Salmon Grown in Land-based Tanks Come to Market

A more sustainable alternative to salmon raised in ocean-based net pens is finally hitting markets in B.C. and Alberta. The Namgis First Nation's Kuterra closed-containment, land-based salmon farm on Vancouver Island answers most of the concerns that people have about farmed salmon.

"The Namgis facility recirculates 98 per cent of its water and the salmon never come in contact with wild salmon. Young fish from the hatchery are held in quarantine for four months before being moved to larger tanks to grow, so the facility can operate without pesticides or antibiotics."

Kuterra’s news comes just as B.C.’s net pen aquaculture industry faces more unflattering media attention in both the United States and Canada.

A recent report from the Vancouver Sun revealed that over the past two years the federal government has paid Canadian aquaculture firms $94 million as compensation for fish that were destroyed due to disease.

Read the entire story by Randy Shore, Vancouver Sun, May 14, 2014: Salmon grown in land-based tanks come to market

Watch the recent 60 Minutes report Saving the Wild Salmon.