Reducing harm and controlling pests

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• Mitigation of accidental release of drugs into waters
• Control of pathogens and/or pests
• Measures taken to minimize detriment to fish and fish habitat from the deposit of drugs and/or pest control products
• Measures taken to minimize serious harm to fish that are part of or support commercial, recreational and Aboriginal fisheries
• Product(s) deposited during the reporting period

Mitigation of accidental release of drugs into waters

Objective- The aquaculture industry adheres to all federal regulations in handling and storing all drugs and pesticides used in the course of facility operation.

AAR Conditions applicable to deposits

The AAR authorizes aquaculture facilities to deposit deleterious substances (e.g. drugs, pesticides, and therapeutants) as long as specific conditions are met. In finfish aquaculture, these conditions mainly require the use of approved drugs and pest control products (pesticides). To be authorized, the deposit of a substance during treatment must be in compliance with all applicable federal laws. Drugs or pesticides are not typically used in shellfish aquaculture.

Drugs are to be sold in compliance with the federal Food and Drugs Act (FDA), and if it is a prescription drug under the FDA, the drug must be prescribed by a veterinarian; and, pesticides must be used in compliance with the Pest Control Products Act (PCPA) and prescribed by a veterinarian under provincial regulation in some jurisdictions.

The AAR further establishes parameters under which the deposition of deleterious substances can take place. The deposition of a prescribed deleterious substance is only authorized if it is deposited as a result of the direct operation of the aquaculture facility; and the facility is licenced in accordance with the regulations.

Under the AAR, aquaculture facilities must take measures to avoid accidental deposits of drugs and to demonstrate that measures have been taken to minimize accidental deposits. Many of these measures are outlined in spill avoidance plans, fish health management plans, pest control management plans, and/or emergency spill plans that are required by provincial regulators. Information can also be extracted from Standard Operating Procedures, Best Management Practices, or other relevant documentation. Storing medicated feeds in containment structures to avoid accidental spills is an example of a best practice to minimize accidental release of drugs into waters. Medicated feed is generally produced within a federally registered feed production facility.

Control of pathogens and/or pests

Objective - Where available and judged by a veterinarian to be the best course of treatment, the aquaculture industry makes use of appropriate alternates to available drugs and pesticides.

Alternatives to the use of drugs or pesticides

An important aspect of the AAR is that prior to any decision taken at an aquaculture facility to control disease occurrences through the use of drugs or pesticides, the owner or operator must consider viable alternatives to their use and record them. Some possible alternatives to the use or deposit of drugs and pesticides include the following:

• Use of cost-effective commercially available containment technologies to avoid deposits of the drug into fish-bearing waters
• Use of cost-effective commercially available non-chemical biological treatment technologies
• Use of cost-effective commercially available treatment technologies to render the drug non-toxic to fish

Before deciding to use drugs, owners and operators must have already taken into consideration and implemented other preventative technologies, some of which are still in development, including (but not limited to) :

• Mechanical removal of sea lice (e.g., warm water)
• Biological filters (e.g., mussels)
• Sea lice traps (e.g., light attraction)
• Cleaner fish
• Vaccines
• Husbandry modifications (e.g., fish density)

Under the Regulations, an aquaculture facility planning to administer pesticides to control a disease event must notify the Department prior to the deposit of the product, including specific details on the product used as well as the timing and location. This allows Fisheries and Oceans Canada to be aware of when and where depositions will be taking place; be present when the deposition takes place, if the Department deems it necessary; and, to help inform any investigation that may take place due to a fish kill near an aquaculture facility. This notification of planned pesticide use is also provided to provincial departments as per regulation.

Measures taken to minimize detriment to fish and fish habitat from the deposit of drugs and/or pest control products

Objective - Industry makes use of all procedures to minimize harm to the environment from drugs and pest control products (incl. fallowing, disinfection, minimization of stress, etc.)

• 29 % of all active finfish sites in Canada were in fallow in 2017. As part of their production management, 100% of sites were or will be fallowed at the end of their planned production cycle prior to restocking
• 14 % of marine finfish sites report that mechanical or biological pest controls are used to minimize use of antibiotics or pest control products

Measures to reduce detriment

In addition to the consideration of alternatives when depositing drugs and/or pest control products, under the AAR aquaculture facilities must take reasonable actions and/or have reasonable procedures and practices in place to reduce negative impacts to fish and fish habitat in the area outside the aquaculture facility.

There are a number of examples of acceptable and reasonable measures that owner or operators can take to minimize detriment to fish and fish habitat from the deposit of drugs and pest control products listed immediately below. Many of these practices are already in place, whether implemented through provincial regulatory requirements or industry Codes of Practice.

Some examples of measures to minimize detriment from drugs include:

• Vaccines are used to minimize use of antibiotics or sea lice drugs
• Mechanical or biological pest controls are used to minimize use of sea lice drugs
• Handling procedures and stocking densities are used to minimize stress and risks of injury to fish, thereby minimizing the need for antibiotic use and deposit
• Procedures are used to minimize the exposure of infected fish to others on-site or at nearby sites by implementing appropriate isolation and containment measures
• Staff and equipment disinfection procedures are used, employing effective and environmentally friendly products for all gear, personnel, equipment, and working platforms, including boats, when moving between facilities and between containment structures (e.g., net pens, tanks)
• Control measures for predator interactions are used to reduce risk of stress to fish (e.g., feed storage to minimize attracting animals; disposal of excess feed off-site; use of physical exclusion devices), thus minimizing the need for drugs
• Procedures are used to limit the movement of personnel, contractors, suppliers, and visitors to and between facilities when there is suspicion of, or an actual, infectious disease outbreak
• Procedures are used to limit the sharing of equipment or gear (e.g., equipment/vehicles, floating structures, nets, containers) between active sites
• Fallowing of farms is used to support the breaking of disease cycles between successive crops of fish; and/or
• Year-class separation is used (i.e., stocking one year-class of fish on individual farms and in designated bay areas, in order to minimize the intergenerational transfer of pathogens and pests between fish)

Some examples of measures to minimize detriment from pest control products include:

• Mechanical or biological pest controls are used
• Pesticide label instructions related to optimum concentrations, delivery, spill avoidance, and re-infection prevention are followed
• Pesticides are handled by a user certified according to provincial legislation
• Appropriate procedures are used for storage, disposal, and equipment cleaning to avoid excess deposit of pesticides
• Pesticide application is timed to minimize exposure to non-target organisms
• Vaccines are used to minimize use of pest control products
• Handling procedures and stocking densities are used to minimize stress and risks of injury to fish, thereby minimizing the need for pesticide use and deposit
• Procedures are used to minimize the exposure of infected fish to others on-site or at nearby sites by implementing appropriate isolation and containment measures
• Control measures for wild interactions are used to reduce risk of stress to fish (e.g., feed storage to minimize attracting animals; disposal of excess feed off-site; use of physical exclusion devices), thus minimizing the need for pesticides
• Fallowing of farms is used to support the breaking of disease cycles between successive crops of fish; and/or
• Year-class separation is used (i.e., stocking one year-class of fish on individual farms and in designated bay areas, in order to minimize the intergenerational transfer of pathogens and pests between fish)

Moreover, under the AAR, owners and operators are required to minimize detriment from feces, unconsumed feed and other Biological Oxygen Demanding (BOD) matter. Some examples of measures that can be taken in this regard include:

• Procedures are in place with respect to feeding methods, feed selection and/or equipment, designed to minimize waste feed and to optimize feed conversion rates without compromising fish health including:
  • Use of underwater cameras or hand feeding to observe when feeding by fish has slowed or stopped
  • Use of optimal food size and composition to decrease feed conversion ratios and reduce rate and volume of organic matter released; and
  • Feed stored in appropriate containment structures to prevent spillage
• Provincially required or operator-initiated sediment and/or water quality monitoring programs are in place
• Procedures should be in place to collect and retain, with minimal leakage, blood generated during harvest and disposal at a licensed processing facility
• Specific to facilities with a point-source discharge of waste water, facility plans should be in place for the following:
• The screening of point-source outfalls to remove larger, particulate organic matter and reduce the total mass released to aquatic environments
• Filtration or other forms of effluent treatment to reduce the total mass of released organic and related matter
• For marine finfish facilities with floating overnight living quarters, BOD matter that is produced by the living quarters and discharged as effluent should be retained in a septic tank designed with a retention time of not less than two (2) days prior to discharge, or other similar measures should be employed, to limit BOD matter discharge, according to relevant federal and provincial regulations

Measures taken to minimize serious harm to fish that are part of or support commercial, recreational and Aboriginal fisheries.

Objective - Industry takes all measures to prevent harm to fish that are part of or support commercial, recreational and Aboriginal fisheries. This includes regular cleaning of bio-fouling organisms and siting away from important aquatic habitat.

The installation, operation, maintenance or removal of an aquaculture facility has the potential to harm fish or fish habitat. The measures that could be taken to minimize serious harm to commercial, recreational and Aboriginal fisheries include, but are not limited to the following:

• Regular removal of biofouling from infrastructure and nets to ensure that organisms are small when they are removed, thus creating less impact if settling to benthic habitat occurs
• Time work in water to respect timing windows to protect fish, including their eggs, juveniles, spawning adults and/or the organisms upon which they feed
• Restrict type and timing of operations (for example shucking shellfish, sorting, grading) to minimize release of inorganic matter on the seabed as a result of fish or shellfish handling or other culture activities
• Design and plan activities and works in water body such that loss or disturbance to aquatic habitat is minimized and sensitive spawning habitats are avoided;
• Operate machinery in a manner that minimizes disturbance to the intertidal areas and other fish habitat
• Avoid locating moorings in important fish habitat and minimize disturbance to submerged aquatic vegetation when securing mooring structures to the seabed
• Conduct activities so that non-AAR prescribed deleterious substances such as paint, primers, blasting abrasives, rust solvents, degreasers, grout, or other chemicals do not enter the watercourse
• Disposal of shellfish operational waste (for example low-grade mussels, socking mesh, Styrofoam, non-biodegradable growing materials, shells, and fouling organisms) according to provincial requirements
• Doing shellfish desilting activities for on-bottom culture in a manner that minimizes accumulation of sediment on sensitive fish habitat outside the culture area
• Shellfish harvesting (for on-bottom culture) in a manner that reduces impact to fish and fish habitat outside the culture area (for example raking or dredging)
• conduct mechanical shellfish harvesting activities in a manner that minimizes impact on fish and fish habitat
• Consider other relevant measures to avoid causing serious harm to fish and fish habitat; and
• For shellfish aquaculture facilities, ensure procedures specific to the species being cultured are in place to minimize the deposit of materials on the substrate

Product(s) deposited during the reporting period

Objective - The Canadian aquaculture industry reports to regulatory bodies all products that are deposited to the aquatic environment during regular operation of the aquaculture facility. Only products that are registered under the Pest Control Products Act and the Food and Drugs Act and are regulated by the Pest Management Regulatory Authority (PMRA) and the Veterinary Drugs Directorate (VDD) in Health Canada, are allowed to be used to preserve the best health and welfare of fish in aquaculture facilities. These products are used to prevent and treat pest infestation and disease and are only used under authority and supervision of a registered veterinarian.

The AAR require that the annual report be submitted in a form acceptable to the Minister, and specifies what information must be reported and by what date. Reporting is done on a calendar year basis, with the annual report due April 1, or three months following the end of the year being reported.

In 2016 and 2017, no drug or pest control product was reported for shellfish aquaculture operations under the AAR. The following calculations were made from 2017 aquaculture industry data submitted to DFO as directed by the AAR.

• 35 % of marine finfish sites report no use of drugs products
• Where drugs are used, 100% of sites report use of vaccines (limiting use of antibiotics). Sites reporting no use of drugs, do not use antibiotics
• 64 % of marine finfish sites report no use of pest control products
• 100 % of sites report that pesticide application is timed to minimize exposure to non-target organisms