As one of the individuals that first identified the sites that Grieg Seafood is applying for as being suitable for aquaculture (shellfish and finfish), I strongly believe that these applications should be approved for the following reasons:
- The sites have favourable biophysical conditions for the production of high quality seafood for which there is a growing demand
- The sites have been identified as appropriate for the production of finfish through a multi-stakeholder process that also involved the participation of First Nations and the Province, leading to the establishment of the North Island Straits Coastal Plan
- The sites are within the undisputed Traditional Territory of the Tlowitsis First Nation, whose leadership is familiar with the B.C. salmon farming industry and who support these applications
- Grieg Seafood is a company known around B.C. and the World as a socially responsible operator with a strong reputation for leadership within the international salmon farming industry
- The salmon farming industry in British Columbia is for many reasons long overdue for an expansion, some of which are; Numerous studies and inquiries have failed to find legitimate reasons for the currently slow pace of approval of new sites; The salmon farming industry in B.C. is governed by a strong regulatory regime that ensures the environmental sustainability of the business of salmon aquaculture; Norway – a country highly regarded for its focus on environmental stewardship and sustainability- has a salmon farming industry that is 15 times the size of that in B.C. and which operates along a coastline similar to that of B.C.; The United States is a fast growing market for fresh, farmed salmon and today much of that product comes from South America and Europe instead of Canada- a fact that has considerable trade and greenhouse gas ramifications
Odd Grydeland
Campbell River