Tiicma Fisheries Inc., a venture of Ka:’yu:’k’t’h’/Che:k:tles7et’h’ First Nations (KCFN), is in the process of applying to the Ministry of Transport for a tenure site and licence to operate a sablefish facility in Kyuquot Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island.
The proposed aquaculture finfish facility is located 11.5-kilometres from Houpsitas, a KCFN village, and about 12-kilometres from Fair Harbour, the marina facility owned by the nation.
Pinnace Channel is the presented waterway for the site, which will be floating adjacent to Hohoae Island.
According to Tiicma’s Transport Canada application (file number 2001-500751), the sablefish facility will include a floathouse, feed barge and 10 cages within a 30-by-30-metre area.
“A compliment of three staff (minimum) will reside on the floathouse to manage aquaculture operations,” reads Tiicma’s application.
Currently, there are three marine aquaculture facilities for sablefish in British Columbia, two of which are active and situated in Kyuquot Sound, while a single inactive facility lies in Barkley Sound, according to Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO).
The two active facilities, Charlie’s Place and Centre Cove, are currently licensed for 2,700 and 2,202 metric tons of sablefish, respectively, whereas the Barkley Sound facility is licensed for 550 metric tons, according to DFO.
Golden Eagle Sablefish operates the two active sablefish sites in partnership with KCFN and produces sablefish, also known as black cod, products for both local and international markets.
The licences for all three sablefish facilities were issued on July 1, 2024 and expire in 2030. Salmon farms have until 2029 to remove their open net pens from Pacific waters, but this ban does not apply to sablefish aquaculture.
“Sablefish farms are not included in the Government of Canada’s plan to phase out open net-pen salmon aquaculture in B.C.,” according to DFO.
Sablefish, also known as black cod, are deep-water marine fish with a northern amphi-Pacific distribution and high fisheries value, estimated at approximately $27.9 million per year between 2012 and 2022, according to DFO.
Daniel Rabu, Tiicma Fisheries general manager, says the new finfish facility at Hohoae Island will be wholly owned by Tiicma Fisheries. He declined to comment further until the application process is finalized.
Public comment for the proposed Hohoae sablefish facility closes on October 10, 2025 at 1 a.m.