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"This announcement is excellent
news," Mr. Bastien said. "It follows tremendous efforts by
both levels of government, the industry and others to deal
with concerns about salmon farming and to establish all the
measures, including environmental standards, monitoring,
reporting, compliance and enforcement, to ensure that
practices are environmentally sustainable."
Mr. Bastien made his comments
following the September 12, 2002 announcement by the
Province of British Columbia about implementation of
waste-control regulations to allow sustainable growth of the
province's salmon farming industry. On September 12, the
province also announced establishment of a $5.1 million fund
to support independent research into aquaculture and the
environment.
The research funding will
support scientific research to address issues associated
with both finfish and shellfish aquaculture. It will be
additional to other research and development efforts by the
federal government including AquaNet, the Network of Centres
of Excellence for Aquaculture. This combined research will
provide both levels of government with further scientific
information that will help to continuously refine management
measures.
Total production from
aquaculture in Canada in 2000 was 123,924 tonnes, with a
value of $611,572 million. This represents nearly thirty per
cent of the total value of Canadian fish and seafood
production.
For more information:
Landon Stewart
Communications Adviser
Office of the Commissioner for Aquaculture Development
Ottawa (613) 993-8603
Office of the Commissioner
for Aquaculture Development |
