
BC must follow through on open-net pen ban by 2029
Washington State has now banned all commercial fish farms that use open-net pens, making British Columbia the only jurisdiction on the upper West Coast to permit open-net pen salmon farms.
The ban from Washington’s Board of Natural Resources followed an executive order in November 2022, directing the department to make necessary changes to end commercial open-net pen fish farms. Top reasons for the executive order included the threats from escaped salmon, which weaken wild stocks and damaged the ecosystem at large. The ban will not apply to closed, land-based systems. The problem with open-net pens is that they are too exposed, making escape and transmission of parasites from farmed salmon to wild salmon a problem for marine ecosystems.
Alaska, Oregon and California have banned open-net pens – making the entire U.S. West Coast off-limits. In June 2024, Fisheries and Oceans Canada announced that it would not renew licences for open-net pen salmon farms as of June 30, 2029. Over 120 First Nations across BC support the removal of open-net pen salmon farms out of BC waters to protect wild Pacific salmon for future generations.
“I am hopeful that what happened in Washington will set a precedent,” says Stan Proboszcz, Senior Science & Policy Analyst, @Watershed Watch Salmon Society. “We just need to follow through.”