Benthic performance at marine finfish aquaculture sites in BC

This graph shows the percentage of marine finfish aquaculture facilities in BC that were above and below established benthic thresholds, as reported by industry. As per the Aquaculture Activities Regulations (AAR), facilities must perform benthic monitoring near the end of each production cycle, when fish biomass is highest and the impact is expected to be the greatest. Monitoring must occur every two years for facilities that have fish on site continuously. The numbers on the bars show the actual number of facilities that performed benthic monitoring in each year.

On average, the majority of sites are below thresholds. When thresholds are exceeded, sites must remain fallow and cannot be restocked until the seabed has recovered. Detailed industry and DFO audit reports are available.

Related links

• Infographic: Monitoring benthic impacts at BC aquaculture sites
• Graph: Benthic performance at marine finfish aquaculture sites in BC