Mowi Canada West has applied to the Federal Court of Canada in Vancouver for a judicial review of the decisions made by Canadian Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan to phase out salmon farming in British Columbia's Discovery Islands. Mowi is asking the courts to find the decisions unreasonable and to set them aside.
"These decisions, made without consultation of the industry, one week before Christmas, prohibit the issuance of new or replacement aquaculture licenses for aquaculture sites and prohibit any fish being transferred into aquaculture sites within the Discovery Islands area," Mowi said in a statement.
Approximately 13 to 15 Mowi farms are impacted, but Mowi said the exact number of impacted sites is still not known because the minister has not provided a precise listing of affected farms, nor any details beyond her initial announcement last December.
"The decisions and related timelines and lack of precision are unreasonable, and threaten the viability of the Mowi’s entire operations in British Columbia," the company said.
Dean Dobrinsky, a spokesman for Mowi, told IntraFish, the minister has yet to respond to Mowi's and others pleas for more information about the decision.
Mowi’s Discovery Islands farms make up about 30 percent of the company’s entire British Columbia operations. Jordan's decision could cause the company to close almost a third of its business over the next 12 months, resulting in significant direct financial losses, the company said.
The company added its scheduled to stock several farms in early 2021, but under the minister’s decisions is currently unable to do so. If the decision stands, Mowi said it will have to cull several million young fish currently in hatcheries, as it has no alternative locations to place those fish.
Cermaq makes similar appeal
On Monday Cermaq Canada also initiated a separate judicial review of the Department of Fisheries and Ocean’s (DFO’s) recent decision related to Cermaq Canada’s licenses in the Discovery Islands region.
The company said the review is "meant to allow time for Cermaq to engage with these local First Nations regarding our operations in their territories."
The company said the decision would close three of its farms, representing about 20 percent of Cermaq Canada’s overall production.
"The goal of such engagement will be for Cermaq to work with the local First Nations to examine opportunities to achieve agreements, allowing for our continued operations into the future under the oversight of these Nations," the company said.
At the time of DFO’s announcement, the company said plans were underway to stock two of Cermaq’s three farm sites in the Discovery Islands region later this spring.
"This means that the significant number of fish that were destined for these two sites are in limbo as these fish no longer have a farm location in which to complete their grow out. This has put our operations in disarray, significant value at risk, and left us with little option other than to initiate this judicial review," the company said.
Grieg Canada also submitted an application for judicial review to the court concerning the fisheries minister earlier this week, according to the Federal Court's website.
"This decision has profound effects on our industry and local communities. We hope that a judicial review of the decision process will allow us to better understand the implications," the company told IntraFish in a statement. "More time is needed to engage with the Nations in whose territories we operate."
