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Top Species Consistent quality and appearance make farmed salmon a chef's favorite. Atlantic salmon can be impacted. Te farms that were affected have removed and composted the fish and monitoring has been stepped up. Walling says the last IHN outbreak was in 2002, soon after which an environmen- tal management plan was created. "So when we got the call about a possible out- break, we got the plan off the shelf," she says. Te difference between Farmed salmon Versatile product fills needs and niches BY JOANNE FRIEDRICK P largest eople love salmon, at home or in a restaurant. Com- bined, both wild and farmed salmon traditionally take the No. 3 spot among U.S. consumers' favorite species, behind only shrimp and tuna. In 2011, Canada was the exporter of farmed salmon to the United States, offering more than 155 mil- lion pounds, followed by Chile, at more than 96 mil- lion pounds, Norway (about 36 million Faroe Islands (nearly 32 mil- lion pounds) and the United Kingdom (about 31.5 mil- lion pounds). Members of the British Columbia Salmon Farm- ers Association produced about 80,000 metric tons (MT) of salmon in 2011, which has been consis- tent over the past couple 26 SeaFood Business October 2012 salmon, of years, says Mary Ellen Walling, of the association. Farmers in the province produce mostly Atlantic she but some also raise chinook (king salmon). Over the past five or six years, Walling has noted an "inability to meet demand in domestic and U.S. markets" as well as emerging ones like China, India and Korea. With demand so high, pounds), the she says, the logical next step would be expansion, but the industry still faces challenges in securing in- vestment capital, in part be- cause of Canada's regulatory structure. Farmed salmon is currently regulated under the nation's fisheries act. "But we aren't fishermen; we are definitely farmers," says Walling, whose associa- tion is working with legisla- tors in Canada on a federal aquaculture act. Once that is in place, she says, there says, executive director should be more stability in the industry and conse- quently more among potential investors. "We're working hard on that," she adds, hoping the legislation will provide "a foundation for getting in- vestment in the future." Te act impacts all of Canada and all farmed species, she says, which is requiring a high degree of cooperation among farmers in differ- ent geographic regions and across species. "We may be pursuing different markets, but we all want a good foun- dation for growth." Tackling IHN In the meantime, B.C. salmon farmers are also emerging from a recent outbreak of infectious he- matopoietic necrosis (IHN) disease, which is found nat- urally in the Pacific Ocean. While wild fish have a natural resistance to it, farmed confidence the 2002 outbreak and this one, she says, is that because of the plan, there has been a higher level of coopera- tion and communication as well as a greater ability to more rapidly depopulate the farms and compost the dis- eased fish. Te viral management plan will likely undergo some re- finements based on the reac- tion to the latest outbreak, says Walling. Promoting farmed salmon will continue to be a focus for the association as well, "We aren't fishermen; we are definitely farmers. We may be pursuing different markets but we all want a good foundation for growth." — Mary Ellen Walling, executive director, British Columbia Salmon Farmers Association she notes, especially through participation in events such as Eat Vancouver, which was held in June this year and will take place again in late May 2013, and overall efforts to tout the health benefits of eating salmon, whether it's wild or farmed. Visit us online at www.seafoodbusiness.com Photo courtesy of Verlasso