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 the risk of harm to fish and fish habitat. This framework will also explain how the precautionary approach is applied and what management objectives are for aquaculture.
• Additionally, this framework responds to the 2018 Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development audit, which noted that the Department needs to clarify how it applies precaution.
• The framework will support a more consistent, robust, and transparent decision-making process around aquaculture.

• 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 science-based 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 risk, to understand the extent of the effect of the activity on fish and fish habitat, and the scientific uncertainties associated with the assessment of these effects is required prior to the determination of whether or not there is a need to take a precautionary approach when faced with a decision.
• The greater the uncertainty, the less confidence there is that impacts and risk are estimated with accuracy and precision. Therefore, the management of these risks will, by necessity, require more risk averse (precautionary) measures and decisions.
• The draft FARM documents have been shared with key stakeholder and partners, including the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance (CAIA), the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), the First Nations Fisheries Council (FNFC) of B.C., and the provinces who manage aquaculture. The documents were also posted on the DFO website for a 45-day public comment period in July 2019.
• Key revisions to the FARM documents will include better clarification of how DFO uses the precautionary approach in decision-making and how indigenous knowledge is considered.
• The current FARM documents are expected to be finalized in the coming months.

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