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November 24, 2021AQUACULTURE STATISTICS, 2020 
Canada's aquaculture industry produced 170,805 tonnes of finfish and shellfish products in 2020 (including restocking), with a value of $1.04 billion. Aquaculture output tonnage declined by 8.7% from 2019 to 2020 with the largest declines among major aquaculture producers observed in Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec.
Nova Scotia's aquaculture output increased by 25.4% to 12,719 tonnes in 2020. Nova Scotia's aquaculture output value increased by 9.8% to $90.2 million. The increase in Nova Scotia's volume of aquaculture production more than offset declining values per tonne, contributing to rising aquaculture production value.
By province, Canada's largest aquaculture producers are British Columbia and New Brunswick, which accounted for over 70% of production volume and 77% of production value in 2020. Nova Scotia produced 7.4% of the national aquaculture volume (in tonnes) in 2020 and 8.6% of the national value in dollars of aquaculture output. Nova Scotia is the third largest aquaculture producer by value and the fourth largest by volume.
In 2020, the average unit value of Nova Scotia's aquaculture products was above the national average at $7,088 per tonne, however, this was down 12.5% from value per tonne in 2019. Quebec aquaculture had the highest value per tonne while Prince Edward Island had the lowest. This differences across provinces reflects in part differences in the relative amounts of finfish and shellfish produced in each province, with finfish generally having higher unit values.
Nova Scotia's aquaculture output volume was up in 2020 but has yet to recover to levels observed in 2018. The value of Nova Scotia’s aquaculture production rebounded after two years of declines.
Value Added
Real GDP in Nova Scotia's aquaculture industry declined 6.8% in 2020, similar to the 6.9% decline observed at the national level. Aquaculture real GDP was only up in provinces with smaller aquaculture industries, notably Ontario, where aquaculture output almost tripled.
British Columbia and New Brunswick generate the largest amount of real GDP from aquaculture, followed by Ontario after its large increase in 2020. Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island generate similar amounts of real GDP from aquaculture.
Between 2007 and 2020, Nova Scotia's aquaculture real GDP has grown at an average annual pace of 2.9% per year. Newfoundland and Labrador's aquaculture real GDP grew the fastest over this period, rising by 9.1% per year. Real GDP from aquaculture grew more slowly over this period in British Columbia (0.6% per year) and Prince Edward Island (0.9% per year).
Source: Statistics Canada. Table 32-10-0107-01 Aquaculture, production and value; Table 36-10-0402-01 Gross domestic product (GDP) at basic prices, by industry, provinces and territories (x 1,000,000)
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