CWF Applauds BC Supreme Court Ruling

Canadian Wildlife Federation
February 24th, 2009

The Canadian Wildlife Federation applauds the recent ruling by the B.C Supreme Court that fish farms be regulated by the federal government.

Thanks to this ruling, fish inside the farm are now considered a fishery, not agriculture. Therefore the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) now has the legal responsibility to regulate salmon farms.

The provincial management of salmon farms has been responsible for the location of the farms, which are often placed on wild salmon migration routes. Interactions between escaped farmed fish and wild salmon have neither been completely characterized nor have the cumulative impacts of aquaculture been identified. However, it has negatively impacted the environment, leading to pollution, disease, and habitat loss.