Value Added

Aquaculture in Canada emerged in the 1970's in response to increasing global demand for fish and seafood. Over the last 50 years, the sector has grown into an important commercial activity for Canada. In this section you will find annual estimates produced by Statistics Canada on the value added of the aquaculture industry, for the period 1997-2022. The information is grouped into four main categories: outputs, product inputs, gross value added, and other primary (labor) inputs.

Between 2010 and 2022, national gross output increased by 43% from just over $1.0 billion to over $1.4 billion. However, total input costs increased from $650 million to over $1.2 billion, nearly doubling over the same period. The more rapid growth in input costs relative to total output has reduced industry profitability, resulting in a decline in gross value added from $381 million in 2010 to $241 million in 2022.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a measurable effect on gross output from aquaculture in 2020. Gross output decreased by 16% from $1.3 billion to $1.1 billion from 2019-2020, recovering to $1.3 billion again in 2021.

Regionally, British Columbia accounts for the largest share of Canadian aquaculture output. At $940 million, the province accounted for 69 percent of national sales in 2022. Nova Scotia accounted for the second largest share of sales ($157 million), followed by New Brunswick ($103 million).

Value Added Account:

• 1997
• 1998
• 1999
• 2000
• 2001
• 2002
• 2003
• 2004
• 2005
• 2006
• 2007
• 2008
• 2009
• 2010
• 2011
• 2012
• 2013
• 2014
• 2015
• 2016
• 2017
• 2018
• 2019
• 2020
• 2021
• 2022