ADEDA News

Testing The Tides
Fundy Tidal, Inc. of Westport has already announced plans to drop a test turbine in the waters off Digby County this fall to measure the potential for renewable energy from the tides, with hopes to begin commercial operation within three years. The turbine testing will be done in Grand Passage, which separates Long Island and Brier Island along Digby Neck. To bring everyone in the community, as well as interested alternative energy parties from all areas, up-to-date on their plans, Fundy Tidal along with scientists and government officials will be hosting an information session in Westport this Tuesday. It’s certainly a timely initiative, and receiving regional support. This fact was underlined in a recent media interview with the President of the Atlantica Centre for Energy who called for more regional cooperation, and cited tidal power as part of our region’s “unique (energy) diversity in a relatively small footprint”.

A Boost for Boatbuilders
In addition to new ventures underwater, there was good news for those industries in our area which traditionally ride the waves in our marine environment. The federal and provincial governments recently announced funding for a program to help the Nova Scotia Boatbuilders Association promote and market their products around the world. A spokesperson for one of this area’s leading shipyards, A.F. Theriault and Son Ltd., described the initiative as a significant one in “keeping this important part of our coastal livelihood alive, and greatly appreciated.”

Look up – Look Waaaaaay Up!
Ah, yes, one of the famous welcoming lines from the much loved CBC television children’s show The Friendly Giant. Well, the show’s now long gone – and that’s to be much lamented – but ”Friendly's” opening admonition can still hold true here if you’re visiting nearby Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site. The Park, in partnership with the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada recently officially celebrated the designation of “Keji” as Nova Scotia’s first Dark Sky Preserve, committed to protect and preserve the night sky for visitors by applying strict lighting guidelines to reduce light pollution. By the way, there is absolutely no basis to the scurrilous suggestion by some that the much loved TV show met its demise because (my favourite character) Rusty the Rooster always appeared “half in the bag”. (Hey, just a little pun for those of us who knew and loved this wonderful series!).

An Oscar For Smiths Cove
Speaking of children’s entertainment, my home hamlet of Smiths Cove is the setting for a wonderful new children’s book set in that lovely seaside community. Oscar the herring gull is the mischievous hero of a book penned by “Cove” native Roberta Heembrock, who now lives in Calgary. It’s a warm tale of childhood summers on the Basin. And by the way, the human heroine of the story, Grammie Sara – in reality the author’s Aunt Mary Lou - is a friend of mine and one of the most respected and beloved members of our community. From this brief description I bet many of you already know who she is.

This Sporting Life
As I mentioned in my opening, summer may be on its slow slide into autumn, but for sports fans such as me, things are just heating up. Sure, the Canadian, US and college football seasons are swinging into play. But that most venerable, contemplative and analytical of pastimes – yes, I mean baseball - is heading into its home stretch. It’s far and away my favourite sport. I played it passionately as a kid, moving through my youth from third base, to shortstop to second base as my respective competitive leagues strengthened but my throwing arm didn’t. I have faithfully followed my beloved Saint Louis Cardinals for more than a half century and check their overnight results first thing every morning. But I also have to confess that like a lot of folks in Atlantic Canada, I grew up with my ear strained to a sometimes faint radio signal from Boston’s Fenway Park and followed the Red Sox on those long ago summer evenings. But there’s no doubt that the leading BoSox fan in all of our region was a young boy growing up in Freeport, on Long Island. Jim Prime’s new home is today a shine to the fabled Boston franchise and his loyalty has been rewarded. He has just been named as acting lieutenant-governor of Red Sox Nation by the Boston organization. Hard to say why Jim persevered with the Sox while I cemented such loyalty to the Cards, maybe because there was better radio reception on Digby Neck than in Cape Breton. Truth be told – it was the uniforms.

The Annapolis Digby area is full of sports buffs and sporting towns. At the other end of our region from Freeport – in the town of Bridgetown - an active group within the newly formed Bridgetown Area Sports Hall of Fame is now planning to enshrine its first series of nominees. With over a century of local, national and international heroes in its remarkable sports annals they shouldn’t have any trouble developing a long list of candidates.

Material Culture, Agriculture and Cafe Culture
The diversity of offerings that characterize our area is available again this week. If you’re interested in historic homes and beautiful gardens, you can take in the Five Century House Tour in Annapolis Royal. Our area’s farming focus, along with horse shows, ox pulls and great home cooking will be on display this week at the Digby County Exhibition. And if you’re looking for a weekend stop with a more francophone flavour, drop by the newly opened Acadian Centre at the Universite Sainte-Anne in Church Point. You can learn about Acadian history, visit the art gallery and boutique, and taste the assortment of homemade goodies in the charming cafe. Try and get them all in if you can.

Till next week;

Peter

Peter MacLellan
Annapolis Digby EDA
86 Atlantic Avenue
PO Box 271
Cornwallis, Nova Scotia
Canada B0S 1H0

Tel: (902) 638-3490
Fax: (902) 638-8106
E: communications@annapolisdigby.com

Spirited Meeting in Sandy Cove

Fish farm foes make points
Opponents ‘had to take over meeting’
By GORDON DELANEY Valley Bureau
Sat, Aug 28 - 4:53 AM

Andy Moir is a member of the Save Our Bays lobby group opposing proposed fish farms in the Digby Neck area. (Jim Meek)






Opponents of two controversial fish farms in the Digby Neck area had their say at a meeting Thursday night but still want more public consultation.

The Fisheries and Aquaculture Department held an open house in Sandy Cove, where project foes insisted on expressing their concerns.

"It was a pretty interesting meeting," Andy Moir, a member of the Save Our Bays lobby group, said in an interview Friday.

"We told them that we weren’t interested in the meet-and-greet-style format, that we wanted to ask our questions and hear the answers."

The 150 people, including many local fishermen and representatives of the Bear River First Nation, gathered outside and walked in together. They then demanded to make their statements and ask their questions.

"Basically, we had to take over the meeting," said Moir, a resident of Freeport.

He said the group made its presentations in two hours.

Moir said the community wants more public consultation on a proposal submitted by Kelly Cove Salmon Ltd., a division of Cooke Aquaculture of New Brunswick, to operate two salmon farms in St. Marys Bay, Digby County.

Celeste Sulliman, spokeswoman for the Fisheries and Aquaculture Department, said the meeting was useful and productive.

"The process that we went in with was not the process that we ended up utilizing," she said of the meeting in an interview Friday.

"We responded to the wishes of the community. They really wanted a forum where they could ask questions publicly."

Sulliman said the department will continue to take written submissions. She added that while there is public opposition, there are also supporters.

"We will continue to assess all the submissions, along with the science and the facts," she said.

Cooke Aquaculture wants the two fish farms operational by next spring.

The proposed farms total 84 hectares and are under government review. Written submissions will be accepted until Sept. 16. If approved, it would be the largest salmon farm in the province. The two 42-hectare sites — one at Freeport, the other at Grand Passage — would each see one million salmon raised and harvested every three years, Mike Szemerda, vice-president of salt water operations for Cooke Aquaculture, said in a recent interview.


The company maintains the farms will create 20 jobs, but opponents say it is more likely about 10 jobs would result.

It already operates one fish farm in the area, between Briar and Long islands.

About 80 per cent of the approximately 1,000 residents in that area signed a petition against it. Residents are concerned about pollution from the fish farms, interference with the lobster fishery and the possible impact on whales, dolphins and porpoises.