Operational management of sustainable fish farming

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Fish farming is an important economic activity in rural communities in Canada, producing approximately 151 thousand tonnes and generating $877 million in 2015, and Cooke Aquaculture is the largest domestic fish farming company in North America. Despite the benefits of fish farming in providing seafood and jobs, there are environmental management issues, regulated by DFO and the provinces. Waste management of food and feces is an important topic, and has traditionally been regulated by examining the area around the cages. However, an improved management approach would include the wider ecosystem. Working with Cooke Aquaculture, two scientists at Dalhousie (Grant and Filgueira) will help translate research results into best practices. Comparison of aquaculture regulations in Canada and broad will assist Cooke with more efficient compliance. In addition to government regulators there are ecolabeling brands that also require farm compliance. We will help improve the efficacy of those standards. We will also further develop computer models and software to better understand the pathways of veterinary medicine used on the farm, as well as the fate of farm waste (e.g uneaten food). This involves field sampling of sediments sampled over wide areas to test our findings. Collectively, these results will improve the 'fit' of fish farming in coastal ecosystems, and lead to increased sustainability.