 Public Reporting on Aquaculture in the
Pacific Region - Incidental Catch
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is committed to ensuring that
the aquaculture industry in B.C. operates in a way that
minimizes the impact on wild fisheries and the coastal ecology.
Wild fish naturally swim into net pens at
aquaculture facilities, and co-exist with farmed fish. There is
past and on-going research to determine if wild fish are being
preyed upon within the net pens, but at this time predation
appears to be minimal. In some cases, these wild fish may grow
too large to swim back out of the net pens and remain
resident in the aquaculture facility. When the time comes for
the harvest or transfer of farmed fish, these wild fish are
identified as “incidental catch” if they are caught along with
farmed fish, as the aquaculture facility is not licensed for
their cultivation or sale.
Incidental by-catch and discarding of non-targeted species also
occurs in many fisheries. As the regulator of the aquaculture
industry in B.C., DFO requires that finfish aquaculture licence
holders take all reasonable measures to prevent the incidental
catch of wild fish caught as a result of the harvest of
farmed fish from an aquaculture farm site, or during the
transfer of farmed fish. These efforts include designing and
using nets and equipment in a way that reduces the risk of
incidental catch. If, despite these efforts incidental catch
does occur, finfish licence holders must release, in the least
harmful manner possible, any live fish captured in this way.
When mortalities do occur, facility operators are required to
make a reasonable effort to retain and account for dead
incidental catch, and dispose of it in same manner as dead
farmed stock.
Conditions of Licence require facility operators
to maintain an incidental catch log, and provide a report to DFO
quarterly.
The table below lists the reported incidental catch at B.C.
marine finfish facilities.
Data for this quarter may not be available for all farms. Sites
that do not currently have fish on-site, that have nil reports
or where harvesting or transfer activities did not occur during
the reporting period, are not currently required by the
Conditions of Licence to provide reports.
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