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Proposed Aquaculture Sites - Open House and Public Meeting

Date

Monday, February 6, 2012

Time

Open House: 6 pm - 7 pm
Public Meeting: 7 pm - 9 pm

Place

Royal Canadian Legion Branch #58 (Upstairs)
23566 Highway #7, Sheet Harbour, Nova Scotia

The Nova Scotia Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture invites you to attend an open house and public meeting on applications submitted by SNOW ISLAND SALMON INC. to operate finfish leases in the waters of Shoal Bay, Spry Bay and Beaver Harbour, Halifax County.

The open house and public meeting are conducted as part of the Department’s review process to provide information and enable the public to comment on the proposals. The input gathered will be used by the Department and other government agencies to aid in their review of the applications.


The open house will include several information stations on aquaculture subjects where attendees can talk with staff. The public meeting portion of the evening consists of a presentation followed by a question and answer session.


The proposed site (#1370 - Shoal Bay) is 18 hectares with the dimensions of: 300m x 600m. The site is centered around 44° 46' 29.42" Latitude and -62° 43' 36.18" Longitude and is for the marine cage cultivation of Atlantic salmon.


The proposed site (#1371 - Spry Bay) is 18 hectares with the dimensions of: 300m x 600m. The site is centered around 44° 49' 00.12" Latitude and -62° 37' 01.47" Longitude and is for the marine cage cultivation of Atlantic salmon.


The proposed site (#1372 - Beaver Harbour) is 18 hectares with the dimensions of: 300m x 600m. The site is centered around 44°53'22.75" Latitude and -62° 24' 14.13" Longitude and is for the marine cage cultivation of Atlantic salmon.


A sketch of the proposed sites and further details can be obtained below or from:


Aquaculture Licensing & Leasing Supervisor

Nova Scotia Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture
PO Box 2223, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3J 3C4
Telephone: (902) 424-0356
Fax: (902) 722-1490
Email: vezinam@gov.ns.ca


Written submissions will be accepted until February 20, 2012.


Written information provided to the Department as submissions are subject to the protections and disclosures required by the Nova Scotia Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. The Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture may provide information it receives to other government agencies involved in evaluating aquaculture applications in order to facilitate the performance of their responsibilities.


Sterling W.W. Belliveau
Minister

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Coming Soon to a Cove Near You!

Recently our Nova Scotia Dept. of Fisheries and Agriculture announced a public consultation regarding three new marine cage fish farms proposed in the vicinity of Sheet Harbour, Halifax County. The notice appears below.

The Eastern Sportfish Association (ESA) sent a written submission to the department and plans to attend the public meeting. ESA’s concern in this matter is the survival and well-being of current and future populations of wild and stocked Atlantic salmon and other sport fish in Nova Scotia’s eastern shore streams. We believe that sport fishing and finfish aquaculture can both provide significant economic benefit to rural communities and that they can be harmonious.


ESA supports closed land-based aquaculture of finfish that poses no risk to the environment and to Atlantic salmon and other sport fish populations while providing important economic benefit to rural communities in Nova Scotia.


However, we oppose any marine cage cultivation at the above listed sites because there is strong evidence that this system decimated wild Atlantic salmon and other species in areas such as our Bay of Fundy, western Scotland, and Norway. We also recognize that it also puts our very important lobster fishery at risk.


ESA urges the government of Nova Scotia to amend regulations such that they require closed land-based systems for all future finfish aquaculture development. Such systems have proven profitable and environmentally safe.


This could become a tremendous opportunity for us. If Nova Scotia adopts this new strategy quickly we could become the world leader in aquaculture development while providing economic benefits to many of our rural communities and minimizing environmental impact. It will also enable Nova Scotians to work together for the greater good rather than polarizing public opinion as marine cage cultivation has done recently.

 

Furthermore, we must look well beyond the next provincial election to sustain Nova Scotia’s finfish aquaculture opportunities for the future. If Nova Scotia fails to adopt this new technology we could become a world loser rather than a world leader. Closed land-based systems don’t require proximity to ocean coastlines. They can be implemented anywhere in the world. About 80% of Nova Scotia’s farmed salmon is currently exported to the USA. What will this new technology do to that market? What will it do to Nova Scotia?

 

A good example of a next generation fish farm is Teton Fisheries, LLC, located near Choteau, Montana, USA. It’s a creation of the Miller Hutterite Colony, a large Coho salmon farm on the high plains of Montana.

 

Aquaculture North America magazine reported on Teton’s recirculation system in the Sept/Oct 2011 issue, “Traditionally, energy costs have been a problem for recirculation aquaculture systems; however, HTE (HTE Biofilter designed by Holder-Timmons, LLC, sold by Aquacare Environment,Inc.) has a developed a prototype that is predicted to reduce energy costs by a factor of five. Land, facility development costs, and labour costs will vary from area to area. However, the ability to rear a desired species in any desired location with very low water and land requirements solves most of the constraints that have kept North American aquaculture from competing effectively with producers located in developing nations.”

 

Our aquaculture industry has stubbornly insisted that closed land-based systems are too costly to be competitive. It’s similar to the automobile industry saying that it can’t afford to produce safe cars! The real question that the industry must now consider is “Can we afford NOT to switch to closed recirculation systems?”

 

We’ve seen the consumer reaction to organically grown foods. Such products are clearly branded to differentiate them from inferior products and we are willing to pay more to these responsible producers. Why hasn’t the aquaculture industry done the same?

 

Two years after the Nova Scotia Salmon Association’s (NSSA) liming project on the West River Sheet Harbour proved successful in restoring Atlantic salmon reproduction, we see marine cage aquaculture sites being proposed in very close proximity to both sides of that river’s estuary. NSSA’s acid rain mitigation program began when a lime doser was installed in 2005. When one imagines the money and effort expended on the project since then, it must be very discouraging indeed to see this aquaculture development licensed and supported by government.

 

And speaking of government, where is our federal Dept. of Fisheries and Oceans? As custodians of our wild Atlantic salmon how could they permit marine cage aquaculture on Nova Scotia’s eastern shore when Atlantic salmon there are designated an endangered species by COSEWIC?

 

Nova Scotians have a clear choice here; Does aquaculture have any real future in Nova Scotia? Do we want short term jobs or a secure future? Could tourism generated by a thriving sport fishery better provide this future? Do we care about our marine environment and wild fish? Should we put our lobster and sport fisheries at risk? These are some important questions we can ponder between now and the next provincial election!

 

Here’s the government announcement. This is an important decision for our future, so I urge you to attend the public meeting or to make a written submission.

Please send comments and suggestions to:

 slim@rivermagic.ca

 

Please stay on the line …