Sustainability

[|Sustainability] is an attempt to ensure the best outcomes for both the human and natural environments. The contemporary meaning of the term was coined by the [|Brundtland Commission] in the 1987 report //[|Our Common Future]//. In the context of development, the Commission, stemming from an economic [|worldview], defined sustainability as the ability to meet all of the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. As such, sustainability requires that each generation passes on the same amount of natural capital to the next generation. To achieve complete sustainability, equilibrium must exist between the three components, also known as the “pillars,” of sustainability: economic, social, and environmental. Due to the complex nature of most issues, finding a balance between these three aspects proves difficult and often one component is favoured to the detriment of the others. There is much debate over whether "[|sustainable development]" can even exist, or whether it is an oxymoron.

Finding Sustainability is difficult if the actual population size is never known. Currently the best method for finding the sustainable take for a animal population is the Maximum sustainable yield method which takes the maximum calculated population growth and works with the interest for the population. So in theory a population would never shrink if only the MSY was taken and if the quota wasn't met the population would slowly grow.

In relation to Salmon farming and Aquaculture in BC the concept came out of the work of the WCED, and their report, __Our Common Future__ (1987)Important policy goal, challenging government to make decisions that balance economic opportunity with social equity and environmental protection. It is a highly complex process trying to balance economic opportunity provided by innovative fish farming industry (addressing economic viability of rural coastal communities), with impacts on local ecosystems, and social equity of those living locally, First Nations and fishers of wild salmon.

Salmon aquaculture is a sustainable industry, if government regulations would recognize some of the major issues with it. The idea of farming Atlantic salmon in the Pacific ocean has been a decades long process. The fish are being eaten, and hunger is a major issue in todays globalized world. Through the use of certain technologies and practises, the farming of fish, and numbers produced has only increased with demand. Where the fish used to die of disease, antibiotics and the use of genetic engineering as only advanced the sustainability of the industry further. If sustained, off shore containment units can been seen as a viable solution to ecosystem damage, then perhaps the industry will transform into a more Ecologically friendly one, reducing much of the scrutinity towards fishfarming today.

One can also argue it is not sustainable due to the ecological and possible human health impacts. It is obvious, although the federal governemt says there is no proof, that salmon farming is effecting the wild fish in detrimental ways. The most common being problem being the lice infections found in wild fish fry. The Salmon aquaculture may soon be a thing of the past in BC if the government concludes, from concrete scientific study that the diseased pinned up Atlantic Salmon are destroying wild fish habitat, by effecting them with disease, or taking over the rivers and streams in which the fish spawn. Ultimately, the sustainability of this industry relies on Native land claims, which should treaties be signed, would see the complete destruction of the industry due to native title of the land and sea.