DFO Not Renewing Licenses of Remaining Open-Net Pen Salmon Fish Farms in the Discovery Islands

After years of back-and-forth, the DFO has decided not to renew the licenses of open-net pen salmon fish farms in the Discovery Islands.

In 2020, then-Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan issued an order which would have forced the farms to close by last June.

But the courts overturned that order in April of last year, claiming it violated the farms’ rights to procedural fairness.

In the months since, current Fisheries Minister Joyce Murray has undergone extensive consultations with First Nations and industry.

Now, she has decided not to renew the licenses of the remaining 15 farms in the Discovery Islands.

In 2012, the Cohen Commission found that the farms contributed to increased disease spread between farmed and wild salmon.

While the farms focus on Atlantic salmon, the Islands also serve as a key migratory route for wild Pacific salmon heading to the Fraser River.

Recent studies have shown that the spread of disease could pose serious threats to Pacific salmon populations as well.