Economic Risk
While salmon farming has created financial opportunity
in some coastal communities, the environmental and other impacts of the open
net-cage industry have negatively affected the commercial fishing, sport salmon
fishing and wilderness tourism industries in B.C. These sectors make economic contributions to B.C.
that far outstrip the contribution made by salmon farms. Continued operation of
open net-cage salmon farms puts the future of all of these economically
significant sectors at risk. A study conducted by Tourism
British Columbia, in partnership with the B.C. Wilderness Tourism Association
and Council of Tourism Associations, shows that wilderness and nature-based
tourism represented 12 per cent of the total revenue generated by B.C.’s
tourism sector in 2005. That year more than 1.2 million tourists spent
approximately $1.2 billion dollars on nature-based tourism in British Columbia.
As well, in its final report,
the B.C. government’s Special Committee on Sustainable Aquaculture states that,
in 2005, the sport and commercial wild salmon fishing sectors together
contributed $183 million to the provincial Gross Domestic Product in B.C.,
compared to $134 million from the salmon farming sector.[1] The wild salmon fishing industry also
created more than twice as many full-time equivalent jobs and outperformed the
farmed salmon industry as well in terms of multiplier effects; combining the
direct, indirect and induced benefits. More recent data estimates
that fish farms generate $365 million dollars in landed catch value and
provides between 4,000 and 5000 full time jobs.[2],[3]
Wild salmon support a $1.5 billion wilderness tourism industry and a further
$288 million in sport-fishing revenue.[4],[5]
The estimate is that 52,000 fulltime equivalent jobs are associated with
wilderness tourism and sport-fishing.[6]
A 2006 report valuating the wild salmon economy of just one watershed, the Skeena
River, concluded that the wild salmon of the watershed are worth $110 million
annually.[7] The concentration of
ownership of the salmon farms in B.C. may further weaken the economic benefits
of salmon farming to British Columbia. Ninety percent of B.C.’s 130 salmon farm
licenses are owned by three Norwegian multinationals: Marine Harvest, Cermaq
and Grieg. Approximately 85% of the farmed salmon is shipped to the U.S. after
minimal processing.[8],[9]
These foreign multi-nationals
that operate many of B.C.’s salmon farms are integrated companies. Often, the
use of those internal resources reduces the amount of spinoff economic benefit
to local contractors and suppliers.
