.

Phase-out and litigation in Canada

In 2019, the Liberal Party of Canada, led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, announced a goal for all salmon farms in British Columbia to be caged within five years.

This was considered unrealistic, but was confirmed by the government in late 2020. In December, it was determined that farming licenses around the Discovery Islands in British ColumbiaBritish ColumbiaAn area on the west coast of Canada The phase-out was scheduled for June 30, 2022. The background was consideration for the local Indigenous population and the sharp decline in wild salmon populations.

The Norwegian salmon giants with operations in the area, Maui, Greg and Cermak, claimed this came as a “shock” and went to court to stop the phase-out.

The decision ended up being illegal due to the process behind it, and the companies’ licenses have so far been renewed for a period of two years in what is called transition plan. In the period up to 2025, the goal is to find a “responsible plan for the transition from open-cage salmon”.

Argentine ban in 2021

Last year, Argentina sat in practice Complete cessation of salmon farming In the country, when cultivation in open cages was banned in the southern coastal region of the province of Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and the islands of the South Atlantic Ocean.

In the background was the danger to the environment, but also to the economy in the region, which is characterized by tourism.

– Maria Laura Collazo (The Greens) said in the Provincial Legislature that it is a historic day that we now refuse to farm salmon on a large scale.

– We protect our environment, our resources and above all we preserve this pristine area, which is the main attraction seen by thousands of tourists.

In the years before the ban, among other things, Innovation Norway participated to look at the possibilities of the Norwegian agricultural industry in the country.

protest actions

Negative experiences from agricultural operations in Chile were part of the background to the ban in Argentina. Salmon farming in Chile has been plagued by disease and flight, according to IntraFish Antibiotic use in the sky Regarding Norwegian agriculture. Norwegian Moy are among the breeders in Chile.

Last November, protests were held in Chile to end the salmon industry in Patagonia, in the south of the country.

It was also in October Protest action outside the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, and in Aug Conservationists protested in Tasmania in Australia.

Things are not going smoothly in New Zealand either. Recently, it became apparent that a senior breeder had to move the facilities out to sea, after the sea became too hot near land.

The offshore cultivation permit is the first of its kind in the country, but it was so in December challenged by an Australian environmental think tankFor rare dolphins and the local ecosystem.

– Long way to go in Norway

Here at home, the resistance is mainly driven by environmentalists and wild salmon protectors. Last year wild salmon populations were officially classified as endangered, and escaped farmed salmon and salmon lice are among the biggest threats.

Nature and Youth launched in November a Salmon County With Socialist Youth, AUF, Grønn ungdom, Rød ungdom and Oppstrøms.

The Nature Conservancy is working to ban open-air cultivation. Greenpeace also opposes open farming.

– We still believe that Norwegian salmon farming has a long way to go. What industry is doing in Norway today can never be described as sustainable, Halvard Ravand of Greenpeace Norway tells E24.

– The first thing to do is to suspend all new licenses until the problems they are facing are overcome. Both lice and escape feeders grow in the straits.

First of all, he does not argue for a blanket ban.

– The way forward is closed cages. In the first case, licenses for new open cages could be prohibited, but eventually the current breeding must be required to be moved to closed facilities.

– Agriculture is an important industry for the coast, but the most important thing for preserving the coast is sustainable coastal industries, which are not agriculture as they are now.

The Millennium Development Goals last year proposed phasing out all open breeding facilities by 2025, but the proposal was butchered by major parties.

Nor does the government’s aquaculture strategy from last year impose any requirements for closed facilities, although the government has an explicit desire for more closed farming.

The farming industry is also working to reduce environmental problems and lice, which sometimes significantly exceed profitability.

Some are also trying to farm wild salmon, but no one has yet succeeded in large-scale profitable production on land.