Managing transfers and fish health at British Columbia salmon farms

Fish health on British Columbia salmon farms is managed throughout the production cycle to maintain healthy fish populations and to identify and address disease occurrences as soon as they arise. Aquaculture licence conditions set out mandatory monitoring and reporting requirements to ensure any potential impacts are appropriately mitigated at salmon farms. A central component of on-farm fish health management is a Fish Health Management Plan (FHMP). FHMPs are approved by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and describe the fish health principles that the licensee must follow to maintain fish health and biosecurity at the farm. Both DFO and aquaculture companies have veterinarians on staff (or available on contract, for some companies) to monitor fish health on farms. Company veterinarians oversee routine health screening and ensure appropriate husbandry in day-to-day operations and identify appropriate management measures if fish health concerns arise. Licence holders must routinely submit a variety of fish health data to DFO. Routine reports include monthly sea lice abundance, antimicrobial use and information on [mortality…

Publisher

Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Resources

4

Catalogue metadata updated

2026-07-22