Nova Scotia defends fish farming
Following the approval last week of two new conventional salmon farm licenses off the coast of Nova Scotia, environmental groups and others were quick to voice their opposition to the decision to allow the farms to be established. A similar uproar is happening in British Columbia where one salmon farming company is holding public meetings about one new salmon farm on the sparsely populated west coast of Vancouver Island. And the arguments against the new farms are very similar, and most of them have been in circulation in British Columbia for years.
In a response to critics in Nova Scotia, the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Sterling Belliveau provided the following statement today;
“Recently, there has been a lot of discussion and concern raised about aquaculture in Nova Scotia. The province has regulations and environmental monitoring for this industry. It is difficult to name another industry in Nova Scotia as closely monitored and scrutinized as aquaculture. Regulations and monitoring ensure aquaculture is practised in an environmentally sustainable manner. Government veterinarians and scientific staff ensure that aquaculture sites are monitored and inspected regularly for fish health and environmental compliance.
The environmental assessment considers everything, including recreational and traditional uses of harbours and waterways, potential environmental impacts and site selection to minimize any possible displacement of traditional fisheries. Licences, terms and conditions regarding the St. Mary’s Bay application are posted on our website. We are sharing the information we collect regarding aquaculture sites. Laboratory analyses are available to the public on request.
Nova Scotians have been, and will continue to be, consulted on aquaculture. People have the opportunity to provide input during community meetings, as well as the environmental assessment for individual operations. We also conducted a public opinion survey with almost 700 Nova Scotians. This survey tells us what people know about this industry, their environmental concerns, and their support for the jobs and economic benefits aquaculture creates.
Aquaculture is the fastest growing area of food production in the world. The aquaculture industry provides a great opportunity to create good jobs and grow the economy in coastal communities where they are needed. They operate year-round and provide an easy transition for traditional fishery workers. Aquaculture also creates local spinoff jobs in fields such as trucking, packaging, metal fabrication, and research and technology. Nova Scotia is positioned to benefit from this growing industry. The government is working on a strategy to ensure that aquaculture continues to expand and grow in a well-managed way that will protect the marine environment and bring benefits to coastal communities. Aquaculture contributes about $58 million (~€41.7 million) to the Nova Scotia economy and provides jobs for 750 people. It has potential to become more than that. As aquaculture helps meet world demand for healthy food products, we can create jobs and economic benefits in coastal communities around Nova Scotia”.
Opponents of the two new sites on Canada’s East Coast apparently are planning a protest in Halifax this weekend, featuring a truck load of lobster traps from an industry they claim will be negatively impacted by the installation of the salmon farms. But a report posted on the national media CBC’s web site a year or so ago suggests that: “For reasons scientists and fishermen cannot explain, lobster numbers in the Bay of Fundy have been climbing for years. Last year's catch was more than 4,000 tonnes, which is four times the amount of lobster that was hauled in 15 years ago”. The Bay of Fundy is the biggest salmon farming area on Canada’s East Coast.
Nell Halse, Vice President of Communications with Cooke Aquaculture, the recipient of the two new fish farming licenses suggests that most of the protest against the region’s salmon farming industry originates from the anti-salmon farming lobby in British Columbia- much of which has received considerable financial support from US-based philanthropic foundations that would rather see consumption of wild salmon from Alaska than the fresh farmed variety.
