A fish farm once touted as a closed-containment technology pioneer has been fined $350,000, after owners pled guilty to licence violations in court last month.
West Coast Fish Culture, owned by the Dundee Corporation after parent Agrimarine Holdings was sold last year, was fined in provincial court August 22 for “engaging in aquaculture activities not under the authority of an aquaculture licence” in Lois Lake, near Powell River. Fisheries and Oceans Canada inspectors found the company was illegally using the lake outside its licence terms, and had done little to prevent fish escapes.
Last year the province gave the company a second chance and advised them to apply for a tenure renewal, despite finding they were producing 1,100 times more fish than allowed, discharging effluent over their licence limits, and creating an invasive population from escapes.
In BC finfish farms require tenure from the province to use a portion of land, even over fresh or saltwater. They also require a federal licence from Fisheries and Oceans Canada, which was what the court found had been violated.
“This significant fine underscores the duty of operators to follow the rules and regulations in B.C.’s highly regulated aquaculture industry,” said DFO in a statement.
The company once supplied steelhead salmon to Cactus Club restaurants as “Ocean Wise Steelhead,” which is still on the menu, and as of Sept. 26, 2024 are still listed as sustainable suppliers by the Ocean Wise website guide.
However Ocean Wise told Vista Radio the company is no longer a recommended supplier, and Ocean Wise Seafood Partners have been advised to find a new supplier for associated products since the farm’s closure last year.
The company’s websites for Agrimarine and West Coast Fish Culture have been taken down, and the latest social media posts available are from 2016. The company originally positioned itself as a pioneer of closed-containment aquaculture systems.
According to the financial statements for Dundee Corporation, Agrimarine was sold to Dundee in March 2023, after losing more than $13 million in 2022.
In 2021, the company’s proprietary semi-closed containment system in Lois Lake failed, releasing thousands of fish and prompting the original DFO investigation.
The company suffered a similar escape incident in 2012, when its closed-containment system near Campbell River broke up in a storm, causing fish escapes.
They were removed as a member from the BC Salmon Farmers Association last November.
