Major win for wild salmon and ocean health after years of legal battles
January 29, 2026 – The Federal Court of Appeal has confirmed that open-net pen salmon farms will remain out of the Discovery Islands, marking a decisive win for wild salmon and coastal communities.
The ruling upholds a June 2024 Federal Court decision, which affirmed the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans’ ability to refuse aquaculture licenses in the Discovery Islands based on conservation concerns. Ecojustice represented the David Suzuki Foundation, Georgia Strait Alliance, Living Oceans Society, Watershed Watch Salmon Society, and independent biologist Alexandra Morton in the case.
“This is another tremendous victory for wild salmon,” said Imalka Nilmalgoda, lawyer at Ecojustice. “The Federal Court of Appeal noted the dire consequences that declining wild salmon stocks could have for First Nations rights, the economy, and the social fabric of British Columbia, and further confirmed that the Minister has broad discretion to take a precautionary approach when wild salmon face serious threats.”
The Discovery Islands are a critical migration route for Fraser River sockeye and other salmon populations. Research shows that fish farms in these waters expose wild salmon to parasites and diseases, which is a contributing factor to steep population declines. After the farms began closing in 2020, scientists recorded sharp declines in salmon lice—a parasite especially harmful to young salmon during migration—and early signs that salmon populations are recovering.
The legal fight has stretched back nearly five years:
- December 2020: Minister Bernadette Jordan announced a phase-out of open-net pens in the Discovery Islands after consulting local First Nations.
- 2021–2022: Fish farm companies successfully challenged the decision in court.
- February 2023: After consultation following the previous court challenges, Minister Joyce Murray refused to re-issue aquaculture licenses in the Discovery Islands based on conservation concerns. Fish farm companies challenged this decision in court.
- June 2024: The Federal Court upheld Minister Joyce Murray’s decision to deny new licenses.
- June 2025: The Court of Appeal has now affirmed the Federal Court’s ruling.
“After years of litigation, the courts have been unequivocal that the Minister is entitled to prioritize conservation,” said Stan Proboszcz, Senior Science and Policy Analyst, Watershed Watch Salmon Society. “With the federal government committed to banning open-net pen salmon farms in B.C., further lawsuits would only waste public time and resources, and the industry should focus on an orderly transition out.”
“Thank you, Ecojustice. This provides certainty to the salmon farming industry that the 2029 ban on marine salmon farms is on solid legal ground,” said Alexandra Morton. “The industry is now on notice to avoid sinking costs into breeding farmed salmon cohorts that won’t mature by June 30, 2029.”
“We all owe a debt of gratitude to these Ministers who stood firm in showing the Department what precautionary decision-making looks like,” said Karen Wristen, Executive Director of Living Oceans Society. “Their decisions to close the farms have been followed by strengthening returns of pink, chum and sockeye salmon that migrate through the Discovery Islands.”
“This decision validates decades of Indigenous leadership and scientific evidence: open-net pen fish farms put wild salmon at risk and have no place in a sustainable future,” said Beatrice Frank, Executive Director of Georgia Strait Alliance. “It’s time for Canada to move decisively toward innovative, climate-resilient economies that protect our marine ecosystems and coastal communities alike.”
The ruling strengthens Canada’s path to end open-net fish farming across B.C. by 2029, ensuring wild salmon — vital to ecosystems, cultures, and communities — have a fighting chance to recover.
About
Alexandra Morton is an Independent Biologist who has dedicated her life to restoring the balance between the people and the wild salmon off the coast of British Columbia.
The David Suzuki Foundation (DavidSuzuki.org | @DavidSuzukiFdn) is a Canadian environmental non-profit organization, founded in 1990. We operate in English and French, with offices in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal. We aim to collaborate with many different people in Canada, including Indigenous leadership and communities, all governments, businesses and individuals to find solutions to create a sustainable Canada through scientific research, traditional ecological knowledge, innovative policy and legal solutions, communications and public engagement. Our mission is to protect nature’s diversity and the well-being of all life, now and for the future. We envision a world where we all act every day on the understanding that we are interdependent with nature, and with each other.
Georgia Strait Alliance: Grounded in environmental justice, GSA mobilizes and supports collective action to protect the Salish Sea region to achieve their vision of a Salish Sea teeming with life where thriving and just communities live in balance with the environment.
Living Oceans works to ensure that Canada’s oceans are sustainably managed and thriving with abundant and diverse sea life that supports vibrant and resilient communities. It has maintained a campaign to reform open-net pen aquaculture for over 20 years.
Watershed Watch Salmon Society is a science-based charity working to defend and rebuild B.C.’s wild salmon. We advocate for B.C.’s wild salmon and the waters where they swim. Since 1998, Watershed Watch Salmon Society has been exposing threats to salmon and their habitats, calling for conservation action, and promoting solutions.
VANCOUVER / UNCEDED xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (MUSQUEAM), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (SQUAMISH), AND səlilwətaɬ (TSLEIL-WAUTUTH) TERRITORIES