Two Coastal First Nations are going to Federal Court to seek a reversal of the renewal of federal licences for open-net salmon farms in B.C. for five years.
The Namgis First Nation and Ḵwiḵwa̱sut'inux̱w Ha̱xwa'mis (KHFN) on Tuesday held a press conference in Vancouver, where they announced they are filing for a judicial review of federal Fisheries and Oceans Minister Diane Lebouthillier’s June 19 decision to renew federal licences for 14 open-net salmon farms in B.C. for five years.
Of the 14, 11 are owned by Mowi; three are owned by Grieg Seafood.
By 2029, these open-net fish farms will need to have transitioned to some form of containment – either land-based recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS), or in-ocean closed containment pens.
First Nations who support salmon farming and rely on it for jobs and own-source revenue are unhappy with the decision, saying that a five-year term for transitioning to land or closed containment is tantamount to shutting down the salmon farming industry in B.C.
First Nations who oppose salmon farms are likewise unhappy, saying five years is too long. And they say they were not properly consulted on the licensing question.
“DFO has shown, once again, no respect for our territories by renewing these licences,” said Victor Isaac, elected chief of the Namgis First Nation.
The decision to renew the 14 federal licences for five years was part of the Trudeau government’s mandate to “transition” salmon farms in B.C.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had ordered his fisheries ministers to come up with “a responsible plan to transition from open net-pen salmon farming in coastal British Columbia waters by 2025.”
On June 19, Lebouthillier announced the transition deadline: 2029.
The reason given by Lebouthillier for the transition was to protect wild salmon, despite the fact her own scientists with the Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat advised her that salmon farms pose a minimal risk to wild salmon.
DFO will not require salmon farms in Atlantic Canada to transition from open-net pens, despite the fact Atlantic salmon have suffered ever more precipitous declines in abundance than Pacific salmon.
The Namgis and other First Nations in B.C. had expected to see Lebouthillier order all open net salmon farms shut down by 2025.
“There was a mandate made by the prime minister himself that, by the year 2025, these fish farms would be out of the water,” said KHFN Chief Rick Johnson. “We’re excited, in a way, that there’s a commitment to get them out of the water in five years, but our fish cannot survive another five years. The precautionary principle has to be adhered to.”
While the Namgis say they were consulted by Fisheries and Oceans Canada on the federal government’s transition plan, they insist in their application to the Federal Court that they were not properly consulted on the specific licences that have been renewed in their traditional territory.
“At no time during engagement on the transition plan were Namgis provided the opportunity to provide input on any individual licences or able to comment on the terms and conditions of the licences,” they say in their application to the Federal Court.
Because they were not consulted on the licences, they argue that constitutes a breach of the federal government’s duty to consult at the “deeper” end, as per the Haida Supreme Court decision.
The Namgis note their historical right to fish for salmon, which they say are imperilled by salmon farms that are on the migration routes of Pacific salmon. DFO therefore had a duty to consult the Namgis at the deep end on the licence renewals.
“In concluding that the Namgis did not need to be consulted on the licensing decision, or that the duty to consult and accommodate Namgis on the licensing agreement did not exist, DFO acted incorrectly,” the application states.
In their judicial review application, the Namgis are seeking an order from the court that the licence renewals be quashed and reconsidered, with an order that DFO consult with the Namgis on the licences.
Failing that, they ask that the court quash the order for at least six months, and order the federal fisheries minister to “consult and accommodate” the Namgis during that period.
