Due to economic uncertainty coming from south of the border and a looming ban on open-net salmon farming in the province, international Atlantic salmon farmer Grieg Seafood is halting investments in B.C.

This drop in capital expenditure comes after the international salmon farmer lost about $222 million in 2024 because of political uncertainty in Canada over the industry, according to the company's Q4 report for 2024. 

"We will be focusing our efforts on sustainable and profitable growth in our Norwegian operations while protecting the value of our Canadian assets," says Grieg Seafood chief executive officer Andreas Kvame in a fourth-quarter report released on Feb. 20.

Kvame said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's resignation, alongside Donald Trump's election win, political uncertainty continues in Canada. The federal government also announced the ban on open net-pen salmon aquaculture, with a deadline set for 2029. The draft plan outlines a framework for developing the final transition plan, which is expected in 2025, he said. 

"Due to the prolonged uncertainty in British Columbia, with highly uncertain and lacking regulatory conditions, there has been an impairment of the seawater licenses and goodwill," said Kvame. 

The report states that the company, which operates facilities in Norway, British Columbia, and Newfoundland and Labrador, still intends to optimize its operations in B.C. in light of the current circumstances. The report also says it has a target to harvest 12,000 tonnes of farm-raised salmon in B.C. in 2025, which is the amount it harvested in 2024. 

In November, the company released its international third-quarter result, indicating that B.C. was its lowest-performing region worldwide. This was largely due to a large algae bloom earlier in 2024, which affected growth and farmed salmon survival rates.

A company spokesperson was not immediately available for comment. 

The BC Salmon Farmers Association has been sounding the alarm about the dire economic consequences the upcoming ban on commercial fish farms that use an open-net system will have on the North Island, set to take effect in 2029. 

At a recent committee meeting in February in Campbell River, the association's executive director, Brian Kingzett, said as a result the ban, the salmon farming sector will likely leave Vancouver Island because of the investment uncertainty triggered by the ban.

According to the association's new economic impact report, the federal government's proposed draft transition plan would led to $9 billion in unnecessary costs to Canadian taxpayers. Some highlights of the report include annual losses of $1.17 billion in economic activity, $133.6 million of losses per year to First Nations communities, the loss of 4,560 well-paid, full-time jobs across Canada, and the elimination of 50,000 tonnes of farm-raised salmon.