April 24, 2015
And farmed salmon has been the biggest agricultural export product from the province for the last five years in a row.
Odd Grydeland, FishfarmingXpert, April 24, 2014
The information was provided by Jeremy Dunn, Executive Director of the BC Salmon Farmers Association, during a lunch put on by the Campbell River Chamber of Commerce yesterday.
Besides Association staff and Chamber members, the sold-out event drew participation from the business community, politicians, educational and research facilities and the aquaculture industry. Mr Dunn provided the main presentation, highlighting some facts and figures;
- BC is Canada’s third largest exporter of seafood, worth CAD$ 903.7 million (~€628 million) per year
- Of the over one hundred livestock species exported from BC, Atlantic salmon represents about 60% of this total, and 70% of this export goes to the US
- The salmon farming industry in BC generates CAD$ 1.1 billion (~€765 million) in economic activity each year, with a production of about 75,000 tonnes (~60% of Canada’s total production)
- 40% of this economic activity takes place on the north end of Vancouver Island (Campbell River and north)
- 35% takes place in Vancouver and on the BC mainland just north of the city
- The wages paid to fish farm workers is 30% higher than the average salary for employees in BC.
- The 120 salmon farm sites - of which between 64 and 75 are active at any given time - cover a total of less than 0.05% of the BC coastline (about 4,000 ha).
- The salmon farming companies in BC have signed 19 agreements with various First Nations along the coast, and 30% of the farm workers in the three largest salmon farming companies come from First Nation communities.
- The industry provides about CAD$600,000 (~€417,000) for community-based charities each year, including 15,000 lbs (~6,800 kg) of fresh farmed salmon for special events
Mr Dunn pointed out that, if the industry was allowed to grow by 2 or 3 new farms each year, BC salmon farmers could have a CAD$3 billion (~€2.1 billion) industry in ten years time, employing twice as many people. He said that some announcement regarding this would be expected within 6-8 months.
