Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you very much for the opportunity to be here this morning. We really appreciate it.
As Rodney said, the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance is a national organization. We represent the majority of finfish and shellfish suppliers, processors, and feed companies across Canada. It's a great pleasure to be here today.
We know that your focus is on the B.C. issues, and we'll certainly be addressing that this morning. But I want to take a step back and take a bit of a broader look at aquaculture, because I think that is really important to set our discussion in context.
My presentation is probably a little more than ten minutes, so I'll try to hit the highlights.
The global demand for finfish and shellfish is growing by 7% to 9% per year, yet the traditional capture fisheries meet less than half the current demand for seafood. According to the UN, global demand for fish is going to reach 150 million to 160 million tonnes by 2030, approximately 40 million tonnes more than the current supply. The capture fisheries can only provide 80 million to 100 million tonnes of that on a sustainable basis. So without aquaculture, a global shortfall of approximately 50 million to 80 million tonnes of fish and seafood is projected.
I think that's important to think about, because Canada is uniquely positioned to capitalize on this increasing demand by growing its aquaculture industry in a sustainable way that will benefit hundreds of coastal, rural, and aboriginal communities.
According to the Earth Policy Institute, the global wild fish catch peaked in the year 2000 at 96 million tonnes and has been falling ever since. The graph in our document illustrates how output from the world's wild fisheries is in decline, while aquaculture is taking up the shortfall.
Now that we've looked at the global picture, I want to spend a minute talking about Canada's aquaculture industry. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans did a socio-economic study on the industry this past spring to show that we generate $2.1 billion for our national economy, employ 15,000 people in all ten provinces and the Yukon, and account for one-third of the total value of Canada's fisheries production. Because of that, we've really become a significant economic driver for Canada.
Our operations have brought hope to a number of coastal, rural, and aboriginal communities, such as the Kitasoo and Ahousaht first nations. Many of these communities, as you know, face huge economic challenges because of the decline in the forestry and the wild fishery, so aquaculture has been a real boon to those communities.
The interesting thing about this report is that it goes on to talk about aquaculture as being important all across Canada. Aquaculture in one province triggers economic activity in every other province, providing opportunities for all Canadians. For example, the report showed that B.C. triggers an economic value of $1.2 billion across the rest of Canada, and New Brunswick triggers approximately $590 million in the rest of Canada. So we're connected. Wherever operations exist, they have impact across the country.
Even given all of this great news, we're only representing a modest 0.2% of the global production, so Canada is really a very small player in the global scene, despite having all of the preconditions for success. I probably don't need to tell you this, since this is your expertise, but we have the world's longest coastline, the largest tidal range, and the largest freshwater system; the aquaculture industry has skilled managers and employees; we have excellent proximity to markets, which puts us in an enviable position—the U.S. is one of the major seafood markets. And if you talk to your colleagues in Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, they'll tell you that we have an excellent reputation for quality, availability, and safety of our products. So we have an excellent reputation internationally.
Aquaculture practices in Canada, while they're under great scrutiny, are equal to or surpass any in the world when it comes to sustainability. We have skilled scientists; we have access to world-class research facilities. I know that Trevor Swerdfager was talking to you on Tuesday about DFO's increased commitment to research and their increased funding of scientists. This is what has made, and is going to make, this industry even stronger.
So the demand is there; the conditions for sustainable expansion and growth are there. We could be a world leader and we could be a much more significant economic driver for Canada than we are today.
We have a very diverse industry in Canada that we're proud of. You all know that farmed salmon is our number one species in terms of volume--66.7% of all the aquaculture production in Canada is farmed salmon--but that's followed by mussels, oysters, and trout. We also produce Arctic char, sablefish, scallops, and clams. Cod and halibut and other species are in more of the developmental phase.
A chart in the document that we've left for you shows what we produce in every province, so you can look at the province that you represent and see what farmed seafood comes from that province.
So how are we going to move forward and take advantage of our potential? I truly believe, and my association does as well, that the most critical need that our industry has right now is the need for federal legislation for aquaculture. The need for a federal aquaculture act has probably become more apparent in the last year than ever before, and this is because DFO is working on developing regulations under the Fisheries Act in British Columbia. They're doing a great job, but they're working under a fisheries act that was not meant for aquaculture: it's meant for wildlife management. It isn't referencing food production or farming, and that's what this industry is all about.
We are no longer an R and D project. We are a significant food production sector, and we need to be recognized as that. Our normal farm practices, our husbandry practices, need to be recognized. We need to be provided with legislative certainty, which is then going to bring increased investment and jobs.
An aquaculture act would provide the legislative certainty that we need to move forward. All the other countries with successful aquaculture industries--Chile, Norway, Scotland, Tasmania, Ireland--have legislation that supports or enables aquaculture. Even the U.S. has a National Aquaculture Act to encourage the development of aquaculture in the United States.
But legislation wouldn't be a free ride. It would outline our roles, our rights, our responsibilities, and it would be developed by stakeholders in partnership with government.
How do we reach our potential? For Canada to be a global leader--and I really believe we could be--the way forward is very clear: we need a federal aquaculture act that enables Canada's industry, builds on the upcoming common-sense regulatory changes that are happening in British Columbia, gives certainty to our industry, and enables producers to create jobs and attract investment.
After that little bit of discussion on aquaculture, let's talk about the B.C. story.
I think we need to start looking at the whole salmon farming controversy. Current public attitudes towards aquaculture in British Columbia have been influenced by exposure to a decade of information designed to maintain controversy about the environmental impacts of salmon farming. It has been designed to maintain controversy. Over the past decade improved technologies in farming practices have largely mitigated any real environmental concerns associated with salmon farming. This industry is on a road of continual improvement, but that isn't recognized. The information campaigns by environmental groups continue to promote outdated messages.
Let's just take sea lice, for example, as I know that's one of the issues that you were looking at in British Columbia. The current reality--not what you read in the media--is that sea lice management on B.C. farmed salmon demonstrates tight year-round control on sea lice levels, with even greater vigilance during the spring months when juvenile wild salmon may be at risk. Testing has shown that sea lice levels on both wild and farmed salmon in British Columbia have been declining over the past five years. Extensive research, monitoring, and reporting continue to ensure that sea lice from salmon farms are not posing a threat to wild stocks.
Sea lice are a naturally occurring organism in the Pacific Ocean. They reside on salmon, herring, stickleback, and other marine fish. To minimize opportunities for lice from farmed salmon to transfer to wild salmon, lice levels at B.C. salmon farms are regulated and monitored on an ongoing basis.
We monitor monthly, and in the spring months when the juvenile salmon could be travelling past farms, we increase that level of scrutiny to every two weeks.
Once sea lice levels reach the very low level of three lice per fish, the site must be treated with a veterinary-prescribed medicine to eliminate the parasite. This management technique has proven to be extremely effective for controlling sea lice on farmed fish.
Most importantly, in addition to the monitoring and the regulatory control, industry is working together to responsibly manage production areas between companies. So there is cooperation and collaboration.
I want to talk a little bit about the pink salmon return, because I know that's another issue you're looking at.
Activists predicted that salmon farms would decimate wild pink salmon populations in British Columbia, using predictive mathematical models as they did with their sea lice research. Similar models were also used to predict increases in cod populations in the 1980s on the east coast and were woefully inaccurate. Yet the highest returns of wild pink salmon ever recorded in the Broughton Archipelago, which is the area of most concern and focus in British Columbia, occurred in 2000 and 2001, more than a decade after the start of salmon farming in that area.
Activists attribute the relative population declines in 2002 and 2003 to salmon farms; however, two separate papers by distinguished researchers explain that following periods of abundance, pink salmon populations typically fall to low levels, and in most cases the populations then gradually increase to begin the cycle again.
So the predicted decimation of wild pink salmon due to sea lice from salmon farms simply has not occurred.
Then, when we look at the Fraser River sockeye, the low return of Fraser River sockeye in 2009 generated concern among all stakeholders, a concern that has only been eased by the century-high return in 2010. The challenges faced by the Fraser River sockeye parallel Pacific salmon returns along the entire west coast of North America.
B.C. salmon farmers share the concern for the survival of wild Pacific salmon, but disagree with those who conclude that salmon farming is responsible for these declines. The high and low returns of 2010 and 2009, during which time salmon farming practices remained relatively consistent, reveal that there is much more that needs to be considered when discussing wild salmon survival. Blaming salmon farming operations for declining wild stocks may be convenient, but it is irresponsible. There are many other opportunities and issues that need to be addressed; I'm sure this will come forward in the Cohen inquiry.
When sockeye pass salmon farms, more than ten years of reports from fisheries regulators inform us that they are not being exposed to any exotic diseases or masses of unhealthy fish. B.C.'s farmed salmon are very healthy. Vaccinations and good husbandry have led to this, and in fact, on average, a 95% survival rate on farms is what we're seeing. Farmed fish are monitored constantly and routinely tested. B.C.'s fish health records are excellent, and the industry is being responsible.
More studies are needed to define factors that are affecting wild salmon populations along the entire Pacific coast of North America. B.C. salmon farmers are participating and will continue to participate in these ongoing research efforts.
The last topic I want to raise with you, because I know it's another one that you're interested in, is closed containment. I'll say a couple of words and I know that Clare would like to add some of his comments here as well.
Salmon farmers are committed to growing healthy, sustainable protein, as are other farmers. Our industry is looking for ways to improve, and investigating closed containment is part of that search. Salmon spend a third of their lives in recirculation systems on land, so our growers are already very knowledgeable about closed containment systems.
A 2008 study done by DFO did a review of 40 closed containment projects from around the world, and no viable system was found to be producing exclusively Atlantic salmon from egg to plate. Problems were related to mechanical issues, poor fish health, management, and financing. There are some small-scale closed containment projects that have produced specialty products. However, estimates suggest that moving the existing B.C. net-pen industry onto land would appear to require a large coastal land area equivalent to about 750 football fields. The cost would be prohibitive.
The carbon footprint of on-land projects also appears to regress sustainability, since facilities would run on diesel generators or have to be moved close to urban centres to access power. I think this is a really important point, because our industry is focused on social, economic, and environmental sustainability, and if we move the industry onto land, we no longer have coastal employment, which in those areas is much needed and is critical for Canada's future. The social sustainability of our industry would basically be gone.
Also, fish would live in more confined spaces and, due to the constant water circulation that's required, would not be able to rest as they do in the ocean environment. The peer-reviewed science study from DFO identified that fish health would be compromised in land-based systems, further reducing profitability. Even so, the challenges of raising salmon in B.C.'s marine environment have led several operators to investigate closed systems that would offer protection from this risk. This research continues to this present day, with one major B.C. producer exploring the feasibility of growing salmon to market size in closed tanks with recirculating water systems.
Canada's aquaculture industry has always adapted to new technology and will continue to adopt best practices to grow healthy protein as sustainably as possible. However, we believe we have demonstrated that we can grow Atlantic salmon in their natural environment with minimal impact on wild stocks or habitat.
Clare, did you have a couple of comments?
