Leaders of Vancouver IslandB次元官网网址檚 aquaculture industry spoke about the potential of B.C.B次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址渂lue economyB次元官网网址� and the future of sustainable uses of ocean resources and maritime assets at the State of the Island Economic Summit.
On Wednesday, Oct. 25, at NanaimoB次元官网网址檚 Vancouver Island Conference Centre, a panel of experts from ocean-related industries discussed B.C.B次元官网网址檚 ocean economy, which is expected to be a $3-trillion industry worldwide by 2030, according to the U.K. government.
The panel spoke about two specific marine industries on the Island: salmon farming, which is B.C.B次元官网网址檚 biggest agricultural export, and seaweed harvesting, an up-and-coming industry that is expected to leverage current assets of other marine sectors to produce revenue during down seasons.
Brian Kingzett, executive director of the B.C. Salmon Farmers Association, said the salmon farming industry is B次元官网网址減robably the most misunderstood, misrepresented and political in the ocean sector right now,B次元官网网址� after 15 farms werenB次元官网网址檛 allowed to renew their licences.
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Despite the fallbacks, he said he continues to advocate for the industry and collaborate with multiple companies and organizations to make the industry more sustainable. He also praised ongoing innovation in the sector, mentioning new hybrid-powered vessels and an upcoming AI-powered camera that can identify individual fish by the spots on their side and can detect health issues and parasites on the farmed fish to further protect wild fish.
Kingzett spoke about the importance of collaborating with other organizations and governments to further expand the industry, especially with Scandinavian countries like Norway, which he said has more than 1,000 salmon farms and is one of the leaders in new technological advancements in the industry.
In addition to working with foreign entities, he stressed the importance of working with Indigenous groups on the Island. He mentioned visiting Kitasoo XaiB次元官网网址檟ais First Nation in the 1980s before salmon farming completely turned around the unemployment rate, and said one in two households are now involved in the sector.
B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 a knowledge that Indigenous communities bring, just from being on the ocean and around the ocean in this sector, and thatB次元官网网址檚 an important thing to consider in any phase in these development paths we take,B次元官网网址� said Jason Goldsworthy, executive director of the Centre for Ocean Applied Sustainable Technologies.
Mark Smith, CEO of the Pacific Seaweed Association, talked about how his sector B次元官网网址減lays wellB次元官网网址� with fish farmers and shellfish harvesters as an B次元官网网址渁ncillary add-on productB次元官网网址� and additional revenue source.
B次元官网网址淲e are the largest coastline globally, [and] just on Vancouver Island alone, studies show over 600 different varieties of seaweed B次元官网网址� three are currently being leveraged as commercial opportunities,B次元官网网址� he said.
Smith said his association believes seaweed could provide up to $1 billion of net new GDP to the provincial economy, not just as a lone export, but in collaboration with other aquaculture industries and B次元官网网址渓everaging assetsB次元官网网址� already in use by those industries.
As an example, he mentioned an organization in Maine that helps the sometimes struggling lobster fishing industry by helping fishermen harvest seaweed during the off-season for a B次元官网网址渇latline revenue opportunity.B次元官网网址�
Despite the seemingly bright future of ocean industries, there will be further setbacks like climate change and tighter regulation, the panelists said. Goldsworthy said a challenge for the aquaculture infrastructure is the remoteness of some sites and farms, especially for the electrical grid; however, he also sees it as an opportunity for further innovation.
Kingzett said the north Pacific has more salmon right now than itB次元官网网址檚 had in centuries because salmon are moving north due to climate change. With AsiaB次元官网网址檚 growing middle class and increased seafood consumption in North America, wordwide demand by 2050 will require B次元官网网址渁nother oceanB次元官网网址檚 supplyB次元官网网址� of seafood, B次元官网网址渟o we are now competing with all the rest of the world just even to have access to seafood.B次元官网网址�
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