The Fight to Remove Salmon Farms from B.C.: A Timeline of Progress and Pushback
July 30, 2025
By: Stan Proboszcz
We often hear from supporters who are unsure about the status of salmon farms in B.C. Many ask: Why are they still operating? Weren’t they supposed to be removed by now?
That confusion is understandable. The situation is complex and constantly shifting.
We’re sharing this update because we’re at a critical point in the campaign to get salmon farms out of B.C.’s coastal waters. The federal government is expected to release its farm removal plan soon — and we need as many Canadians as possible pushing them to follow through on their promise.
To help explain where things are at, here’s a timeline of events.
March 2008
Following a multi-year campaign led by conservationists, fishers and First Nations in northwest B.C., the provincial government enacted a moratorium on new finfish aquaculture licenses and tenures on B.C.’s north coast.
October 2012
Judge Bruce Cohen tabled 75 recommendations following his two-year federal inquiry examining the Fraser River sockeye salmon decline. Two recommendations called on the Minister of Fisheries to remove salmon farms in the Discovery Islands by 2020.
June 2018
The B.C. government announced a new policy, effective June 2022, under which the province would only grant tenures to fish farm operators who satisfied Fisheries and Oceans Canada that their operations would not harm wild salmon and who had secured agreements with the First Nations in whose territory they operate.
December 2019
The Liberal minority federal government released the mandate letter to the Minister of Fisheries and promised, “to create a responsible plan to transition from open net-pen salmon farming in coastal British Columbia waters by 2025.”
In a joint press conference, the provincial government, salmon farming companies (Mowi and Cermaq) and First Nations (‘Namgis, Kwikwasut’inuxw Haxwa’mis and Mamalilikulla First Nations) announced an orderly transition of ten salmon farms from the Broughton Archipelago by 2023. The Nations also state they would make a final decision on the remaining seven other farms in 2023.
December 2020
Bernadette Jordan, Minister of Fisheries, announced that salmon farms in the Discovery Islands would cease operations by June 2022.
January 2021
Salmon farming companies announced they would sue the Minister of Fisheries over her Discovery Islands decision.
April 2022
The judge ruled in favour of the salmon farm companies, citing a lack of fairness as a reason for her ruling against the Minister of Fisheries.
June 2022
Despite the unfavourable lawsuit ruling, the new Minister of Fisheries, Joyce Murray, did not renew Discovery Islands salmon farm licences when they expired on June 30, 2022. She also stated she would make a final decision in January 2023 on the fate of farms in the region. In an attempt to accommodate the judge’s ruling, she also laid out a five-month consultation period with the industry until December 2022, along with detailed reasons for considering disallowing salmon farms in the Discovery Islands.
November 2022
The shíshálh First Nation in the lower Sunshine Coast region announced that eight salmon farms in their territory would cease operations by February 2023.
February 2023
The Minister made a final decision to disallow Atlantic salmon farms in the Discovery Islands. She cited many reasons for her decision, including that it is a key migratory route for wild Pacific salmon and the uncertainty with respect to the risks posed by Atlantic salmon farms.
March 2023
The ‘Namgis, Kwikwasut’inuxw Haxwa’mis and Mamalilikulla First Nations announced they would not allow the final seven farms to operate in the Broughton Archipelago beyond 2023.
The big three salmon farm companies (Grieg Seafood, Mowi and Cermaq) filed another legal challenge against the Minister’s most recent decision to not issue salmon farm licences in the Discovery Islands.
June 2024
The federal court upheld the Minister’s decision to disallow licensing salmon farms in the Discovery Islands, affirming her ability to make precautionary decisions to protect wild salmon populations.
The federal government announced a ban on open-net pen salmon farms that would start in July 2029, holding simultaneous press conferences in Ottawa and Vancouver. It also pledged to work with the Province of B.C., affected First Nations, coastal communities, and others to support the transition to closed containment and more sustainable aquaculture systems. A multi-agency task force, including Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Innovation, Science and Economic Development, was set up to begin consultations on the transition of the remaining B.C. salmon farms.
June 2025
Mowi — the world’s largest salmon farming company — once again challenged the federal government’s decision to shut down open-net pen fish farms in B.C.’s Discovery Islands, this time in the Federal Court of Appeal. The case is now before the court, and a decision has not yet been made.
Upcoming
The federal government is due to release a transition plan for the rest of the salmon farms in B.C. before the end of 2025. Hopefully, this will provide more clarity on the removal of the rest of the factory fish farms and the economic support for local communities affected.
The movement to get fish farms out of B.C. has been snowballing for decades. The last few years of the campaign have been successful, with over 40 per cent of salmon farm sites removed from B.C. This is huge.
We have a lot of momentum happening right now, and we can’t let the government slow down, especially given their promise to ban the remaining salmon farms from B.C. coastal waters by July 2029.
Note: This blog was originally posted in 2023 and has been updated for 2025.
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The Fight to Remove Salmon Farms from B.C.: A Timeline of Progress and Pushback
July 30, 2025
By: Stan Proboszcz
We often hear from supporters who are unsure about the status of salmon farms in B.C. Many ask: Why are they still operating? Weren’t they supposed to be removed by now?
That confusion is understandable. The situation is complex and constantly shifting.
We’re sharing this update because we’re at a critical point in the campaign to get salmon farms out of B.C.’s coastal waters. The federal government is expected to release its farm removal plan soon — and we need as many Canadians as possible pushing them to follow through on their promise.
To help explain where things are at, here’s a timeline of events.
March 2008
Following a multi-year campaign led by conservationists, fishers and First Nations in northwest B.C., the provincial government enacted a moratorium on new finfish aquaculture licenses and tenures on B.C.’s north coast.
October 2012
Judge Bruce Cohen tabled 75 recommendations following his two-year federal inquiry examining the Fraser River sockeye salmon decline. Two recommendations called on the Minister of Fisheries to remove salmon farms in the Discovery Islands by 2020.
June 2018
The B.C. government announced a new policy, effective June 2022, under which the province would only grant tenures to fish farm operators who satisfied Fisheries and Oceans Canada that their operations would not harm wild salmon and who had secured agreements with the First Nations in whose territory they operate.
December 2019
The Liberal minority federal government released the mandate letter to the Minister of Fisheries and promised, “to create a responsible plan to transition from open net-pen salmon farming in coastal British Columbia waters by 2025.”
In a joint press conference, the provincial government, salmon farming companies (Mowi and Cermaq) and First Nations (‘Namgis, Kwikwasut’inuxw Haxwa’mis and Mamalilikulla First Nations) announced an orderly transition of ten salmon farms from the Broughton Archipelago by 2023. The Nations also state they would make a final decision on the remaining seven other farms in 2023.
December 2020
Bernadette Jordan, Minister of Fisheries, announced that salmon farms in the Discovery Islands would cease operations by June 2022.
January 2021
Salmon farming companies announced they would sue the Minister of Fisheries over her Discovery Islands decision.
April 2022
The judge ruled in favour of the salmon farm companies, citing a lack of fairness as a reason for her ruling against the Minister of Fisheries.
June 2022
Despite the unfavourable lawsuit ruling, the new Minister of Fisheries, Joyce Murray, did not renew Discovery Islands salmon farm licences when they expired on June 30, 2022. She also stated she would make a final decision in January 2023 on the fate of farms in the region. In an attempt to accommodate the judge’s ruling, she also laid out a five-month consultation period with the industry until December 2022, along with detailed reasons for considering disallowing salmon farms in the Discovery Islands.
November 2022
The shíshálh First Nation in the lower Sunshine Coast region announced that eight salmon farms in their territory would cease operations by February 2023.
February 2023
The Minister made a final decision to disallow Atlantic salmon farms in the Discovery Islands. She cited many reasons for her decision, including that it is a key migratory route for wild Pacific salmon and the uncertainty with respect to the risks posed by Atlantic salmon farms.
March 2023
The ‘Namgis, Kwikwasut’inuxw Haxwa’mis and Mamalilikulla First Nations announced they would not allow the final seven farms to operate in the Broughton Archipelago beyond 2023.
The big three salmon farm companies (Grieg Seafood, Mowi and Cermaq) filed another legal challenge against the Minister’s most recent decision to not issue salmon farm licences in the Discovery Islands.
June 2024
The federal court upheld the Minister’s decision to disallow licensing salmon farms in the Discovery Islands, affirming her ability to make precautionary decisions to protect wild salmon populations.
The federal government announced a ban on open-net pen salmon farms that would start in July 2029, holding simultaneous press conferences in Ottawa and Vancouver. It also pledged to work with the Province of B.C., affected First Nations, coastal communities, and others to support the transition to closed containment and more sustainable aquaculture systems. A multi-agency task force, including Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Innovation, Science and Economic Development, was set up to begin consultations on the transition of the remaining B.C. salmon farms.
June 2025
Mowi — the world’s largest salmon farming company — once again challenged the federal government’s decision to shut down open-net pen fish farms in B.C.’s Discovery Islands, this time in the Federal Court of Appeal. The case is now before the court, and a decision has not yet been made.
Upcoming
The federal government is due to release a transition plan for the rest of the salmon farms in B.C. before the end of 2025. Hopefully, this will provide more clarity on the removal of the rest of the factory fish farms and the economic support for local communities affected.
The movement to get fish farms out of B.C. has been snowballing for decades. The last few years of the campaign have been successful, with over 40 per cent of salmon farm sites removed from B.C. This is huge.
We have a lot of momentum happening right now, and we can’t let the government slow down, especially given their promise to ban the remaining salmon farms from B.C. coastal waters by July 2029.
Note: This blog was originally posted in 2023 and has been updated for 2025.
Yes ,don.t give up…oŕ give in !
Can you please include the record of when fish farms were first allowed on the Pacific coast, and the names of the idiots who let them it? I believe it was Harper and Christy Clark, but I’d like to know for sure. Also, exactly when did this happen? Thanks for the heads up on what we might see happening with DFO this coming summer!
Fish farms were first allowed in BC decades ago. I’m afraid I don’t know who first let them in but it was long before Clark or Harper were in power.
Hats off for Joyce Murray , the MInisters are always under pressure from their own party to tow the corporate line. Sickens me , Mark Garneau the astronaut caved in to the airline industry in the passenger protection Bill. Three cheers for you Joyce.
read Not on My Watch for all the fighting that one B.C. woman has done since the beginning.
Great success, keep the momentum going, we do not need any foreign fish farms in B.C. Tidal Waters, should never have happened in the first place.
Huge gratitude for all the difficult work you do ❤️
keep on them. Get all fish farms out of Canadian waters.
Thanks for all your work Stan to make this issue as clear as possible:)
What about the new lawsuit by some First Nations who want to allow Salmon farms ?
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/b-c-first-nations-fish-farm-renewal-1.6787685
We did mention it briefly in the update. It’s pretty early in the case, we have not been briefed by our legal team yet. We’ll know more shortly and will send out an email to our supporters in the next week or two.
I have read that there are factional divisions within the DFO. I’d like to know more about that.
Thank you for all that you have done. There is NO REAL SCIENCE to support these.
Keep up the good work. No fish farms anywhere.
Dorothy
Thank you and I will continue to support this direction.
It would be fantastic if most Canadians not only understood the importance of removing the fish farms, but that they could help by not only contacting DFO etc., but by their own grocery and food choices, and by asking grocery retailers as well as restaurants where their salmon & herring products come from.
Thanks for your work.
A bit worried about the toxic fish farms in the Tofino area. Seems as if some are being restocked !!
Good news in the east side !! Thank you all involved.
Hello Stan,
A huge thank you collectively to Watershed Watch and all the people who support your work to protect and restore wild Pacific salmon in BC. As you, your colleagues and supporters know wild salmon are an integral ecological indicator of the overall health and well being of British Columbians. Removal of net-pen fish farms is a pivotal issue. In my view, you, your colleagues and supporters are absolute champions.
We must continue with this fight. Our government is in the pockets of the rich executives, so will not protect what we feel is important. Therefore we as citizens must fight fight fight and NEVER give up.
Delighted to hear that these farms have been removed, it taken so long to see action. I fully support the removal of the rest of the farms.