Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, made a statement regarding the escape of Atlantic salmon from an aquaculture facility in Washington State, near British Columbia.
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"We are closely monitoring the incident that resulted in Atlantic salmon being released from a net in an aquaculture facility into the waters off Washington state and British Columbia.
"Although this incident happened at an American facility subject to U.S. laws and regulations, our government takes this incident very seriously given its proximity to Canadian waters.
"The protection of our aquatic ecosystems and the sustainable management of all our aquatic resources are of primary importance.
"DFO staff in British Columbia (BC) are monitoring this situation closely.
"We will be working to understand the potential impacts of this incident and prevent any damage to Canada's marine ecosystems.
"Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is communicating with its U.S. counterpart, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other U.S. regulators to help ensure impacts from this incident are minimized
DFO's Pacific Aquaculture Regulations are among the most rigorous in the world.
These regulations and the Conditions of Licence for marine finfish aquaculture require licence holders to take various measures to prevent the escape of farmed fish into the ocean, including proper maintenance of cages and nets.
Sites must be structurally engineered to withstand strong ocean tides and rough weather conditions.
Escapes from aquaculture facilities in BC have dropped dramatically since these licence conditions were introduced.
DFO's Conservation and Protection Officers and Aquaculture Management staff regularly monitor the aquaculture industry in BC to verify and enforce compliance with conditions of licence and all regulations.
Non-compliance with these stringent regulations can lead to charges under the Fisheries Act and significant penalties. ■