“When the new B.C. Aquaculture Regulatory Program is fully implemented, forty-three new jobs will have been created on Vancouver Island, and nine in Vancouver,” said Gail Shea, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans.
“These positions will provide much-needed economic stimulus to coastal communities, and provide DFO with the skilled workforce it needs to ensure that aquaculture in B.C. is managed and regulated in a manner that is efficient, effective and sustainable.”
DFO expects to place:
- Fourteen new employees in Nanaimo, including fishery officers and aquaculture resource management staff;
- Eight employees in Courtenay, with responsibility for fish health monitoring, as well as shellfish and freshwater field monitoring and assessments;
- Fifteen employees in Campbell River, including fishery officers, licensing staff, and staff responsible for finfish field assessments;
- Six employees in Port Hardy, including fishery officers, aquaculture resource management staff and employees responsible for finfish field monitoring and assessments, and,
- In Vancouver, two new communications advisors responsible for public reporting, six aquaculture management staff, and one new employee for Conservation and Protection.
DFO has acquired office space in Campbell River and Nanaimo, as well as a fish-health laboratory and a vessel in Courtenay, which the Department will operate as part of the new B.C. Aquaculture Regulatory Program. Staff in Port Hardy will use existing DFO office space.
Both the Department’s wild-stock fisheries and aquaculture programs are managed under the federal Fisheries Act and Fishery General Regulations.
The new Pacific Aquaculture Regulations are expected to simplify the management regime and make it more efficient for B.C.’s aquaculture industry, while also resulting in increased environmental monitoring and enforcement.
