Wild salmon are deeply connected to the people, wildlife, forests and communities of British Columbia’s coast. In a recent article, Clayoquot Action Executive Director Dan Lewis explains why protecting these vital populations requires removing open-net pen salmon farms from coastal waters. The article outlines concerns about the spread of pathogens, parasites and waste from open-net […]
A new policy paper from the University of Exeter is calling on the United Kingdom to establish a national centre for land-based seafood production—or risk falling behind in the global shift toward modern aquaculture. The proposed centre would bring together research, regulation, workforce training and business development to accelerate investment in recirculating aquaculture systems, known […]
In a recent Business in Vancouver opinion piece, Wild First founder Tony Allard argues that Canada has an opportunity to become a global leader in land-based fish farming while protecting wild Pacific salmon. The article calls on the federal government to honour its commitment to remove open-net pen salmon farms from British Columbia’s coastal waters. […]
Prime Minister Mark Carney reminded us recently that leadership requires facing the world as it is. The world no longer tolerates polluters dumping their untreated waste into the ocean. Canada must do the same and deliver on its commitment to ban open net-pen farming of Atlantic salmon in British Columbia by 2029. Read more: https://nationalnewswatch.com/2026/07/13/carneys-leadership-is-essential-to-deliver-on-canadas-wild-salmon-promise
Watershed Watch’s 2026 Salmon Outlook says this year’s salmon returns are expected to be shaped by difficult freshwater and ocean conditions, including drought, low snowpack, wildfire impacts, warm river temperatures, and shifting marine food webs. The article explains that salmon forecasts are becoming harder to predict as climate change disrupts long-standing environmental patterns. Some indicators, […]
The Times reports on the growing shift toward land-based salmon farming as companies look for ways to meet seafood demand while reducing the environmental impacts linked to open-net pen aquaculture. The article highlights concerns with conventional ocean-based salmon farms, including escapes, pollution, disease, sea lice, fish welfare issues, and the risk of farmed salmon interbreeding […]
Gold River Aquafarms is developing a land-based recirculating aquaculture system facility in Gold River, B.C., designed to produce steelhead salmon without relying on open-net pens in coastal waters. The company says its project will be a 3,000-metric-ton land-based steelhead farm and the largest approved facility of its kind in Canada. Built on the site of […]
The Pacific Salmon Foundation reports that a global coalition of salmon conservation organizations is calling for faster action to restore the rivers, streams, and estuaries wild salmon need to survive. Released ahead of International Wild Salmon Day, the joint statement warns that wild salmon across the Northern Hemisphere are facing severe pressure from habitat degradation, […]
Wild salmon conservation organizations held a news conference in Ottawa calling on the federal government to complete and release its draft Salmon Aquaculture Transition Plan, which would confirm the phase-out of open-net pen salmon farms in B.C. coastal waters by June 30, 2029. Speakers from the Pacific Salmon Foundation, Watershed Watch Salmon Society, the David […]
Fisheries and Oceans Canada is reviewing the Pacific Salmon Allocation Policy, which was first introduced in 1999 to guide how allowable Pacific salmon catch is allocated among First Nations, commercial, and recreational fisheries. DFO says the policy needs to be updated because salmon management has changed significantly since 1999, including new conservation requirements for stocks […]