Evidence of meeting #30 for Fisheries and Oceans in the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was need.
A video is available from Parliament.
4:25 p.m.
Conservative
Mel Arnold Conservative North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC
If you could send us those, we'd certainly be happy to include them.
4:30 p.m.
Research Scientist (Retired), As an Individual
I will, if someone reminds me.
4:30 p.m.
Conservative
Mel Arnold Conservative North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC
Okay, thank you.
Mr. Johnson, can I go to you?
The federal government has announced resources for the sustainable aquaculture program, but it's unclear which direction the transition of the program is actually meant to drive. Has your organization been granted any funding under the sustainable aquaculture program?
4:30 p.m.
President, Nuu-chah-nulth Seafood Limited Partnership
Not that I know of, to date.
4:30 p.m.
Conservative
Mel Arnold Conservative North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC
Thank you.
Does your organization see a path towards land-based, partial land-based or closed-containment systems for salmon farming?
4:30 p.m.
President, Nuu-chah-nulth Seafood Limited Partnership
I see maybe closed-containment systems. On land-based systems, I don't see any example anywhere in the world where those are working yet.
4:30 p.m.
Conservative
Mel Arnold Conservative North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC
Okay, thank you.
Are you working with any partners towards that at this point or doing any research or studies into it?
4:30 p.m.
President, Nuu-chah-nulth Seafood Limited Partnership
We are working with a company, and yes, they are looking at new technologies and those kinds of things. Our main focus right now is on kelp and on trying to get the province to turn applications around faster.
4:30 p.m.
Conservative
Mel Arnold Conservative North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC
Okay, thank you.
I think I have time for a question for Ms. Schmitt.
Carol, we've met. I've toured your facility. You do some incredible work there. We've seen in so many species that whether it's mountain caribou, salmon, deer, or other species, the first year of survival is so important. Why do you think that is so important with the S1s that you have been raising and doing the work on?
4:30 p.m.
President, Omega Pacific Hatchery Inc.
An S1 is very different from an S0. They are much more physiologically developed, mentally developed and immune-developed. That is why S1s migrate very quickly in the early spring, whereas S0s take a lot of time and use the estuaries. In the farming industry, we found that as soon as we entered S1s, there were absolutely no issues as long as they had been raised properly.
I think it's an extremely effective tool, and the government needs to expand on it. They've had problems raising them, but we're specifically set up. We can do 10 groups of 50,000 a year. We could rebuild to over 1,500 to 2,000 fish in each stream and start that, whereas most of them are still within just a few hundred fish after all the years of S0 releases.
That's my answer.
4:30 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ken McDonald
Thank you, Mr. Arnold.
We'll now go to Mr. Morrissey for five minutes or less, please.
4:30 p.m.
Liberal
Bobby Morrissey Liberal Egmont, PE
Thank you, Chair. My question is to Mr. Beamish.
Do you think that Canada can deal with the west coast Pacific salmon decline issue on its own?
4:30 p.m.
Liberal
Bobby Morrissey Liberal Egmont, PE
I'm asking because you made reference that today it's 7% of the 1970 stocks and that there's a 73% decline in Japan and a 33% decline in Russia.
4:30 p.m.
Research Scientist (Retired), As an Individual
I think the answer might be yes, but it's going to be a lot longer. There's no question that we could work as an international team if Canada and other countries that produce salmon could find a way of getting scientists to work together. I know the various scientists in the various countries, and the fastest way to expedite our understanding of the future of Pacific salmon in all countries is to work together as an international team.
4:30 p.m.
Liberal
Bobby Morrissey Liberal Egmont, PE
You would recommend to this committee that we strongly advocate in favour of international co-operation on dealing with this issue, which has been ongoing for years now.
4:30 p.m.
Research Scientist (Retired), As an Individual
Absolutely. If you look at our history, you see that we go back to the seventies, as you pointed out. We started the salmon enhancement program with a commercial catch in Canada of 70,000 metric tonnes. We told Treasury Board there would be 120,000 to 140,000 metric tonnes by 2005. Instead of 120,000 to 140,000 metric tonnes, it's 7,000, so we didn't get there.
The point is that you have to begin to think differently. The best way is to use what exists in the Pacific. We have the scientists. We have the technologies.
May 10th, 2021 / 4:35 p.m.
Liberal
Bobby Morrissey Liberal Egmont, PE
Thank you.
Chair, my next question is to Mr. Johnson.
Mr. Johnson, I believe you may be one of the only witnesses who have appeared before this committee.... I'm not sure if you were advocating for open-pen fish farming, but you were certainly not critical of it. You referenced in your comments a fear in B.C. Could you elaborate on what your thought was behind that?
You were referencing open-pen fish farms and a fear, and if we could get beyond the “fear in B.C.”
4:35 p.m.
President, Nuu-chah-nulth Seafood Limited Partnership
It's the fear of the unknown. A lot of people never had their own opinion about it—like me, for example. I heard what others were saying. I heard what my chief and councillors were saying. I think there's a lot of this information going around that's not the right information.
My sense about it is that there's a lot of fear in B.C., because there's not a lot of certainty. There are very few modern-day treaties, so if we could get the right information out there, I think the outcome would be different.
I still think there's a lot of fear of the unknown. It took me several years to go through and identify the questions and get the answers.
That's my answer.
4:35 p.m.
Liberal
Bobby Morrissey Liberal Egmont, PE
Could you just explain a bit to the committee and describe the type of open-pen fish farming that your first nation is involved in? Obviously, you wouldn't be involved in it if you felt it was having a negative impact on the ecosystem and the natural salmon. Would I be correct in assuming that?
4:35 p.m.
President, Nuu-chah-nulth Seafood Limited Partnership
My nation is not involved in it, but one of my shareholding nations is doing sablefish. Two of our nations are doing kelp aquaculture, and four of the five are doing shellfish aquaculture.
4:35 p.m.
President, Nuu-chah-nulth Seafood Limited Partnership
No, but I believe the information that we have is that there are nations looking at it. No one has gone that far yet.