VANCOUVER — UNCEDED xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (MUSQUEAM), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (SQUAMISH) AND səlilwətaɬ (TSLEIL-WAUTUTH) TERRITORIES — British Columbia’s emerging seaweed aquaculture industry is attracting interest and investment, but the current set of regulations does not specifically address ecological risks, a new report by the David Suzuki Foundation finds.

Globally, interest in expanding seaweed aquaculture is increasing, due to its combination of potential benefits for people and low impact on marine ecosystems. While the industry is currently dominated by production in Asia, the eastern North Pacific — including B.C.’s 25,000 kilometres of coastline — is one of the most promising regions for its expansion.

Titled Seaweed Aquaculture in British Columbia: Policy, Regulations, and Recommendations for Mitigating Potential Ecological Effects, the report examines the current state of regulations against the potential ecological risks and benefits should seaweed aquaculture expand along B.C.’s coast.

“Seaweed cultivation has a number of practical and theoretical attributes that make it attractive for those who want to create ecologically sustainable ocean-based economic opportunities,” said John Driscoll, fisheries science and policy analyst at the David Suzuki Foundation. “However, if it is not properly managed, seaweed aquaculture could have negative ecological effects, including genetically disrupting wild seaweeds, creating competition for light and nutrients with local flora and fauna and altering local food webs.”

The report finds a fragmented regulatory framework and jurisdictional gaps, which combine to create the potential for insufficient mitigation of ecological risks. With both provincial and federal jurisdictions overlapping on different aspects of the industry, and yet with no legislation specific to seaweed aquaculture in place at either government level, the current regulations span four provincial and federal agencies — but none of these regulations have been developed specifically to address the ecological risks of seaweed aquaculture. As a result, the burden of ensuring good management currently falls to provincial-federal teams, which rely on conditions of licence to ensure best practices are met.

Comprehensive consultations with First Nations, greater collaboration between all levels of Crown government and updated legislation specific to seaweed aquaculture are key to informing regulation of the industry, the report recommends. Immediate policy updates can offer faster guidance in the near term. An updated seaweed aquaculture policy for B.C. is anticipated by the end of 2025.

“Seaweed aquaculture is currently in murky regulatory waters, leaving B.C.’s coastal ecosystems at some degree of ecological risk,” Driscoll said. “The industry is still relatively small in B.C. It’s crucial that decision-makers get it right soon — not later, when the industry has expanded and impacts are occurring. We need a regulatory framework that clarifies jurisdictional lines, addresses key sources of ecological risk, centres traditional ecological knowledge and facilitates the benefits that seaweed farms may bring while protecting coastal ecosystems.”

– 30 –

The full paper can be read here.

For more information or interviews, please contact:

Brandon Wei, Communications specialist

bwei@davidsuzuki.org, 604-732-4228 x333

APPENDIX

Key findings:

1. Seaweed aquaculture has potential ecological risks, such as:

  • Genetic disruption of wild seaweeds.
  • Introduction of species, pathogens or disease to local ecosystems.
  • Competition for light and nutrients with other primary producers, and creation of anoxic zones on the seafloor.
  • Disruption to local food webs.

2. Seaweed aquaculture could also bring benefits to B.C. waters, by:

  • Preventing harmful microalgal blooms by fixing inorganic nutrients and reducing eutrophication.
  • Increasing buffering against ocean acidification by fixing inorganic dissolved carbon in nearby waters.
  • Attracting new species to the ecosystem by increasing primary production and creating new habitats.

3. Current regulatory frameworks have gaps that leave ecological integrity at risk.

  • Relevant regulatory bodies include the B.C. Ministry of Water Land and Resource Stewardship; the B.C. Ministry of Agriculture; Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Transport Canada.
  • Each agency applies regulation and policy from its own legislation, but legislation specific to seaweed cultivation is limited.
  • Jurisdictional murkiness exists for offshore areas.

Key recommendations:

  1. Comprehensive consultation with First Nations to gain perspectives on social, cultural, economic and ecological issues of seaweed farming in the context of B.C.’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.
  2. Comprehensive approach through all levels of Crown government to mitigate ecological risks and clarify jurisdictional grey zones.
  3. Updated legislation, specific to seaweed aquaculture, to address key concerns, including the offshore jurisdictional gap and protection of nearshore marine ecosystems.
  4. In the near-term, the development of policy to give immediate guidance and improve clarity and transparency.