Canada missing boat on aquaculture: critics Study finds half of world's consumed fish is farm-raised

Mike Barber
September 8, 2009
Ottawa Citizen

A study released this week suggests half the fish the world eats is now raised on farms, presenting an opportunity for Canada to exploit a growing global hunger for seafood.

But critics say Canada is ill-prepared to cash in on the growing trend because of a fixation on farmed salmon — a species that is expensive to raise, takes a long time to grow and is not wanted by the world's rapidly developing markets.

The report, published in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by a team of international researchers, found that aquaculture across the planet more than tripled between 1995 and 2007.

Tony Farrell, one of the report's contributors, said the findings indicate a demand for protein-rich, affordable fish.

"The world is not eating wild fish, and they're switching to cultured fish," said Farrell, chairman of the University of British Columbia's Centre for Aquaculture and Environmental Research. "Canada can either move with the times, or not. As an exporting nation, we need to make decisions about this."

But relying on salmon — carnivores that take more than two years to mature — as the country's chief farmed fish would likely prevent the Canadian aquaculture industry from harnessing the continued growth, said Farrell.

Read full story in the Ottawa Citizen

Read related story in The Times Colonist (September 9, 2009); "Report Says Canada should not rely solely on salmon for farmed fishing"