Develop new and innovative approaches to modernize fisheries and aquaculture and responsible economic development on all three coasts.

What success looks like

Innovative approaches to modernize fisheries and aquaculture are developed that expand the economy and ensure the responsible growth of the sector.

Government's narrative on progress

In August 2017, the Government of Canada launched the $400 million, seven-year Atlantic Fisheries Fund, to drive innovation and to enable the fisheries and aquaculture sector to better meet market demands for sustainably sourced, high quality fish and seafood products, in the Atlantic provinces. Projects across the Fish and Seafood sectors have been announced in all four Atlantic provinces. On December 5, 2018, the Government of Canada launched the Canadian Fish and Seafood Opportunities Fund, a new $42.85 million cost-shared fund (70% federal and 30% provincial territorial) to promote market access and development for the fish and seafood industry. The fund will enable provinces and territories to support their industries' priority projects and help Canadians working in the fish and seafood sector by creating jobs and developing more opportunities for Canadian products. The 2018 Fall Economic Statement (FES) announced $100 million over six years, starting in 2018–19, to create a British Columbia Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund, as well as $30 million over five years, starting in 2019–20 for a Quebec Fisheries Fund. The B.C. and Quebec funds will support projects focused on innovation, clean technology adoption, infrastructure investments that improve productivity, sustainability and safety, and science partnerships. The FES also included a one-time payment of $5 million to the Pacific Salmon Endowment Fund society, which will support hundreds of non-profit organizations that work in communities across B.C. to conserve wild salmon. On December 18, 2017, the Government of Canada announced the Fisheries and Aquaculture Clean Technology Adoption Program (FACTAP), a four-year $20 million program that will help Canada’s fisheries and aquaculture industries incorporate clean technologies into their day-to-day operations. To date, the Program and its Provincial and private sector partners have allocated close to $7 million towards the adoption of innovative new clean technologies and processes. On March 15, 2019, the Government of Canada formally launched the British Columbia Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund (BCSRIF). The Fund supports: • innovation to encourage the development of new technologies to: o increase productivity; o help meet conservation and sustainability objectives, including the protection and restoration of wild BC stocks, including Pacific salmon; • infrastructure to encourage capital investments in new products, processes or technologies to support the: o advancement of sustainable fishing practices o protection and restoration of wild BC stocks, including Pacific salmon; and • science partnerships to support collaborations with academia and other research institutions to: o improve knowledge and understanding of impacts to wild stocks; o develop sustainable fishing practices. Applications for funding may be made through the Fisheries and Oceans Canada website. The Government of Canada is also helping to foster innovation in fishing technologies and methods that would maintain an active fishing industry while also reducing the risk of marine mammal entanglements, e.g. sustainable harvesting technologies, weak links in buoy lines, etc. Industry-driven testing of new gear technologies and pilot projects will bring new technologies that could aid in the coexistence of marine mammals and fishing in the future.

Note: this is the government's own description, not an independent assessment.