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 1997-2023. The information is grouped into four main categories: outputs, product inputs, gross value added, and other primary (labour) inputs.

Between 2010 and 2023, national gross output increased by 43% from just over $1.0 billion to over $1.4 billion. However, total input costs also increased from $650 million to just under $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 $253 million in 2023.

Gross output decreased by 2% from 2022 to 2023, with input costs decreasing by 3% and revenues decreasing by 4% over the same period.

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 pre-pandemic levels in the following years, reaching over $1.4 billion in 2023.

British Columbia accounts for the largest share of Canadian aquaculture output. At $603 million, the province accounted for 46% of national sales in 2023, compared to 69% in 2022; a decrease of 36% in sales for the province compared to 2022. Moreover, this is the first time since at least 1997 that British Columbia accounted for less than half of national sales of aquaculture products. The value added from aquaculture in British Columbia, factoring all product expenses, also decreased by nearly 50%, totaling $101 million in 2023, compared to $201 million in 2022.

On the Atlantic coast, New Brunswick accounted for the largest share of sales $288 million (22% of the national total), followed by Nova Scotia at $122 million (9% of the national total). Aquaculture in New Brunswick produced nearly $98 million in gross value in 2023 compared to a net loss of almost $36 million in 2022. Nova Scotia has observed consistent increases in value added since 2010 (+55%), and a slight increase from 2022 to 2023, from $7.6 million to $7.7 million (+1%).

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
• 2023