Canada’s aquaculture industry is pushing back against a recent Liberal campaign promise to phase out open-pen salmon fishing in B.C. by 2025.
That includes the Liberal candidate in New Brunswick Southwest, Karen Ludwig.
Ludwig says she will continue to stand with the aquaculture industry, even if it means going against her own party.
“Like any industry in New Brunswick we have to make sure that it’s going in the right direction and these are jobs for sure. If there’s one area I’ve spoken about frequently in Parliament it has been fisheries and aquaculture and international trade,” she said.
The policy will move the salmon farms toward a closed container system—either land-based and in tanks, or in the water, so long as the pens are walled off or separated from the ocean.
The policy’s goal is to lower water pollution and the level of chemicals used to raise the fish, as well as reduce escapes.
Ludwig says the transition “isn’t realistic,” especially out east. She hopes the federal government can find a balance between industry and environmental concerns.
“Part of moving industry in any direction is looking at the science, looking at the research, looking at innovation. I know that the aquaculture industry works very closely with environmentalists, and that’s all part of how we move sectors forward and we make changes,” she said.
She says putting restrictions on aquaculture could have an impact on the future of the industry across the country.
“The industry itself, it has really come a long way over 30 years. They are always continuing to look at science, and look at the research. When we look to the future, we do have to get this right. This is thousands of jobs in rural and coastal communities,” she said.
After speaking with government officials, Ludwig says New Brunswickers can be assured the same policy won’t be made out east, but she’s still concerned about the precedent it will set.
“Looking at New Brunswick South West, where the bulk of the aquaculture is in New Brunswick on the salmon side, we’re in good shape here,” she said.
