Aquaculture becomes a Canadian priority
Canada's newly appointed Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, Hunter Tootoo, appears to be offering welcome support to the country's aquaculture industry.
With the inception of a new Liberal government October 20th, Primer Minister Justin Trudeau appointed Hunter Tootoo as the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans. From coast to coast, this new government means real change for Canada, and when it comes to protection of marine and fresh waterways, this change couldn’t come soon enough.
As Prime Minister Trudeau said in his letter addressed to Minister Tootoo, “your overarching goal will be to protect our three oceans, coasts, waterways and fisheries and ensure that they remain healthy for future generations”.
Among the 14 different priorities outlined by Trudeau, the third on the list specifically addresses the need to restore research in ocean science and support sustainable aquaculture industries. “Restore funding to support federal ocean science and monitoring programs, to protect the health of fish stocks, to monitor contaminants and pollution in the oceans, and to support responsible and sustainable aquaculture industries on Canada’s coasts”.
This is in stark contrast to the former government lead by Stephen Harper, where funding for fisheries and oceans research was drastically slashed.
The new minister’s commitment to upholding these priorities was quickly realized as he was in attendance at the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance AGM and Forum held this week in Ottawa, Canada.
He was gladly welcomed by members of the alliance and industry representatives. In one tweet by Cyr Couturier, an aquaculture research scientist from Newfoundland said, “Thanks Hon. ?@HunterTootoo 4 meeting NL reps at CDN Aquaculture reception ?@CDNaquaculture ?@NAIA_NL ?@JudyFooteMP”.
This new sense of collaboration and dedication to sustainability and innovation is a most welcome change for Canadians, and is exactly what was needed in order to restore Canada's erstwhile reputation as a world leader in environmental stewardship. The future is indeed bright for aquaculture in Canada.
