Without massive government subsidies, can the salmon farming industry survive?
Globe and Mail, January 26, 2014
National correspondent Mark Hume explains:
...You ask if the salmon farming industry could survive without massive government subsidies. That’s not clear, but both the BC Salmon Farmers Association (BCFSA) and The Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance argue that they are running viable businesses which rely on government support less than other industry sectors do.
The BCSFA notes that of $250 million in grants and contributions Fisheries and Oceans Canada made to fisheries nationally, only about $555,000 went to projects related to B.C. salmon farms.
“To be clear, BC’s salmon farmers receive no money to assist with their basic operations. All of the funding relating to the BCSFA . . . went toward the development of new technology, improved environmental reporting systems and certification standards,” the BCSFA said in a 2013 statement.
A report by RIAS Inc., done in Feb. 2013 for The Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance, cautions that any examination of government subsidies to industry needs to provide context by comparisons with other industry sectors.
The report goes on to state: “Based on Statistics Canada data, in 2009 the aquaculture industry received less government support per dollar output (0.17%) than the average Canadian industry (0.67%).”
The report also notes 46 government programs provide about $2.8 billion per year in subsidies to the oil and gas industry in Canada’s three major oil producing provinces. And about $6.9 billion in “producer support” is made available to Canada’s agriculture industry.
So while Canada’s aquaculture industry is subsidized heavily, it is not alone.
The government’s goal in providing those subsidies is to make the industry grow and become more competitive globally. Not all Canadians think that would be a good thing, however, and that may be what you are driving at by asking such a provocative question.
