Norwegian based Cermaq Canada is applying for 2 new salmon farms near Tofino, in the Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. In addition to their 16 current sites, Cermaq is applying for a 45-hectare salmon farm tenure in Millar Channel, and a 73-hectare tenure in Herbert Inlet.

There are already 21 salmon farm sites in Clayoquot, including the recently approved and contentious Plover Point site, which was opposed by the Tofino-Long Beach Chamber of Commerce and Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations.

Wild salmon are the lifeblood of Clayoquot Sound's ecology, culture, and economy. Yet the region's wild salmon are in serious decline.

The federal government’s Cohen Commission on Fraser River Sockeye raised serious concerns about the transfer of disease from farmed to wild stocks. Justice Cohen stated in 2012 that: “…a devastating disease could sweep through a population, killing large numbers of wild fish without scientists being aware of it.”

With all the uncertainty around the impacts of salmon farming on wild salmon, this is not the time to expand the industry in BC, especially not in the Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.