July 13, 2010 by Megan Adams

As of December 2010, salmon feedlots in BC will be entirely under DFO's jurisdiction (with the exception of foreshore lease applications). The new Pacific Aquaculture Regulations DFO are proposing have just been posted to the Canadian Gazette website for a 60-day public review period.

Unfortunately, each licence under this new regime will vary site to site and the diseases they have to report and the amount of wild fish they can catch in their pens will vary.  This is disturbing. We hope may of you will take the opportunity to comment that salmon feedlots in the ocean need to report all their disease outbreaks and that this information be accessible to the public.

The contact for comments to the regulations is Ed Porter, PAR-RPA@dfo-mpo.gc.ca.

We can only hope for improvements to the unaccoutnability we have witnessed in the Province's management of salmon feedlots.