Leading up to Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre’s visit to Ottawa Sept. 20 to 21, Canada’s decision to ban open-net pens in British Columbia presents an opportunity to innovate our industry through our growing relationship with Norway, a global proponent of aquaculture. As the Norwegian government now openly communicates the environmental risks of traditional production methods and has begun shrinking open-net pen fish farming production through regulation while investing in emerging, lower-impact technology, Canada has an opportunity to adopt innovative land-based aquaculture methods.

This is a timely moment to reflect on the opportunity before us, where wild salmon are not compromised at the expense of an antiquated approach to fish farming that Norway itself acknowledges as harmful to wild salmon.

Ending this practice protects wild fish as well as the jobs, markets, and coastal livelihoods that depend on a healthy wild salmon economy. It also brings British Columbia in line with the rest of the Pacific coast, where open-net pen salmon farming is either banned (Washington, Alaska) or not practiced (California, Oregon) – removing this polluting industry from the entire coast.

British Columbians are counting on our elected officials to uphold the commitment to removing open-net pens. In a recent poll, 73 per cent said failing to do so would reduce their trust in the government on environmental issues.

Lessons from Norway

This summer, I visited Norway to learn from the global pioneers of this industry about the impacts of open-net pen salmon farming on wild fish and innovations to reduce risk.

The Norwegian Scientific Advisory Committee for Atlantic Salmon’s 2026 report finds that the “greatest human-caused threats to Norwegian salmon are linked to the effects of salmon farming and climate change.”

Norway’s Minister of Climate and the Environment, Andreas Bjelland Eriksen, called open-net pens “an existential threat against wild Atlantic salmon.”

Wild salmon are now on Norway’s red list of near-endangered species, and the country is having a reckoning to protect them before it is too late. The commitment to ban open-net pen salmon farming in B.C. means that Norway’s losses of wild salmon do not have to be a harbinger of further declines of wild salmon here.

Following through on the phase out of open net pen salmon farms is essential to protect biodiversity, restore healthy aquatic ecosystems, and also uphold international commitments like the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which Canada and Norway have both signed.

Industry innovations are advancing in Norway – moving away from open-net pens and developing more modern, efficient, and environmentally friendly technologies. Here in British Columbia, we can only capitalize on this chance to modernize our aquaculture industry if we follow through on the 2029 ban, creating the policy certainty needed to seed innovative technology investment in land-based alternatives.

Worldwide, more than 70 land-based salmon farms are in development, backed by billions of dollars of investment. British Columbia can be part of this movement, but only with the political will to enable it.

British Columbia is well-placed to lead in land-based salmon farming. The first commercial-scale, land-based salmon facility was built in Port McNeill in 2013. Other species, including sablefish, Arctic char, steelhead, coho, sturgeon, and tilapia, are already farmed on land here.

Most Pacific salmon populations are well below their historic abundances, and 80 per cent of British Columbians are concerned about these declines. Many factors are beyond our direct control, such as the effects of climate change and shifting ocean conditions. But we can and must eliminate preventable risks to wild salmon survival, including open-net pen fish farms.

Our position – that open-net pens should be transitioned to land-based, closed containment practices – is grounded in science. Dozens of studies from the Pacific Salmon Foundation, academic institutions, and Indigenous partners form a clear consensus: open-net pen salmon farms elevate levels of parasites, viruses, and bacteria, which spread to wild salmon sharing the same waters, increasing their disease and infection burden.

The commitment to ban open-net pens by 2029 is supported by the vast majority of British Columbians. It’s a promise worth keeping.

Michael Meneer, President & CEO of the Pacific Salmon Foundation

The views expressed are those of the author(s). National Newswatch Inc. publishes a range of perspectives and does not necessarily endorse the opinions presented.