DiCaprio’s take on open-net salmon farms in B.C. met with disagreement

Several groups responded with dissatisfaction to Leonardo DiCaprio’s take on ‘open-net salmon farms’ in B.C.

In a post to Instagram, DiCaprio says the Canadian government is considering extending the licenses for open-net pen salmon farms by up to six years.

The Hollywood actor says this would break their promise to phase out open-net pen salmon farms from coastal BC waters by 2025. He invited his followers to join Wild First Canada’s initiative to stop license extensions for “ocean-polluting Atlantic salmon farms in BC.”

Global Seafood Alliance called DiCaprio’s post incredibly misinformed.

“Aquaculture provides a solution to feed the world’s growing population in a responsible way — there is only so much land available to convert to agriculture. Responsibly farmed seafood enables millions of people to have access to safe, healthy protein,” it said.

“Aquaculture production emits less greenhouse gas emissions than all other types of livestock industries (pork, beef, chicken, etc.), while providing millions of jobs around the world.”

Young Salmon Farmers of BC also responded to DiCaprio’s post saying he should “do better.”

“As young leaders in this sector who supported your movies and work, we are incredibly disappointed. This post is misinformed. Two-thirds of the sector in BC is under 35. We are the ones you are targeting with this post. We are the ones that will lose our careers. We are the ones innovating the sector to always be reducing our environmental impact,” it said.

“Thank you for showing an entire generation of young leaders who have committed their careers to this carbon-friendly sector growing food for the world that you don’t actually research these issues before you take a public stance on them.”

BC Salmon Farmers Association also met DiCaprio’s stance with opposition, saying the information provided to him by Wild First was incorrect.

“We welcome you to come to BC and tour our farms and meet our farmers… We work in agreement with First Nations in whose territories we operate and we respect their rights and title,” it said.

The association says its sector has been innovating for decades and is globally recognized as “responsible stewards of the environment.”

“We support thousands of families in rural coastal communities and are the main employer in a lot of these communities. It’s important to understand our operations before believing what an activist group tells you and using your incredibly large platform to ask for our sector to be shut down,” it said.

“The BC government tried introducing Atlantic salmon to BC waters long before salmon farming was around and could never establish a population here because they cannot compete with pacific salmon or interbreed.”

BC Salmon Farmers Association tells DiCaprio that science says salmon farms are not impacting wild salmon populations and growing Atlantic salmon in Pacific waters is not a risk.

Kitasoo Xai’xais Nation also disagreed with DiCaprio and Wild First’s narrative.

An Instagram account named Kitasoo Xai’xais Aquaculture posted on social media saying DiCaprio and Wild First are spreading a “false narrative” regarding the impact of fish farms in B.C. The post says their future should not be decided by people hundreds or thousands of kilometres away.

“There is an incorrect story being told by celebrities and activists who do not understand nor account for the realities of First Nations,” the post said.

“Organizations like Wild First Canada pull activists and the public in with misinformation and get big names to stand behind them, with zero accountability.”

There has been a disagreement between different groups regarding the topic in the last few months.

According to Wild First open-net pen fish farms have been releasing parasites, pathogens, and pollutants into wild Pacific salmon migration routes for over 30 years, leading to “deadly consequences.”

“Where open-net pen salmon farms have been removed, wild Pacific salmon are seeing positive impacts,” according to Wild First.

Wild First says this is to protect wild Pacific salmon and future-proof the aquaculture industry for generations to come.

“These fish farms cannot contain or control the outflow of waste from their facilities — they’re allowed to pollute for free,” said Wild First.

In an interview with CityNews Vancouver, Bob Chamberlin, chair of the First Nation Wild Salmon Alliance (FNWSA) said the FNWSA had identified over 120 First Nations in B.C. that support the transition, and many have been a part of the planning process.

He says the industry is always pointing towards the employment that they are creating, food insecurity, and meeting protein needs as reasons to continue open-net pen salmon farming — he disagrees.

“Pacific wild salmon does that for 90% of the First Nations across British Columbia. And the open-net pen fish farm industry represents one of the clearest threats to the health and abundance of wild salmon and represents potentially irreversible harm, and that’s right from the Cohen Commission Report on the Fraser Sockeye,” he said.

Chamberlin says the “science that they point to” — organizations in support of open-net pen fish farms — are sitting beside the DFO that has the mandate to promote it.

“They come up with science that says everything’s okay. It’s conflicted. It has no objectivity… because this science has been rejected by participants in the Canadian Science Advisory Secretaria” he said.

He says true peer-reviewed science journals in Canada and internationally say this industry is “much more than a minimal harm and risk to wild salmon.”

“When you consider the risk assessments that DFO stands on today, they did not consider the cumulative effects of the number of fish farms and the number of diseases and pathogens,” he added.

“They did not consider the status of pacific wild salmon.”

Chamberlin says, that in B.C. 90 per cent of the First Nations rely upon wild salmon for food security.

“Not food security at a sushi bar, but food security in villages across the province. Not only does B.C.’s economy rely upon wild salmon, but many British Columbians go out and enjoy catching fish with their sons and grandsons… They have culture and tradition around salmon just as First Nations do,” he said.

“Leonardo DiCaprio has comments about how the government is failing and their commitments are absolutely spot on.”

He says that the industry is mischaracterizing the 120 First Nations as activists when they are looking to protect their “constitutionally protected Aboriginal rights.”

“I don’t like pointing and tearing down somebody else because they support it, but it gets awful tiring when they mislead the public so blatantly,” he said.

Wild First wrote to CityNews in an email, that they “strongly believe” extending the licenses for open-net pen salmon farms by up to six years will conflict with the government’s transition plan.

“We should be moving away from licensing open-net pen aquaculture and not delaying the transition process. The federal mandate has been in place since 2019. A decade of rigorous, peer-reviewed science led by the Pacific Salmon Foundation, DFO, First Nations, and others outlines numerous risks open-net pen salmon farms pose to wild Pacific salmon through the amplification and transfer of harmful parasites and pathogens.” the statement read.

“75% of British Columbians, 120 plus First Nations, BC’s entire commercial salmon fishing fleet, B.C. wilderness tourism operators, and sport fishers all prioritize the preservation of wild Pacific salmon and agree it’s time to transition open-net pen salmon farms out of B.C. waters to land. Land-based salmon farming has proven viable around the world.”