Regulating and Monitoring British Columbia’s Marine Finfish Aquaculture Facilities 2019 Fisheries and Oceans Pêches et Océans Canada Canada 2 Marine Finfish Aquaculture in BC LOCATIONS OF MARINE FINFISH AQUACULTURE SHARE OF FACILITIES PRODUCTION BIOMASS Marine finfish aquaculture facilities are mainly located around northern and western BY SPECIES Vancouver Island. There are clusters of sites in several areas, such as Clayoquot Sound, the Port Hardy area, the Broughton Archipelago, and the Discovery Islands. All marine Atlantic Salmon finfish aquaculture facilities with a valid licence as of December 31, 2019 are shown 96.7% in the map on the following page. Chinook Salmon 2.7% MARINE FINFISH SPECIES CULTIVATED IN BC Sablefish Most marine finfish aquaculture licences are issued for salmon, with Atlantic salmon 0.6% (Salmo salar) and Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) being the most commonly farmed fish in BC. Some other species, such as sablefishAnoplopoma ( fimbria), are also cultivated on a smaller scale. Atlantic salmon is the preferred species for cold water marine finfish cultivation around the world because these fish feed well on pellets, are efficient at converting food to body mass, grow quickly, and are well adapted to the confines of a net pen. HOW FISH FARMING IS REGULATED IN CANADA Fish farming is jointly managed between federal, provincial and territorial governments. How it’s managed varies across provinces and territories. Across Canada, fish farming is managed sustainably under the Fisheries Act. Federal partners work together to make sure fish are healthy and safe to eat. BC PEI Rest of Canada Site Approval Shared Shared Provincial Land Management Provincial Federal Provincial Day-to-day Operations & Oversight Federal Federal Provincial Introductions & Transfers Shared Shared Shared Drugs & Pesticide Approvals Shared Shared Shared Food Safety Federal Federal Federal 3 2019201 Active9 Ma andrin eInactive Finf iMarinesh A Finfishquac uAquaculturelture in SitesBri tinis Britishh Co Columbialumbia Queen 128°W 127°W 126°W 125°W 52°N N ° Charlotte Central Coast N ° 1 2 5 Sound 5 Hope Island Nigei Island Wishart Island W ° 4 2 1 Port Hardy Queen Kingcome Charlotte Holberg Inlet Inlet Strait Broughton Island Quatsino Sound Port McNeill Retreat Passage Km Gilford Island 0 5 10 20 Turnour Island British Columbia Knight Inlet Johnstone Strait N N ° ° 1 0 5 5 Hardwicke Island Bute Inlet Sayward Thurlow Islands Kyuquot Sound V a Sonora Island n Tahsis Discovery Raza Island Passage c Quadra Island Nootka Island o Campbell River Km u 0 200 400 v Muchalat Nootka Sound Inlet e Strait of Georgia r Pacific Powell River Ocean Courtenay Jervis Inlet I N ° N 0 ° Flores Island 5 9 4 s Nelson Island l Clayoquot a Sound Tofino Sechelt Inlet n W d ° Sechelt 3 2 1 Ucluelet Strait of Georgia Alberni Inlet Barkley Nanaimo Sound Bamfield Vancouver W ° 7 2 1 0 20 40 80 Km N ° 1:800,000 9 4 N ° Coordinate System: NAD 1983 BC Environment Albers 8 4 Port Renfrew Produced by DFO Aquaculture Management Division Data: DFO Licensed Facilities as of December 31, 2019. Map Published: June 30, 2020. This map is for information only and is not to be used for navigational purposes. For a current list of licence holders, visit https://www.pac.dfo- mpo.gc.ca/aquaculture/licence-permis/index-eng.html Haro Strait Juan de Legend Fuca Strait Active Licensed Marine Finfish Aquaculture Facilities (83) Inactive Licensed Marine Finfish Aquaculture Facilities (33) 126°W 125°W 124°W 123°W Reporting Requirements Under the Pacific Aquaculture Regulations and the Aquaculture Activities Regulations, licence holders are required to submit reports to Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) that fall into two broad categories: scheduled reports and event-based reports. All reports are reviewed by DFO to validate content, to ensure that they contain all elements required by the licence conditions, and to determine if they were submitted on time. When a report contains only minor administrative omissions or errors and the licence holder corrects these in a timely manner, the reports may be considered complete and on time. 2019 Scheduled Reports Submitted to DFO 5 2 100% 5 2 1 100% 4 90% 16 8 1 4 90% 16 8 80% “Wild fish 80% 70% mortality” 70% 60% in Scheduled 60% 19 Reporting (left) 50% 34 109 19 50% 76 24 43 refers to wild 40%109 34 76 24 43 fish caught when 40% 30% collecting farmed 30% 20% fish mortalities. 20% 10% “Incidental 10% catch” in Event- 0% based Reporting 0% Annual Aquaculture Inventory Mortality by Sea Lice Stock Wild Fish (below) refers to Annual AquacultureStatisticalInventory Report MortalityPlans by CategorySea Lice CountsStock TransfersWild Fish Mortality Statistical Report Plans Category Counts Transfers Mortality wild fish caught On time and complete Late or incomplete during transfer or On time and complete Late or incomplete harvest. 2019 Event-based Reports Submitted to DFO 1 100% 1 100% 5 5 90% 10 14 5 5 90% 17 14 80% 10 17 80% 10 8 70% 10 8 70% 60% 60% 50% 42 46 4 50% 42 4 74 33 40% 46 38 38 74 33 40% 38 30% 38 10 30% 7 20% 10 7 20% 10% 10% 0% 0% Benthic Benthic Containment Escapes Fish Health Incidental Mortality Peak Sea Lice Benthic ReportsBenthic ContainmentSampling ArrayEscapes Plans Fish Health IncidentalEvents MortalityCatch EventsPeak BiomassSea Lice Notifications Reports Sampling Array Plans Events Catch Events Biomass Notifications On time and complete Late or incomplete 5 On time and complete Late or incomplete 6 MONITORING AND AUDITS What Happens During In BC, farm operators must Every 3 months, DFO randomly follow a DFO-approved health selects 25% of active* salmon Facility and management plan (HMP). This farms in BC for audit to verify Fisheries and Oceans plan outlines how the farm will records review Auditors use a checkli a Fish Health Audit?results of industry monitoring and st of 60 items to ensure th Canada (DFO) requires manage biosecurity, water quality, e farm is operating as licensed operators of marine medication treatment and other ensure HMPs are followed. and following its HMP: salmon farms to follow measures to maximize fish welfare. The average DFO requiresstrict operatorsmeasures to of marine salmon farms to follow strict measures to keep fish healthy and conducts Collection and classific ation of deceased fish is routine, randomkeep fish hsiteealt hinspectionsy and to ensureIndustr ycompliance. must monitor the health compliance rate is 98%. frequent conducts routine, of their fish and report their random site *An active farm is one that has had at least 3 full pens In BC, farm operators must follow a DFO-approvedfindings to DFO. Health Management oPlanf fish fo (HMP).r at least 30 Thisdays of plana calendar outlines quarter. how inspections to ensure the farm will manage biosecurity, water quality, medication treatment, and other measures to maximize fish Fish behaviour and h compliance. ealth are monitored health. Industry must monitor the health of their fish and report their findings to DFO. Bio security protocols, such as equipment disinfection, visitor restriction and the use of foot baths, a fo re SAMPLING AND OBSERVATION llowed A team of 2 or 3 DFO biologists spend about 4 hours on each site. Auditors observe fish in each pen, noting any behaviour or signs that might indicate Feed , nutrition and medicatio 1 poor health, such as slow or abnormal swimming or visible abnormalities. n records are complete and up to date They then select up to 10 recently deceased fish (called “silvers”) for sampling. Water quality is monito red routinely and can be TISSUE COLLECTION addressed if needed Tissue samples are taken on site and then sent to a laboratory accredited by the Standards 2 Council of Canada and the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians. Any deficiencies are noted and reviewed with t he farm operator so that improvements can be made. Results a pu re also reported LAB ANALYSIS blicly on DFO’s website. The lab analyzes samples for specific bacteria and viruses, and health conditions of DFO p erforms about 120 fish 3 concern, including infectious salmon anaemia virus (ISA), Infectious Hematopoietic health audits each year. Necrosis virus (IHNv), and heart and skeletal muscle inflammation (HSMI). On average, the indu stry compliance rate is 98% REVIEW AND PUBLISH RESULTS Results are reviewed by DFO veterinarians and reported on DFO’s website at: 4 www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/aquaculture/protect-protege/reduce-disease-reduire-maladie-eng.html Certain serious infectious diseases, such as ISA and IHNv, are listed under the Health of Animals DFO’s regulation and monitoring of aquaculture in BC supports an environmentally Act. If found, they must be reported immediately to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, which ! investigates and develops a plan to prevent the disease from spreading. sustainable industry that helps remove pressure from wild salmon stocks. LEARN MORE AT www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/aquaculture/index-eng.html 7 HOW DFO INSPECTS FISH HEALTH AT BC AQUACULTURE SITES Auditors use a checklist of 60 items to ensure a farm is operating as licensed and following its HMP. Any deficiencies are noted and reviewed with the farm operator so that improvements can be made. Non-compliance with the HMP may result in further investigation and possible charges. FISH BEHAVIOUR AND HEALTH are monitored WATER QUALITY is monitored routinely and can be addressed if needed BIOSECURITY PROTOCOLS such as equipment disinfection, visitor restriction and the use of footbaths, are followed COLLECTION & CLASSIFICATION of deceased fish is frequent and acceptable FEED, NUTRITION & MEDICATION RECORDS are complete and up-to-date Results are reviewed by DFO veterinarians and reported on DFO’s website at: www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/aquaculture/protect-protege/reduce-disease-reduire-maladie-eng.html 8 2019 DFO FISH HEALTH MANAGEMENT PLAN INSPECTIONS This figure summarizes the 33 deficiencies observed during Fish Health Management Plan inspections by DFO in 2019.