Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good morning, everyone. On behalf of Canada's aquaculture farmers, thank you for inviting me to speak with you today.
These are indeed exciting times to be in the aquaculture industry in Canada. Demand is booming and we are excited by the new trade opportunities the trans-Pacific partnership presents. Few jurisdictions can match Canada's natural advantages when it comes to aquaculture—an enormous coastal geography, an abundance of cold, clean water, a favourable climate, a rich marine and fishery tradition, established trade partners, and a commitment to sustainable and responsible best practices.
The Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance represents over 95% of the aquaculture industry in Canada. We are farmers operating in all 10 provinces and Yukon. Our industry generates $3.1 billion in economic activity and over $1.2 billion in GDP. It employs more than 15,000 Canadians in rural, coastal, and first nation communities from coast to coast to coast. The Canadian farmed seafood industry is very much export-oriented, with approximately 65% of our production exported to over 22 countries around the world. Approximately 95% of our exports are destined for the United States, with most of our remaining exports going to Asia.
The global demand for seafood has doubled in the past five decades. To meet this demand, aquaculture has become the world's fastest growing food production sector. It currently contributes more than 50% of the total global fish and seafood production, with the per capita supply from aquaculture increasing at an average annual rate of 6.6%. However, despite growing worldwide demand and Canada's many natural competitive advantages, Canada's annual farmed seafood production has trended downwards for over a decade. In fact, Canada's share of the world's farmed fish market has fallen by 47% since 2002. Canada now accounts for only 0.2% of global aquaculture production. This stagnation has taken place while other producers in Norway, Scotland, and Chile have raced ahead. The principal challenge confronting Canada's aquaculture sector lies in the complicated overlapping laws and regulations that restrict growth and limit investment.
We thank the current government for its commitment to sustainable and responsible growth, and welcome the opportunity to work with all parliamentarians as well as the federal and provincial governments on a modern legislative and regulatory framework for our sector, including a new national aquaculture act. We believe an act with the right legal governance and policy framework will allow our industry to grow in a responsible and sustainable manner, adding an additional 17,000 jobs and over $3 billion in additional economic activity in Canada by 2024, but access to new markets will be critical. A successfully implemented TPP agreement would give Canadian aquaculture businesses greater access to some of the most dynamic markets in the world.
To illustrate the growing importance of Asian markets to our industry, our members are experiencing export gains even without full implementation of the TPP. In 2015 farmed seafood exports to China were over 600% higher than all of 2014. Indonesia was up 105%. Hong Kong and Taiwan were up 50% and 79% respectively. Yet in markets like Japan, Malaysia, and Vietnam, Canadian farmed seafood exports face high tariffs that put our farmers at a severe disadvantage. The TPP presents a good opportunity to reduce those trade barriers and open up a vast 11-nation market of over 800 million consumers. In addition, the TPP will also address many non-tariff barriers to trade. This is welcome news for our farmed seafood suppliers.
In summary, the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance supports and applauds the federal government for its work to implement the TPP. However, our industry requires increased growth and competitiveness to take significant advantage of any new free trade agreement. Aquaculture in Canada offers tremendous opportunities. Working together, we can renew a vibrant aquaculture industry in Canada and unlock the full range of economic, environmental, and public health benefits that flow from a competitive, sustainable, and growing farmed seafood sector
The combination of responsible growth for aquaculture in Canada together with improved market access through the implementation of the TPP will improve industry competitiveness for our sector, ultimately leading to the building of stronger local economies in Canada.
Thank you.