"Not only economically, but environmentally. The carbon footprint is higher than a net pen, for example, for the equivalent area and the equivalent production."

Coutourier also said there's no guarantee that growing salmon in tanks will prevent infections.

This week, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency confirmed an outbreak of infectious salmon anaemia at a farm operated by Cooke Aquaculture.

That prompted a call from provincial Liberal fisheries critic Jim Bennett to stop keeping the fish in pens.