Research Document 1998/157

East coast salmon aquaculture breeding programs: history and future

By B.D. Glebe

Abstract

The salmon farming industry of the Maritime Provinces began in the late 1970s when 6 t of Atlantic salmon were produced by a research project located near Deer Island, New Brunswick. In 1998, about 8.6 million smolts for aquaculture were produced by 31 freshwater hatcheries in the Maritimes. In New Brunswick, only St. John River stock salmon are allowed in aquaculture, while in Nova Scotia the industry uses mostly St. John River stock, plus some local stocks. Growout takes place in floating net cages located in protected, nearshore marine sites. Harvested production in the Maritimes in 1997 was estimated at 19,700 t, worth $145 million. Ninety-four percent of this production was from 80 marine sites in southwestern New Brunswick and the remaining 6% was from 11 marine sites in Nova Scotia. In 1998, in response to an outbreak of the viral disease Infectious Salmon Anemia (ISA) in southwestern New Brunswick, several growout sites were completely harvested and fallowed, while some new sites were approved in order to accommodate the 1998 hatchery-produced smolts that were to have been transferred to the fallowed sites. There is a lack of good data on the numbers and causes of escapes from salmon cages. Various federal and provincial laws have relevance to aquaculture, most notably the federal Fisheries and Oceans Acts, the New Brunswick Aquaculture Act, and the Nova Scotia Fisheries and Coastal Resources Act. Memoranda of Understanding on aquaculture development have been signed between Canada and New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. These give these provinces the right to issue and administer licenses and leases for aquaculture operations within their boundaries. The federal government continues its role in monitoring, diagnosis, prevention, and control of fish diseases in cultured and wild stocks.

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