WWW.WA S .ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • JUNE 2022 17 ( C O N T I N U E D O N P A G E 1 8 ) have embraced sustainable aquaculture as the future of food production globally to provide environmental, social and economic opportunities to over 20 million farmers (FAO 2020). There are currently over 3 billion seafood meals consumed daily by the 8 billion citizens of the planet, of which more than 50 percent comes from aquaculture. This is expected to grow over the next decades as humanity searches for sustainable solutions for food security and supply, and aquaculture will play a major role. Today, there are commercial seafood farming operations in all ten Canadian provinces, and at least 1 of its 3 territories, with over a dozen species at the commercial or pre-commercial stages of production. Species range from eels, scallops, oysters, mussels, clams, seaweeds (several species), phytoplankton, to trout, charr, salmon, whitefish, black cod (sablefish), and several others in various stages of development, including sea cucumbers, sea urchins, seaweeds and others. Today Seeking Innovation and Living on the Edge The principal species of farmed seafood, making up the bulk of production (95 percent by volume), in Canada consists of Atlantic salmon, blue mussels, oysters (Eastern and Pacific species) and rainbow trout, with several others showing promise. Production facilities include recirculating aquaculture systems and hatchery-nurseries for on-land production of “seedlings,” net-pen and longline systems for open waters and even ponds for seasonal ongrowing. Today, commercial aquaculture in Canada is a thriving sector employing over 20,000 Canadians in the production process from egg to plate. The sector is relatively young, speaking demographically, and about 30 percent are women in various positions. There are in excess of 50 First Nations participating in the aquaculture sector in Canada. These First Nations are either sole-enterprise owners or operate in partnership with their local communities in farming, processing or supplier activities. Few people would know that, in the 1960s, Canadian government scientists, as well as a handful of academics, were intimately involved in the underlying experiments and trials for commercial Atlantic salmon, scallop and mussel farming with young entrepreneurs and academics in Europe, Norway and Canada, to try and bring aquaculture to the world. relatively pristine coastal waters spanning three oceans. The productive area for commercial seafood farming is barely used by aquaculture, with less than 1 percent of the suitable farming areas utilized for commercial farming purposes. Once in the top ten “fishery” nations in terms of productivity, based on landings of seafood in the 1980s, Canada now sits around 22nd globally, in terms of production of seafood. Arguably, if it was not for aquaculture growth in the past four decades (see Fig. 1 for production levels), we would be much further behind. Most seafood-producing countries A Newfoundland mussel farmer at Connaigre Fish Farms inspecting the crop prior to harvest. Newfoundland shellfish farmers have adapted continuous longline culture technology in the sub-Arctic environment nearly two decades ago and all are certified to the Canadian Organic Aquaculture Standard for sustainability (Photo: D. Green, NAIA). Mussel farmers, like these at Badger Bay Mussel Farms, harvest their crop carefully and keep the live shellfish isolated from the elements before transport to processors 100-200 km away. Harvesting 30 t of live mussels typically takes just a few hours (Photo: D. Green, NAIA). Did You Know? —Canada Leads • The first marine finfish hatchery in Canada was in Dildo, Newfoundland, for cod in the 1880s. • The world’s first sea scallop Placopecten magellanicus farm was in Little Mortier Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador in 1981. • The first genetically engineered fish for food was created in a lab in the mid-1980s at Memorial University in NL. • The world’s first commercial-scale marine finfish hatchery for cod was in Newfoundland in 1997 but an electrical mishap burned it to the ground. • The first ever shellfish processing plant to be certified to the Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) standard was in Newfoundland, as was the first 4-star Atlantic salmon operation, and PEI had the first BAP-certified mussel farm. • North America’s first organically certified blue mussels came fromNewfoundland, to be followed closely by organic mussels from PEI. • Canada is the leading producer of Arctic charr eggs. • A small family salmon farming operation that started in 1985 in New Brunswick is now one of top five seafood farming companies in the world, farming shrimp, bream, bass and salmon, with production facilities in Europe, Canada, South and Central America. • The world-leading commercial land-based seaweed farm is located in Nova Scotia, and is a provider of algal extracts, nutraceuticals, cosmetics, animal and human food.
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