Open net salmon farm exodus expected in B.C., documents reveal

Internal documents reveal Ottawa is bracing for major industry players to walk as it phases out open-net pens, leaving closed containment ventures scrambling for salmon eggs.

The federal government is preparing for the possible exit of international salmon farm operations on the B.C. coast following the government’s promise last summer to phase out open-net pen farms by 2029.

If big operators like Mowi Canada West, Cermaq and Grieg Seafood leave the province — shuttering broodstock hatcheries in their wake — that could put closed containment salmon farms in a tough position, cut off from their supply of Atlantic salmon eggs, an internal memo obtained by Canada’s National Observer through a federal Access to Information request shows.

The three multinational companies that own the majori