But the sudden announcement, made at the B.C. Salmon Farmers Association annual general meeting, immediately sparked threats of an international market campaign by environmentalists who say farmed fish aren't healthy for the environment.

As John van Dongen, B.C.'s Minister of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, announced the government's decision, protesters outside the Salmon Farmers convention were holding up a banner that said: ''Farmed and Dangerous.''

Mr. van Dongen said the government has put in place a regulatory framework that will allow fish farms to spread along the Pacific coast, without causing environmental damage.

''B.C. now has the most comprehensive regulatory framework in the world, including science-based standards to protect the environment,'' he said. ''It's time to get on with creating jobs and revitalizing the economy for B.C.'s coastal communities and First Nations.''

He said in addition to new regulations, the government is committing $5.1-million for research into aquaculture and the environment.

B.C.'s salmon farming industry has been pushing the government for several years to allow expansion, saying the global market for farmed salmon is booming. The industry said it could provide up to 12,000 new jobs over the next decade.

But the government has also been under intense pressure from environmentalists who say fish farms threaten wild salmon stocks through disease outbreaks, sea lice infestations and by allowing the escape of Atlantic salmon, some of which have been seen in spawning rivers used by native Pacific stocks.

Valerie Langer, of The Friends of Clayoquot Sound, said she was shocked by the decision and promised the fight against farmed fish will intensify.

''We have to focus our efforts on the marketplace now,'' said Ms. Langer, who was among the protesters outside the Salmon Farmers convention in Campbell River.