Question Period Note: Framework for Aquaculture Risk Management (FARM)

• We take our role in the management of aquaculture seriously, which is why my department is developing a framework for aquaculture management that will help us manage and reduce the risk of harm to fish and fish habitat. This framework will also explain how the precautionary approach is applied and what the management objectives are for aquaculture.
• Additionally, this framework responds to the 2018 audit by the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, which noted that the Department needs to clarify how it applies precaution in making decisions related to aquaculture.
• The framework supports a more consistent, robust, and transparent decision-making process around aquaculture.
• We are currently incorporating comments from partners and stakeholders and finalizing the framework.

• DFO developed the Sustainable Fisheries Framework (SFF) to support the conservation and sustainable use of Canadian fisheries resources. The Framework for Aquaculture Risk Management (FARM) was designed to be consistent with the SFF in that the FARM will be the overarching framework for future policies and tools related to the prudent management of aquaculture according to the DFO legislative mandate.
• Within the FARM, the threshold for unacceptable harm to fish or fish habitat is an impact from any aquaculture activity that has the potential to cause population-level detrimental effects to fish populations.
• This level of harm is analogous to fishery harvest control rules and avoiding the “upper stock reference point” in managing fish stocks, which, if exceeded, may result in population impacts. It is also aligned with the avoidance of population-level effects for managing species at risk.
• The need to assess the risks, understand the extent of the effects of the aquaculture activity on fish and fish habitat, and recognize the scientific uncertainties associated with the assessment of these effects emphasizes the need for the application of a precautionary approach when faced with a decision.
• The greater the uncertainty, the less confidence there is that impacts and risks are estimated with accuracy and precision. Therefore, the management of these risks will, by necessity, require more risk averse measures and the application of precaution in our decision making.
• The FARM document has been shared with key stakeholder and partners, including the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance, the Assembly of First Nations, the First Nations Fisheries Council of BC, and the provinces. The document was also posted on the DFO website for a 45-day public comment period in July 2019.
• Key revisions to the FARM document will include better clarification of how DFO uses the precautionary approach in decision making, a clearer link to DFO’s mandate, and how Indigenous knowledge will be further considered.
• The revised framework was presented to the External Advisory Committee on Aquaculture Science on October 23, 2020.
• Comments from the committee are being addressed and the finalized draft will be shared with our key partners and stakeholders for their input prior to its publication on DFO’s website.

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