146 MARK I I 11 Rl Wn OTFAN RANnilNCi 



AbuhHH' Ihc Liiluiriiii; ot abalonc is well cslahlishcd 

 in Japan; but in British C'oliiinbia, uniy a single private 

 pilot project has been developing lor several years. It 

 includes research, supported bv the IX'partinent. Into 

 alternative priKiuctioii teclinn.|iies. The project has dem- 

 onstrated the biological feasibility ol abalonc culture in 

 this regu>n, and tlunigh the economics appear prtmiising 

 as well, they have not yd been proven. 



interest in abalonc culture is growing rapidly. Markets 

 are apparently strong, having absttrbed more than a mil- 

 lion p<ninds of production from wild stocks in this iegii)n 

 bet\>re the alKnvable catch was reduced, as explained in 

 the preceding chapter. C'ulturing offers a means of pro- 

 ducing biith a marketable food product and immature 

 abalone for stocking natural beds. If abalone culturing 

 proves economically rewarding, production of several 

 million p<iunds annually might well be achieved. 



At present we have a very wasteful system, 

 wasteful in that it underutilizes the natural 

 abalone in much of the coast. But even worse 

 is that it does not tap the vast potential of 

 abalone mariculture. . . .'' 



To allow this industry to develop. I recommend in 

 Chapter 10 that mariculture lea.ses be issued to promote 

 systematic management and harvesting of both wild and 

 cultured abalone. 



Other slwllfish The culturing of clams, like abalone, 

 offers opportunities to complement production from wild 

 stocks. The prospects for culturing manila clams are 

 especially encouraging. 



Mussels have been cultured in Europe for many years. 

 On the Pacific coast, the demand for this species is lim- 

 ited and commercial harvesting is apparently not threat- 

 ening wild stocks. However, European experience sug- 

 gests the higher-quality product cultured artificially 

 would expand market demand. 



Scallops occur naturally on the Pacific coast, but the 

 stocks do not lend themselves well to commercial exploi- 

 tation. Mariculture offers a more promising possibility 

 for prcxJucing scallops, at least in sufficient quantity to 

 meet the local market demand, which is now served by 

 Atlantic producers. 



Two years ago a pilot project, supported by the Science 

 Council of British Columbia, was initiated to test the fea- 

 sibility of alternative techniques for culturing scallops. 

 The provincial Marine Resources Branch has worked 

 closely with that project and has been researching a range 

 of problems of scallop culture. 



The shellfish mentioned above are those in which mari- 

 culturalists are most interested, but other species may 

 lend themselves to culture as well. Most of these shellfish 



can be readily produced in the same or complementary 

 facilities; oysters, clams ami mussels, lor example, arc 

 produced togethci in some other countries, ami tins prac- 

 tice IS being tested here. 



SaliiM)n Fanniii}^ 



Pen rearing of salmon has attracted considerable inter- 

 est in British Columbia, and several ventures of this kiml 

 are now operating. The Deparlment's Research Branch 

 has played an important role in developing rearing tech- 

 niques. 



The financial performance of salmon farming opera- 

 tions has been mixed. At the time this was written the 

 largest of them was in receivership. However, others 

 remain optimistic, and believe that .salmon culturing will 

 become an important industry. 



That the salmon farming industry is already 

 developing in British Columbia is obvious. 

 The risks and initial costs are extremely high, 

 the time lag between egg and market stages is 

 long, and government involvement is limited, 

 if not obstructionist in certain regards. In 

 spite of this, interest from both the general 

 public and those who wish direct involvement 

 is growing rapidly. New technology, advanc- 

 ing culture technique, knowledge of nutrition, 

 disea.se controls and coastline of rich poten- 

 tial all offer positive prospects for a self-sus- 

 taining new industry.^ 



A major obstacle to development of this fish farming 

 industry is the complicated and overlapping regulatory 

 requirements of the federal and provincial governments, 

 which I return to below. 



Other Possibilities 



Methods of culturing other species are likely to develop 

 in the future. Experiments are already being done on 

 pen-rearing sablefish, and interest has been shown in cul- 

 turing other species of clams, shrimps, prawns, crabs and 

 marine plants. 



Developing Interest 



For some years the Department's research establish- 

 ments have conducted basic and applied research in fish 

 culture. Recently, the Department of Indian and North- 

 ern Affairs responded to the interest of coastal Indians in 

 the economic opportunities of mariculture by establish- 

 ing an Indian Mariculture Task Force. Its objective is to 

 design a program for involving Indians in developing 

 mariculture and fisheries based on minor species. A 

 workshop attended by Indian representatives, maricul- 

 turalists. and specialists from the federal and provincial 



