Regulating the Blue Economy? Challenges to an effective Canadian aquaculture act

The potential role of aquaculture in Canada’s Blue Economy strategy has injected new urgency into drafting national legislation to regulate the country’s aquaculture sector. This renewed focus on national aquaculture legislation is supported by industry who expect that an aquaculture act will lead to streamlined regulation and state support for aquaculture production and development, but also by environmental non-governmental organizations who seek stronger regulatory governance over an industry that has a long history of socio-ecological conflicts. In this brief commentary, we identify three key challenges to the establishment of a national aquaculture act in Canada and we examine the likely impact of these challenges to the future shape and direction of aquaculture regulation, with implications that extend beyond Canada. We critically reflect on the potential implications of a weak act, one that will not overcome the ongoing socio-ecological conflicts associated with aquaculture in Canada and elsewhere. The most likely outcome will be for these conflicts and demands to be resolved in the courts, which will provide a new critical area for social science research on marine policy.