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An estimated 10.1 billion aquatic animals died for food in Canada in 2022, according to an analysis done by Animal Justice based on government statistics. This shocking figure is more than 12 times the 841 million<\/a> land animals killed that year, and similar to the estimated 10.2 billion<\/a> aquatic animals who died in 2021.\u00a0<\/p>\n Fishes and other aquatic animals like octopuses, lobsters, crabs, and shrimps are complex, sentient animals capable of experiencing a range of emotions and sensations. They are curious, intelligent, and often engage in complex social behaviours and problem-solving activities. Like us, aquatic animals have nervous systems and can feel pain, yet there are few laws to protect them from suffering at the hands of the fishing and fish farming industry.<\/p>\n In government statistics, aquatic animals aren\u2019t counted as individuals\u2014instead, the industry merely counts their collective weight in tonnes. This makes it difficult to understand the true impact of death, suffering, and destruction on individual animals caused by fishing and farming aquatic animals for food.<\/p>\n The annual commercial landing weights reported by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) are grouped by species. We divided the total landing weight of each species by the average weight of an individual member of that species. This gave us a rough estimate of the number of individuals killed each year in the aquaculture and fishing industries.* Sadly, the analysis shows that an overwhelming\u00a0number of individual aquatic animals lost their lives to commercial fishing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n About 600 million of these fishes are finfish species like salmon, tuna, perch, cod, and catfish. They are either caught in the wild or bred in fish farms\u2014both notorious for environmental harm and animal cruelty.\u00a0<\/p>\n Over 31 million of these finfishes came from fish farms, also known as aquaculture\u2014where a large number of fishes are kept in small indoor tanks, or netted enclosures in natural bodies of water, like lakes or bays. These conditions are highly stressful and can lead to increased aggression, high mortality rates, and disease outbreaks\u2014leading to overuse of antibiotics.\u00a0<\/p>\n In 2024, Animal Justice released troubling undercover video footage from fish farms\u2014a caviar farm<\/a> in British Columbia, a so-called \u201csustainable\u201d salmon farm<\/a> in Nova Scotia.The video showed widespread animal suffering and appalling practices\u2014from fishes being sliced open while still alive, to being violently stomped to death for no reason.<\/p>\n Fish farms also pollute surrounding waterways through the discharge of waste products, excess nutrients, and chemicals. Pollution from fish farms can cause toxic algal blooms and degrading water quality, which can harm other marine animals as well as human health.\u00a0<\/p>\n \nHow We Got the Numbers<\/h2>\n
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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nRampant Cruelty & Environmental Destruction Caused By the Fishing Industry<\/h2>\n
Fish Farming in Canada<\/h3>\n