Creative Salmon is Different
Job Creator
Sustains 70 full-time year-round jobs, 30 per cent identify as First Nations.
Certified Organic
No pesticides, no antibiotics, free of GMOs – North America’s first organic salmon farmer.
Native Species
Raises organic Pacific Chinook Salmon – a species local to BC’s Pacific waters.
First Nations Protocol Agreement
Located in Tofino, British Columbia and operates in the unceded territory of the Tla-o-qui-aht peoples under protocol agreement.
Canadian Business
Canadian-owned and operated for 35 years.
No Sea Lice Treatments
No chemical or mechanical sea lice treatments required during more than three decades of salmon farming.
Transition to Innovative Aquaculture
Integrated Multi-trophic Aquaculture (IMTA)
As stated by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, “Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) encourages greater environmental stewardship while increasing economic benefits for growers and communities. IMTA is a different way of thinking about aquatic food production that is based on the concept of recycling. Instead of growing only one species (monoculture) and focusing primarily on the needs of that species, IMTA mimics a natural ecosystem by combining the farming of multiple, complementary species from different levels.”
Since 2013, Creative Salmon has been exploring IMTA opportunities to grow sea cucumbers, kelp, and shellfish in our sustainable ocean-based net-pen environments where organic Chinook salmon complement other species through nutrient uptake and recycling.
IMTA would support:
- Increased First Nation participation
- Food security with healthy, nutritious, local food
- Job creation and retention of aquaculture experts
- New business and economic opportunities
- Development of projects designed to protect and build on the natural capital of wild salmon (dedicated funding)
- Safeguarding the environment for future generations (enhanced environmental responsibility) including algae carbon sequestration
Low-Density Farming:
Maintaining Organic Certification
To meet organic-certification standards, Creative Salmon must farm at no greater than 10kg/m3, typically Creative maintains pen densities below 8 kg/m3. Density is an important factor in fish welfare, and Creative’s relatively low density is a unique feature of its farming approach.
Conventional farming is usually done at about double the density that Creative’s organic standard requires, and land-based farming is about five or six times that.
Fish health is an essential part of Creative’s operation
Maintaining high fish-health standards mean Creative’s salmon are raised in a low-stress environment, creating a high-quality, in-demand product.
We haven’t needed to use antibiotics in our market fish since 2001. Also, since Chinook salmon is naturally tolerant of sea lice, we have never had to treat for sea lice in our 35 years of operation.
Strict Bio-Security Measures
24/7/365 Fish Health Monitoring
No Antibiotics or Pesticides
Commitment to Tla‑o‑qui‑aht First Nation
Creative Salmon operates in the traditional territory of the Tla‑o‑qui‑aht First Nation.
In July 2014, after two decades of relationship building and cooperative effort, Creative finalized a protocol agreement which established guiding principles for our Chinook salmon farming operations within the Haahuulthii (traditional territory) of the Tla‑o‑qui‑aht Hawiih (Chiefs) near Tofino, BC.
Read: Creative Salmon and Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation sign protocol agreement.
Environmental
Accountability
It’s possible for a salmon farm to be environmentally responsible AND operate on a sustainable scale. At Creative Salmon, we consider the environment in everything we do, and we make these choices even though it means there is extra work and costs involved.
Environmental Monitoring & Responsible Practices
Years ago, Creative Salmon was the first salmon farmer on Canada’s West Coast to implement an environmental-monitoring plan, even before it was mandated by government. In fact, one of our farm sites was selected as an intensive research site to help develop new performance-based standards for the management of salmon farms in BC.
We monitor our fish through underwater cameras – and we were one of the first companies to do so. Every fish pen is monitored during every meal by skilled staff. This ensures that feed use is optimized and the fish are fed properly.
We follow a site fallowing plan to minimize our environmental impact, meaning that we only operate four of our six farm sites at any one time. This allows us to rotate between sites and to fallow them for up to several years. Even active sites have fallow periods of up to 3 or 4 months between stockings. The fallowing plan is guided by the results of our environmental monitoring program as well as site conditions, and allows the sea floor to return to its natural condition.
We clean and maintain our sites without using any harsh chemicals or net antifoulants. We clean our nets by power washing them with sea water, or by exposing them to natural ultraviolet (i.e., sunshine!).
Contributing to
Our Communities
At Creative Salmon, we believe that being a local business means playing an integral part in the communities that surround us. We participate in events and activities in and around Clayoquot Sound – sponsoring local teams, supporting school activities, cooking salmon for special events, and giving financial support to local agencies.
Creative is also committed to making it easy for local people – from the communities of Tofino, Ucluelet, Esowista, Ty‑Histanis and Opitsaht – to work for us. We practice day-shifting, bringing staff to and from the farm sites every day, rather than having them live there for days at a time, so that they can be with their families every evening and have a more “regular” schedule.
