Fish farm companies should be required to get First Nations approval, B.C. advisory council recommends

A provincial advisory council is recommending that fish farm companies be required to have agreements in place with localFirst Nations before the province approves any new or replacement tenures.

The proposal is part of a series of recommendations issued in a 230-page report.

Agriculture Minister LanaPophamsays the province will consider the recommendations as it reviews 20 fish-farm tenures that are up for renewal this June in theBroughtonArchipelago off northeastern Vancouver Island.

Protesters have occupied multiple fish farms in theBroughtonArchipelago over the past year, claiming they are operating in First Nations' traditional territories without their consent.

The B.C. Green Partysaid it hopes thegovernment will not renew the tenures based on the report's recommendations and urges the government to adopt the other recommendations without delay.

"I do not want to this report to be shelved along with all the other fisheries reports we've seen over the years," said Adam Olsen, the party's wild salmon spokesperson.

The B.C. Salmon Fish Farmers Association said it agrees with most of the recommendations butfinds some "unworkable in practice," particularly, when it comesacquiring First Nation agreement at existing business sites.

"The association cannot support that recommendation as writtenbut would welcome the opportunity to work with other stakeholders and government to clarify it," it said in a news release.

The report also recommends that government consider putting a cap on how many farmed fish are allowed in a certain area and put farms in areas where there is lower salinity to reduce sea lice infestations.

The council also recommends establishing an independent sciencecouncil to review "conflicting science" and fill information gapsabout the farms.

The council,which included representatives from the aquaculture industry, academia and First Nations,spent 18 months comingup with immediate and long-term recommendations to protect B.C.'s wild salmon stocks.

With files fromthe Canadian Press.