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Planetixx used imagery from three satellite constellations to conduct its analysis: Sentinel-2, Planet SuperDove, and Maxar WorldView. The coverage area was determined by reviewing Newfoundland and Labrador’s publicly available map of aquaculture sites in the province. All sites licensed for “cage culture,” the province’s term for fish farming, were included in the analysis. In total, 106 unique fish farming sites were analyzed.
Using over 60,000 Sentinel-2 and Planet SuperDove images, Planetixx developed an AI model to detect circular aquaculture structures (sea cages) within and near lease sites. This AI-powered analysis was subject to human review and quality control to reduce false positives and improve accuracy.
The survey identified six sites with anomalous patterns, such as clustered, damaged, or misshapen sea cages. These observations were confirmed by reviewing high-resolution Maxar WorldView imagery of the six locations.
The large-scale survey revealed six sites with anomalous characteristics. Maxar Worldview high resolution images, and in-person visits to some locations confirmed that these sites were used to dump broken, degraded salmon farm equipment, some left in place since at least 2011. The sites include, with approximate locations:
Roti Bay, which has six active fish farming licenses held by Cooke Aquaculture and Ocean Trout Canada had the most obsolete equipment: 132 cages in 2016 and 48 in the most recent image from March 2025.
Click here to view a table of salmon farm rings counted over time in each location.
For a gallery of the Maxar WorldView images of each site, click here.
To determine whether a licensed aquaculture site was in active use or not, Planetixx analysts documented whether any salmon farming equipment was present using Planet SuperDove imagery of southern Newfoundland. Available images span from March 2020 to May 2025.
For analytical consistency, any site with equipment present, including degraded sea cages, was categorised as active. Sites with no equipment present were considered inactive.
Over the five-year analysis period, covering all 106 licensed fish farming sites in Newfoundland and Labrador, exactly half (53) had no equipment present at any time, indicating prolonged abandonment.
Analysis further indicated that approximately 70 per cent of all licensed fish farm sites were inactive (i.e. no equipment present) at any single point in time over the five-year period.
Click here to view a table of site utilization.
The latest satellite imagery available to Planetixx analysts was captured on May 21st, 2025. To confirm whether the required surface clean-up of identified dump locations had been completed, ASF staff visited two of the known sites on June 23rd, 2025: Roti Bay and The Locker.
In Roti Bay, substantial abandoned equipment and other debris were observed, including long ropes anchored to the bottom floating across the surface of the water. The ropes and equipment in Roti Bay are a hazard to navigation and were reported to the Canadian Coast Guard which has issued a warning to mariners in the area.
At The Locker, which was previously cleaned up after ASF raised concerns in late 2024, significant amounts of salmon farm equipment in very poor condition have been hauled back into the area.
ASF observed severely damaged salmon farm rings, loose ropes, and Styrofoam particles floating away from the site.
Using side-scan sonar and a remote operated submersible, staff also photographed a whole sea cage and netting that appeared to be intentionally sunk at The Locker. Information provided to ASF indicates there is a substantial quantity of sunken debris in The Locker and other areas, creating a hazard for boats, fishermen, and wildlife. Sunken debris was not addressed by the January 2025 provincial clean up order.
Click here to view a gallery of downloadable images of Roti Bay and The Locker from June 2025.
Planetixx is an independent satellite analysis provider. Its role in this project was limited to data interpretation and image analysis based on publicly available and commercial satellite imagery. Planetixx does not take advocacy positions.