Opposition to Fish Farms

By Tina Comeau

SOU’WESTER



Plans to locate two Atlantic salmon aquaculture farms off the eastern shore of Long Island, N.S. have generated opposition from fishermen and local residents.

Kelly Cove Salmon Ltd., the farming division of Cooke Aquaculture, submitted an application in March to locate two aquaculture sites in Freeport and Grand Passage, off Digby Neck. The company wants to set up two salmon farms with 12 pens each, however it is also exploring whether these sites would be suitable for Integrated Multi-trophic Aquaculture (IMTA). The company says this is the practice of growing extractive species – commonly mussels and kelps – which act as natural filters alongside fed species like salmon.

The fish farms would each be 42-hectares and would house two million salmon, but the company notes that is the total lease size. It says the salmon pens are a small part of the overall area. According to the company, the entire lease site encompasses the area where the mooring lines for the pens would go. It says fishermen can still come into this area to set traps.

The sites, the company says, would create approximately 20 direct jobs at the farms, and many more indirect spinoff jobs in areas of feed production, trucking, maintenance and site repairs, restaurants and hatcheries.

But lobster fishermen in the area worry about the loss of fishing grounds and also about the impact on the lobster resource.

At a meeting of the Lobster Fishing Area (LFA) 34 Advisory Committee in June, lobster fisherman Sheldon Dixon of Tiverton said that 100 per cent of their fishermen were against the proposed fish farms a year ago and nothing over the past year has changed their minds.

“Because of the pollution, because we can’t chance losing our livelihood,” Dixon said as reasons why they don’t want to see the fish farms in their area. Dixon also raised concern over lobsters eating the feed that is used in fish farm operations. “Do we want to be marketing lobsters that are eating this? That’s just what we need with a $3.75 lobster.”

“I really think this project has gone way too far, too early,” added Meteghan fisherman Roger LeBlanc, a port rep on the LFA 34 Advisory Committee. “The government of Nova Scotia and DFO don’t even have science on this . . . Nobody has answers for this.”

Other fishermen at the LFA meeting questioned if there has been a social-economic study carried out. Does anyone know what the impact will be of less lobsters caught in this area? Or is it just assumed the lobsters will be caught elsewhere?




A group called Save Our Bays has also been established and has formed a Facebook group. A posting on that site at the time of the Sou’Wester’s deadline noted a petition against the fish farms with more than 400 signatures had been forwarded to the province’s fisheries and aquaculture minister, along with others.

In addition to concerns over lost fishing grounds and lobster quantity and quality, some other concerns include the disposal of waste, the presence of chemicals and pesticides, and the adverse impact on eco-tourism.

Representatives of Cooke’s Aquaculture were at the LFA 34 meeting to talk about their plans and to try and alleviate concerns that fishermen have. Company representatives have also met with individual fishermen and community members and say they are willing to meet with anyone who has questions about their plans.

“We thought we had a productive committee established with the Brier Island group, including representation from the lobster fishery, however they recently informed us they no longer wish to meet with us. We have to respect their decision, but we’re disappointed,” Chuck Brown, communications manager for Cooke Aquaculture told the Sou’Wester. “We meet with other marine users in all the areas in which we operate. For example, in New Brunswick we meet regularly with fishermen to discuss concerns, anticipate potential conflicts and attempt to find the best ways to cooperate and share the marine resource.”

The company says it will give anyone interested in learning more about salmon farming tours of their operations.

Asked about the concerns being raised by lobster fishermen, the company says the last thing it wants to do is negatively impact the lobster industry.

“Many of our managers and workers are former lobster fishers and have family members who fish today. We all live and work in the communities in which we operate and we know we all have to get along,” said Brown.

In New Brunswick, the company says salmon farmers and lobster fishers have worked together to reduce the loss of fishing grounds and fishermen regularly set traps within 10 to 20 metres of the cages.

“We have installed cages over the props on all of our service vessels to prevent entanglement with fishing gear and our site workers regularly help fishermen retrieve traps should they become entangled in mooring lines,” Brown explained.