N.S. fish farm rejected: risk to wild salmon.

[agentaqua]

http://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/new-repo...ish-farm-regulations-in-nova-scotia-1.2150078

New report urges overhaul of fish farm regulations in Nova Scotia

A fishing boat heads past fish farm cages in Shelburne Harbour on Nova Scotia's South Shore on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2011. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan

Keith Doucette, The Canadian Press
Published Tuesday, December 16, 2014 12:13PM AST
Last Updated Tuesday, December 16, 2014 4:46PM AST

HALIFAX -- A new report by two legal experts is recommending an overhaul of Nova Scotia's aquaculture regulations, but it doesn't call for a ban on fish farms.

Instead, law professors Meinhard Doelle and Bill Lahey of Dalhousie University in Halifax recommend shaping an industry that has a low impact on the environment and a high economic value.

"Nova Scotia's economy calls for a policy approach that addresses the risks through responsible development and robust regulation rather than prohibition," says the report released Tuesday.

But the report says fish farming should only be allowed in coastal waters that are suitable and goes on to recommend a classification system of areas that are generally suitable for the industry, those that have potential but are not ideal, and areas that are generally unsuitable for fish farms.

The classification of an area would determine how licence applications are evaluated and the likelihood of their approval. It would also play a central role in determining the terms and conditions of a licence.

The report says its findings are based on the available science and addresses "legitimate concerns" by environmentalists and some community groups without shutting down the industry.

The report was welcomed by the Halifax-based Ecology Action Centre, although spokesman Raymond Plourde said he was disappointed it doesn't call for in-water, open net farming pens to be phased out.

"We believe it is a fundamentally flawed model," said Plourde, whose group would rather see farming in closed pens or in land-based tanks to decrease pollution from fish waste.

He warned against the government "cherry picking" recommendations, saying the report needs to be adopted in its entirety to be effective.

The report says responsibility for administering environmental monitoring should be moved to the Environment Department because right now, the Fisheries Department promotes and regulates the industry, which has created a lack of trust among critics.

Under the recommended changes, the fisheries minister or an independent board would also have the power to revoke licences if a site is found to be unsuitable or is not being operated responsibly.

There is also a call for a standing regulatory advisory committee composed of representatives from the aquaculture industry and environmental groups. Coastal communities, municipalities and the Mi'kmaq would also be part of the committee.

The report also says the protection of wild salmon populations should be set in legislation as one of the criteria to be considered in leasing and licensing decisions.

Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister Keith Colwell said it would take months for the government to review the feasibility of all the recommendations.

Doelle and Lahey, who couldn't be reached for comment, were appointed in April 2013 by the former NDP government. The panel's consultations included 42 community meetings and over 20 meetings with organizations and individuals

Read more: http://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/new-repo...ations-in-nova-scotia-1.2150078#ixzz3MAyWr1zF

 

[agentaqua]

Doelle-Lahey Panel Independent Aquaculture Regulatory Review for Nova Scotia webpage with reports and evidence: http://www.aquaculturereview.ca/timeline

Final Report: http://www.aquaculturereview.ca/sit...ulture_Regulatory_Framework_Final_04Dec14.pdf

Recommendations:

For fin-fish and other kinds of aquaculture, the regulation of aquaculture will change in fundamental ways under the proposed framework. For example:

a. The regulation of aquaculture will be functionally separated from the promotion of the aquaculture industry.
b. Responsibility for administering the Environmental Monitoring Program will be moved to the Department of the Environment from the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture.
c. Important regulatory standards that are currently only addressed in the terms and conditions of individual licences written under statutory discretion will be addressed in legislation.
d. More generally, the regulatory process will be much less discretionary than it currently is under the Fisheries and Coastal Resources Act.
e. There will be a pervasive emphasis on openness and transparency, both in the licensing and leasing process and in the monitoring of compliance by licensed operations and the enforcement of regulations.
f. The health and well-being of farmed fish will become a central concern of the regulatory process and a core mechanism for ensuring the compatibility of aquaculture with its coastal environment.
g. The public will have multiple opportunities, including a mandatory hearing on every application for a licence, to contribute to decision making in the licensing process.
h. The licensing and leasing process will be conducted as a kind of specialized environmental assessment that incorporates an integrated understanding of environmental, social and economic issues into licensing and leasing decisions;.
i. Licensing will be guided by statutory licensing principles and subject to a requirement for written reasons that together will require licensing decisions to be justified in terms of regulatory objectives and the compatibility of aquaculture with public rights of navigation, fishing, local biophysical conditions, other uses of the waters proposed for aquaculture; the cumulative effect of aquaculture in the area; and the contribution of the proposed operation to net community socio-economic benefit.
j. Subject to standardized safeguards to ensure openness, transparency and participatory fairness in decision making, the licensing process will vary to reflect the differences between shell-fish and fin-fish aquaculture as well as the differences between fin-fish aquaculture in Green, Yellow and Red areas.
k. Salmon farms will be required to institute a comprehensive containment system to prevent escapes, such as is required in the state of Maine.
l. Compliance monitoring and enforcement will be strengthened in multiple ways, including by
o increasing the monitoring and enforcement staff and other resources
o unscheduled inspections
o targeting oversight to higher risk operations
o penalizing violations with prosecutions and licence and lease revocation where warranted
m. A standing Regulatory Advisory Committee – which includes Mi’kmaw representatives and stakeholders such as coastal communities, municipalities, the aquaculture industry and environmental organizations – will be created to provide ongoing advice on the implementation of the regulatory framework and the continuing improvement of regulation in the face of new and changing conditions, challenges, opportunities and learning.

The success of the regulatory framework we have proposed will depend on the creation of a number of fundamental enabling conditions:
a. The attitude that informs regulation must take the concerns of those who live in coastal communities seriously and at face value.
b. The critical role that effective regulation plays in constituting social licence and in building upon social licence once it is established must be embraced by government and the industry.
c. The pervasive discretion built into the current regulatory framework must be limited in a new regulatory framework if the new framework is to enjoy the trust and confidence it needs to be successful.
d. The capacity of the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture (DFA) to carry out its regulatory mandate must be significantly enhanced.
e. There must be a fundamental emphasis in the regulation of the industry on the compatibility of licensed aquaculture with other uses of coastal waters.
f. The DFA must become more proactive in promoting, enabling and using the results of research in its regulatory activities and, in particular, in supporting the research that will improve collective knowledge of the interaction of aquaculture and the specific biophysical and socio-economic conditions of coastal Nova Scotia.
g. Nova Scotia must work to ensure that regional cooperation in the regulation of aquaculture is consistent with Nova Scotia’s policy and regulatory objectives and includes cooperation on matters, such as the capacity to address and manage disease outbreaks, that require regional cooperation because of the limited scale of the industry in each province.
h. The commitment to improvement in the regulation of aquaculture must be sustained for the long term

Take a look at "a" above, Absolon. Seems to be targeted at you.

 

[agentaqua]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-b...in-salmon-industry-may-be-hazardous-1.2894258

Sea lice pesticides used in salmon industry may be hazardous
Chemicals can harm, or even kill, lobsters, federal scientists find
CBC News Posted: Jan 08, 2015 5:43 PM AT Last Updated: Jan 08, 2015 5:46 PM AT

Fisheries and Oceans Canada | St. Andrews Biological Station
(Note: CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external links.)
Federal government scientists are raising concerns about the chemicals used to fight sea lice in the New Brunswick salmon farming industry.

Wayne Moore, director general of regulatory science for Fisheries and Oceans Canada, says two reports indicate "there are potential [lethal issues] associated with each product."

Sea lice
Sea lice are a parasitic crustacean that feed on the flesh of farmed salmon until the salmon die or the sea lice are removed. (Larry Hammell)

​Salmosan®​, a pesticide currently approved for use in the Bay of Fundy, can be hazardous to lobsters and other species hundreds of metres from a farm, the research conducted at the St. Andrews Biological Station showed.

Meanwhile, Alphamax®, which was temporarily used during a sea-lice infestation five years ago, could kill lobsters up to 10 km away, the studies found.

Sea lice are a parasitic crustacean that feed on the flesh of farmed salmon until the salmon die or the sea lice are removed. They have plagued the New Brunswick salmon farming industry for years.

Boris Worm, a Dalhousie University oceanographer, says the pesticide research is long overdue.

'It shows that sometimes things are approved without the proper investigation of what the effects are on the surrounding ecosystem.'
- Boris Worm, oceanographer
"It shows that sometimes things are approved without the proper investigation of what the effects are on the surrounding ecosystem," he said.

And while 2014 was a healthy Bay of Fundy lobster season, Worm contends the real consequences are still unknown.

“What we might want to be concerned about are the sub-lethal effects that accumulate over time," he said.

The federal government is no longer conducting research on the sea lice pesticides, but will fund short-term external research projects.

Some environmentalists worry regulators won't have enough information about which chemicals to approve in the future.

In 2013, Kelly Cove Salmon pleaded guilty to two charges in connection with the deaths of hundreds of lobsters in the Bay of Fundy from an illegal pesticide in 2010.

Cypermethrin is used in aquaculture in other areas, such as the United States, to fight sea lice, but is not authorized for use in Canadian waters.

The company, a division of Cooke Aquaculture, was ordered to pay $500,000 — the largest penalty ever imposed in New Brunswick for environmental violations under the federal Fisheries Act, an Environment Canada official had said.

For several years, the aquaculture industry in southwest New Brunswick used an in-feed additive commonly known as 'Slice' to control sea lice infestations in farmed fish, according to court documents related to the case.

However, sea lice appeared to develop a resistance to the product and its efficacy decreased over time.

By the fall of 2009, there were "severe" sea lice infestations in the southwest Bay of Fundy salmon farms, the documents stated.

 

[agentaqua]

http://www.cbc.ca/informationmornin...-ponders-acquaculture-reform-recommendations/
Province ponders acquaculture reform recommendations
Keith Colwell is Nova Scotia's Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture

 

[agentaqua]

http://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=526846&binId=1.1145463&playlistPageNum=1

 

[cuttlefish]

Thanks for keeping us informed and up to date, AgentA. All good info presented without prejudice.

 

[agentaqua]

http://thechronicleherald.ca/opinion/1262037-responsible-coastal-oversight-needed
Responsible coastal oversight needed
DALE SMITH
Published January 12, 2015 - 5:00am
Last Updated January 12, 2015 - 5:10am

West Mabou beach, Inverness Co. Once targeted for private development, this spectacular shoreline is now protected within one of Nova Scotia’s most outstanding provincial park properties. (N.S. DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES)

The most recent reminder of the sorry state of coastal stewardship in Nova Scotia is provided by last month’s report of the Doelle-Lahey panel, mandated to recommend a regulatory framework for aquaculture.

The authors concluded coastal zone planning could be a valuable tool, particularly with respect to site selection and coordination with other uses and activities. However, in the absence of any reasonable expectation of a viable coastal planning process in the foreseeable future, the report recommends that other, and arguably less effective, regulatory options be pursued.

Nova Scotia’s coastline and the coastal zone are widely recognized as our most distinguishing natural feature and our most predominant natural capital asset. Yet responsible planning and management of coastal areas is neither directed nor guided by comprehensive and coherent policies, plans or regulations.

Our coastline, including coastal islands and the tidal segments of rivers flowing into the sea, is an estimated 13,300 kilometres in length. Our cities and major towns are situated on the ocean shoreline, most of the province’s population resides within a narrow band parallelling its coastal perimeter, and no place in Nova Scotia is more than 60 kilometres from the ocean.

Nova Scotia’s economy is tied closely to the sea and Nova Scotians gravitate to the shore for recreation. Nova Scotia’s regions are defined by their shorelines. And tourism marketing campaigns highlight Canada’s Ocean Playground, So Much to Sea, and Shaped by the Sea.

The importance of the coastal zone to Nova Scotia’s economy is clear and undeniable, as is its indelible imprint on our collective psyche and quality of life. It is therefore perplexing that successive provincial governments, regardless of political stripe, simply have fallen short in providing leadership in the development of policies and plans to ensure valued coastal assets will be maintained and used sustainably for the benefit of present and future generations.

There are numerous pieces of legislation and corresponding programs and regulations that apply to various aspects of managing, protecting, developing and using coastal areas, but these typically have been designed for specific purposes. The need is for a more comprehensive approach, with greater emphasis on co-ordination and integration. In fairness, this has been attempted, but unfortunately efforts have been tepid at best and decidedly without success.

In the 1990s, the province initiated an ambitious coastal planning process, known as Coastal 2000. This effort identified key coastal issues and recommended corresponding management goals and objectives. However, the process failed to generate a broad base of interest and support within the public realm, across provincial departments and at the political level. As a result, the effort was abandoned.

A decade or so later, after several years of preliminary work, a comprehensive technical report on the state of the coast was completed in 2009. This report provided background for open and inclusive public and stakeholder consultations, following which a draft coastal strategy was released in 2011 for further review. The final strategy, slated for the spring of 2012, has never seen the light of day and now the whole effort has faded into the shadows.

Looking forward, there appears to be little basis for optimism.

The Ivany Commission’s February, 2014 report, despite its rather thorough analysis and many strong recommendations on the economy, gives faint attention to the complementary role of land-use planning, either in reference to the coast or to the province overall. This is an unfortunate omission, as the land and water base is the foundation upon which a healthy economy must be built.

The recent aquaculture report recognizes “an integrated coastal plan for Nova Scotia could do much to improve the efficiency, effectiveness and fairness of the regulatory process.” It is therefore disappointing that, however sound the balance of the report, the panel chose not to advocate comprehensive coastal planning in the strongest possible terms. This is particularly so when the alternatives recommended by the panel in the absence of a coastal plan could have been framed more positively and constructively as an interim measure until such time as coastal planning had progressed.

The approach adopted by the aquaculture panel suggests little confidence the provincial government will make progress on coastal planning any time soon. Taking a pass on recommending comprehensive coastal planning is in effect a silent indictment of the province’s lack of commitment and resolve regarding its stewardship responsibilities for the coastal zone.

We must do better, all of us.

Dale Smith is a land use planner with interests in parks and protected areas, outdoor recreation, nature tourism and sustainable community development. He lives in HRM.

 

[agentaqua]

http://thechronicleherald.ca/opinion/1262021-black-fact-based-decisions-best-fish-farming-model
BLACK: Fact-based decisions best fish-farming model
BILL BLACK
Published January 9, 2015 - 5:24pm

The final report on aquaculture by Dalhousie professors Meinhard Doelle and William Lahey says a fundamental “overhaul of the regulation of aquaculture” in Nova Scotia is needed. (ADRIEN VECZAN / Staff)

Aquaculture represents one of the best opportunities for sustainable development in Nova Scotia. It can be a valuable source of jobs in rural communities.

It needs effective regulation that is open and transparent to communities, ensures acceptable impact on the coastal environment and other users, and nevertheless facilitates healthy growth in the sector.

The final report on aquaculture by Dalhousie professors Meinhard Doelle and William Lahey provides an excellent framework for achieving these goals.

The aquaculture industry has expressed its support for the direction of the recommendations. Some environmentalists would have preferred a ban on marine-based salmon farms, but they also feel that the process leading to the report was good and the proposed direction represents a big improvement. They are emphatic that they would like the recommendations implemented without exception.

Minister Keith Colwell of the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture says that the government is in broad agreement with the recommendations and accepts that the more robust proposed regulatory framework will need greater funding.

All this can lead to decisions about growing the economy while respecting the environment being made by knowledgeable people working with the needed information.

It does not always work that way.

Consider, for example, the important business of regulating what goes into a sewer. Triangle Petroleum has for several years been looking for a way to properly dispose of the wastewater left from its fracking operations in 2007 and 2008. Some of the water has been treated with a process called reverse osmosis that leaves the potential contaminants behind and brings the water to drinking quality standard. They proposed to then dispose of it through Amherst’s sewer system.

One would think that flushing drinking water down the toilet would not represent much of a risk to a municipal sewer system. But the citizens of Amherst, which would have benefitted to the tune of $500,000 under the proposal, would have none of it.

Mayor Rob Small, supported by knowledgeable experts, tried to explain the process at a town meeting last fall seeking public input. The crowd, animated by a Facebook campaign replete with misinformation, voted almost unanimously against.

One attendee nicely summed up the crowd’s perspective: “I want to hear what they have to say, but there is not a thing they could tell me that would convince me otherwise.” This is just as illogical as it sounds.

The environment is much worse off if the fluid is left untreated in holding ponds than if it is managed as proposed.

It is in this context that we should examine the Doelle-Lahey recommendations. The principal focus is on marine-based finfish, primarily salmon, which is the area of both greatest economic opportunity and potential opposition on environmental grounds.

The report is clear that the present regulatory process at the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture (DFA) is neither adequate, nor transparent, nor sufficiently engaged with communities where aquaculture is proposed. It recommends that all citizens have access to the application and relevant information at every stage of the approval process, and that they be invited to provide representations to DFA as part of that process.

That decision on each application should be based on compatibility with other uses of coastal resources, environmental sustainability and socio-economic benefits to the community.

The DFA would be required to explain how its decisions address these licensing principles and any other issues raised by communities.

Not on the list of factors is a count of how many people demonstrate for or against the project at a town meeting. In other words, the decision is ultimately to be based on a knowledgeable evaluation of the relevant facts.

Appeals would be possible. The report is unsure whether these should be to the minister or to an independent aquaculture review board (with a final appeal to the provincial Supreme Court available in either case).

Appeals through an independent board are much to be preferred. Appeals to the minister could start a whole new round of political lobbying to undermine an otherwise well-constructed process.

For example, the Liberals’ former minister of energy, if allowed, would have overridden the recent decision by the Utility and Review Board on electricity rates, even though that decision was supported by the facts and by all representatives of customers at the hearing.

The general direction of the aquaculture report has been known since August. No new salmon farms can be developed until the new regulations are in place. It is disappointing that the minister cannot confidently predict completion of those regulations before the end of 2015.

But at least we are pointed in the right direction.

Any good regulatory process for resource industries should insist on the right of citizens to provide their input, whether well-informed or wilfully ignorant. But the process should then make and communicate a decision based solely on the relevant facts, and the policy framework recommended by Doelle and Lahey.

Done well, this process can boost rural employment in aquaculture and set the example for development of other resource industries.

About the Author

BILL BLACK
Bill Black is a former CEO of Maritime Life. He blogs at newstartns.ca.

E-Mail: bblack@herald.ca

 

[agentaqua]

http://thechronicleherald.ca/editorials/1262023-editorial-aquaculture-report-nets-a-consensus
EDITORIAL: Aquaculture report nets a consensus
THE CHRONICLE HERALD
Published January 9, 2015 - 5:29pm

A woman holds a sign in support of the recently released final report of the Independent Aquaculture Regulatory Review for Nova Scotia during a press conference at the Lord Nelson Hotel on Jan. 8. Hundreds of people representing dozens of community groups and organizations from around the province attended the press conference. (RYAN TAPLIN/Staff)

Darrell Dexter got a failing grade from voters as premier. But he did have a knack for picking commissions and panels that produced good work on important, thorny issues — for the next government.

The Ivany commission on economic renewal and the Wheeler panel on fracking are two examples, with different outcomes. Ivany’s advice was embraced by the Liberal government that replaced Mr. Dexter’s NDP. Wheeler’s balanced recommendations on shale development were regrettably ignored when the Liberals chose the politically expedient route of a hasty fracking ban.

But there’s a third jewel in this good-advice crown — the regulatory review on aquaculture conducted by Dalhousie law professors Meinhard Doelle and Bill Lahey, who handed their report to the government in December.

The excellence of their work was plain to see Thursday at a gathering of the Nova Scotia Coalition for Aquaculture Reform at the Halifax Lord Nelson Hotel.

Dozens of community, fishing and conservation groups and hundreds of people who want open-pen fish farms banned were there to call on the government to adopt Doelle-Lahey’s framework for regulating aquaculture — even though it doesn’t recommend banning open-pen farms.

These critical stakeholders were saying they’re prepared to give the “regulatory excellence” proposed by D-L a chance to prove itself — as long as the government doesn’t cherry-pick the recommendations.

They have good reason to want the report left whole. D-L’s regulatory framework is an impressively comprehensive effort to ensure aquaculture has a “social licence” (i.e., takes the interests of its neighbours seriously) and achieves the big goal of becoming a low-impact, high-value industry.

The report, for example, proposes a proactive rating system to determine which coastal sites are suitable for fish farms and which are not — independent of any licence applications.

It also recommends legislated rather than discretionary licensing requirements, better containment systems to prevent interbreeding and spread of disease to wild fish, tougher rules on chemicals, and separation of government promotion and oversight of aquaculture.

It advocates transparent reporting on performance, and, indeed on all aspects of regulation.

It would require fish farms to meet water-oxygen standards. That limits the number of healthy fish a site can support.

D-L says a regulatory advisory committee should include community stakeholders. The public should have a process to seek revoking of licences when there is a pattern of non-compliance. Licences should be terminated for ongoing violations.

The head table at Thursday’s conference seemed as long as the carrier USS Nimitz — and the message it repeatedly launched was a feeling that D-L consultations seriously listened to community concerns. “We finally felt we were being heard,” said Wendy Watson Smith of the Association for the Preservation of the Eastern Shore.

For Doelle-Lahey to convince this broad swath of Nova Scotia to give credible aquaculture regulation a chance is a real achievement, given the strong opposition to open-pen farms. The government, too, should give the full D-L package a chance to create an industry that does live up to the low-impact, high value ideal.

 

[agentaqua]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/mcneil-pressured-to-tighten-aquaculture-rules-1.2894756

McNeil pressured to tighten aquaculture rules
Government promises review results in April
CBC News Posted: Jan 08, 2015 10:15 PM AT Last Updated: Jan 08, 2015 10:15 PM AT

The report also says there is a place for fish farms in Nova Scotia and that the competing interests can be balanced. (CBC)

Hundreds of people from across Nova Scotia converged at Halifax hotel Thursday to demand the McNeil government tighten the rules surrounding aquaculture.

Stewart Lamont, a lobster processor at Tanger Lobster, was one of the speakers.

"The status quo is a wild west show in Nova Scotia in terms of what can be done in open net pen farms," he said.

Aquaculture given cautious green light in new report

In total, 33 groups called on the province to implement recommendations of an expert panel, which called for a complete overhaul of aquaculture regulations.

The Doelle Lahey report released last month said government has to do a better job incorporating community concerns when salmon farms are considered.

They say a total overhaul of the regulations surrounding aquaculture development is needed to restore the industries credibility in coastal Nova Scotia.

The report validates claims government isn’t listening to local concerns about fish farms.

'There is a lot of mistrust and rightly so, given the way it was.'
- Keith Colwell
“They were not listening to us as people, as communities, they were not listening to us as knowledgeable experts,” said Gloria Gilbert of Coastal Community Advocates.

“There is a lot of mistrust and rightly so given the way it was,” said Keith Colwell, the minister of fisheries and aquaculture.

He said a review is underway and promised the results in April. But he wouldn’t sign off on one of the report’s key recommendations: the creation of a red, yellow or green zone for development.

He did say some areas will be off limits.

“I’m sure when we are done the general public will be very happy with what we’re doing, as well as the industry,” Colwell said.

The report also says there is a place for fish farms in Nova Scotia and that the competing interests can be balanced.

 

[agentaqua]

http://www.news957.com/2015/01/09/the-rick-howe-show-9-am-284/
The Rick Howe Show – 9 AM
0Share
Friday January 9, 2014

Chairman and CEO of Corporate Research Associates Don Mills tells us about the results of his organization’s abortion survey. Political blogger Parker Donham weighs in on the MSUV controversy. Oak Island researcher Daniel Ronnstam tells us about the Oak Island stone that could help unlock the mystery of the Oak Island treasure. We discuss aquaculture with president of the association for the preservation of the Eastern Shore Wendy Watson Smith.

http://pmd.news957.com/podcasts/atlantic_talk_shows/RHshow/2015.01.09-0900.mp3
[Download] (To download: Right click -> Save as)

 

[agentaqua]

http://www.asf.ca/lewis-hinks-on-cbc-mainstreet.html
Lewis Hinks on CBC Mainstreet
Lewis Hinks, ASF Director of Nova Scotia Programs, spoke to CBC Mainstreet at the Rally and Press Conference in support of the recommendations of the Doelle-Lahey Report, held Jan. 8, 2015 in the Lord Nelson Hotel, Halifax.
- See more at: http://www.asf.ca/lewis-hinks-on-cbc-mainstreet.html#sthash.2QvjR3JQ.dpuf

 

[agentaqua]

http://thechronicleherald.ca/busine...-for-new-rules-on-fish-farming-in-nova-scotia
More than 400 call for new rules on fish farming in Nova Scotia
BILL POWER BUSINESS REPORTER
Published January 8, 2015 - 6:17pm
Last Updated January 8, 2015 - 11:00pm

A woman holds a sign in support of the recently released final report of the Independent Aquaculture Regulatory Review for Nova Scotia during a news conference at the Lord Nelson Hotel in Halifax on Thursday. Hundreds of people representing dozens of community groups and organizations from around the province attended the conference. (RYAN TAPLIN / Staff)

More than 400 people from community organizations across Nova Scotia turned out for a rally in Halifax on Thursday to issue a joint call for aquaculture reform.

The head table at a news conference organized by the Nova Scotia chapter of the Atlantic Coalition for Aquaculture Reform included dozens of representatives of conservation groups, commercial fisheries organizations and even tourism operators.

It was a massive show of support for the final report of the Independent Aquaculture Regulatory Review for Nova Scotia panel, released Dec. 16.

“We do not want these critical recommendations to languish in some bureaucratic backroom,” Raymond Plourde, with the Ecology Action Centre in Halifax, told participants.

There were repeated calls from a series of speakers for the province to adopt all recommendations included in the report, which Dalhousie University law professors Meinhard Doelle and William Lahey wrote.

“This is government’s opportunity to demonstrate leadership in producing a world-class regulatory system,” said Gloria Gilbert of Coastal Community Advocates.

The Doelle-Lahey report recommended protection of wild fish and lobster from the negative affects of fish farms.

It included, among other things, a call for regulations favouring aquaculture operations with low environmental impact and high economic value to the province.

“The report attempts to balance environmental concerns with the need to have a strong economy, and we support its immediate implementation,” Wendy Watson Smith, with the Association for the Preservation of the Eastern Shore, told participants.

The coalition organized the rally as a prelude to a strategy session for the organization in Halifax on Friday.

Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister Keith Colwell said at the legislature a departmental review of the report was underway and due for completion in April.

“We’re very happy with the recommendations put forward, and we’re reviewing every item.”

Colwell said it was too early to comment on the coalition’s call for provincial adoption of all recommendations for regulatory reform recommended in the report.

The Doelle-Lahey report is available at www.aquaculturereview.ca.

With Michael Gorman,

provincial reporter

About the Author

BILL POWER BUSINESS REPORTER
E-Mail: bpower@herald.ca
Twitter: @CH_HeraldPower

 

[agentaqua]

http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/story/next-best-thing/32799
The Next Best Thing
While not a moratorium, coalition is warm to Doelle-Lahey report on open pen finfish farming.

by MILES HOWE

The Doelle-Lahey regulatory framework was well received by a cross-province coalition that included reps from industry, the fishing community and environmental groups. [Photo: Daniel Mennerich]

KJIPUKTUK (Halifax) – Nearly two years after banding together, 36 member groups of the coalition against open pen finfish aquaculture in Nova Scotia were back today at the Lord Nelson Hotel in Halifax. The groups, which range from 'Big Lobster' interests to sport fishing interests, to tiny coastal community networks, braved the abnormally frigid Atlantic temperatures to celebrate the recommendations put forward by the Doelle-Lahey regulatory framework.

Open pen finfish farms in Nova Scotia, particularly of the farmed salmon variety, have for numerous years been a contentious issue, particularly amongst the impacted coastal communities. The previous provincial New Democratic government, when in opposition, took up the plight of protesters, who claimed that the farms were creating 'dead zones' of the inlets and bays that they depended upon for their own wild fishing economies. Fish feces, unconsumed fish feed, pesticides and medications all worked together to created an oxygen-sucking slurry not particularly conducive to lobster hatching grounds, for example.

There was also the matter of wild Atlantic salmon populations getting potentially rocked by their sicklier, penned-in, and heavily medicated, cousins. Outbreaks of Infectious Salmon Anemia (ISA) and the problem of sea lice, were, critics claimed, far more common in the cramped conditions of 'farm life'. Migrating wild populations could pick up these problems when passing by, causing already tenuous stocks to further dwindle.

Once in power, however, the New Democrats did the political flip-flop, going so far as to court farmed fish giant Cooke Aquaculture into the province in a big way. It wasn't as though Cooke was a 'good corporate neighbour' either. In 2011, Kelly Cove Salmon, a Cooke subsidiary, dumped cypermethrine, a pesticide not approved for Canada, into some of their New Brunswick fish farms. In that case, the judge ruled that the Kelly Cove employees, including CEO Glenn Cooke himself, had “failed miserably” and “willfully ignored” existing regulations.

The province offered up $25 million in loans, much of them forgivable, towards Cooke's expansion. Almost immediately, however, predictions of ISA outbreaks started coming true. Several cases of Infectious Salmon Anemia were reported at Cooke facilities in 2012. Local public opinion on the matter was further taxed by the opaque nature of government's dealings with the outbreaks. In some cases, details weren't released until weeks afterwards.

Actions groups began to take matters into their own hands, following up on their own suspicions for lack of any visible governmental monitoring. In some cases, as when ten of thousands of fish went missing from a St. Margaret's Bay fish farm, it was locals who discovered fish farm employees trucking and dumping dead fish at the Digby dump.

'Compensation' moneys for failed Atlantic salmon farmers was also a major issue. Action groups like the Ecology Action Centre decried the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's habit of compensating fish farms for outbreaks of ISA, due to “entirely predictable disease outbreaks”. They estimated that in the Maritime provinces, compensation had exceeded $139 million in the past two decades. Indeed, of the $60 million in transfer payments that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency paid out in transfer payments for all failed farms in 2014, upwards of 90% went to Atlantic Canadian salmon farmers. With millions in transfer payments and forgivable loans, salmon farming begins to resemble a money funnelling scheme.

Perhaps one of the greatest insults to the public palate came in late 2013, when ISA-infected, Nova Scotia, farmed salmon, banned for import into Asian, European and American markets, was deemed safe enough to consume for the locals.

“The status quo was a wild west show,” says Stewart Lamont, of Tangier Lobster.

With an election looming and public protests now standard across the province, in 2013 the New Democrats did another about-face, this time setting a moratorium on all new fish farm licence applications, pending a regulatory review. While they ultimately lost the election, Dalhousie law professors Doelle and Lahey were hired for the job. Just prior to the December holidays in 2014, they released their report.

The report is comprehensive; its guiding principle is creating a 'high value, low impact' scenario, where industry and coastal communities can potentially live together. In a sense, it's a do-over from the provincial government. And judging from the overwhelmingly positive reaction from everyone in attendance at the January 8th press conference, it is agreeable to even those who stand to be most impacted by the potential of fish farms in their backyards.

All aspects of potential harm arising from fish farming are addressed in the report. From site selection, to stock density, to enforced fallow periods, to farm limits, all the way to oxic limits and the health of the seabed; all are contained within its pages. The new polit-speak term of 'social licence' also features heavily, in that there are clear steps for consultation with impacted communities, including space for participation in an 'Ongoing Regulatory Advisory Committe'.

The trick, of course, is to implement the regulatory framework, and then enforce it. Delegates were clear at the press conference that they weren't interested in an implementation plan that “cherry picked” or brought in “half measures.”

The report recommends that enforcement of the framework ultimately be placed on the provincial Department of Environment, a natural choice. But the Department is notorious for its forgiveness of industry (see Northern Pulp mill), and sometimes for its outright incompetence (see shipping millions of litres of radioactive frack waste to the town of Windsor, without knowing it was radioactive).

“A huge increase will be needed in the capacity of the department,” says Wendy Watson-Smith, of the Association for the Preservation of the Eastern Shore. “Communities have already said that they're willing to participate in becoming part of advisory committees, but enforcement will be a problem for this department, especially for this Liberal government who says that they have no money.

“Industry, at some point, has to pay to enforce their own regulations. Getting more out of lease prices is definitely one way [to recoup the costs of monitoring and enforcement].”

Cooke Aquaculture, by far the biggest player in the Atlantic Canadian farmed fish scene, has, for their part, spent $600,000 on a newly-branded research chair at Dalhousie University. A study from the Cooke Industrial Research Chair is currently underway.

While not the moratorium they still stand for, today's reaction to the Doelle-Lahey report suggests that the cross-province coalition sees it as the next best thing.

 

[agentaqua]

http://www.southcoasttoday.ca/content/massive-support-new-aquaculture-regs
Massive support for new aquaculture regs
January 9, 2015 - 07:18 — Timothy Gillespie
More than 400 call for new rules on fish farming

More than 400 people from community organizations across Nova Scotia turned out for a rally in Halifax on Thursday to issue a joint call for aquaculture reform.

The head table at a news conference organized by the Nova Scotia chapter of the Atlantic Coalition for Aquaculture Reform included dozens of representatives of conservation groups, commercial fisheries organizations and even tourism operators.

It was a massive show of support for the final report of the Independent Aquaculture Regulatory Review for Nova Scotia panel, released Dec. 16. “We do not want these critical recommendations to languish in some bureaucratic backroom,” Raymond Plourde, with the Ecology Action Centre in Halifax, told participants.

There were repeated calls from a series of speakers for the province to adopt all recommendations included in the report, which Dalhousie University law professors Meinhard Doelle and William Lahey wrote.

“This is government’s opportunity to demonstrate leadership in producing a world-class regulatory system,” said Gloria Gilbert of Coastal Community Advocates.

FULL STORY: http://thechronicleherald.ca/busine...-for-new-rules-on-fish-farming-in-nova-scotia

 

[agentaqua]

http://www.southcoasttoday.ca/content/cooke-pressing-local-officials-lobby-mcneil-government
Cooke pressing local officials to lobby McNeil government
December 19, 2014 - 13:32 — Timothy Gillespie
Party time at Cooke Aqua

Telling them that the salmon farm moratorium was getting in the way of their expansion plans, Cooke executives have been pressing local officials to lobby on their behalf with the McNeil government to relax current restrictions on new industrial salmon farms in Shelburne Harbour, Jordan Bay and elsewhere.

After talking to CEO Glenn Cooke and others at a holiday party in a swanky hotel on the Halifax waterfront, Shelburne municipal warden Roger Taylor convinced his council to send a letter to premier Stephen McNeil suggesting that the temporary moratorium on new salmon farms was stalling expansion plans by Cooke Aquaculture and other companies.

Lauding the benefits of increased industrial aquaculture in bays and harbours surrounding Shelburne, Taylor praised Cooke for "contributing to the social wellbeing of our communities...," "...supporting charities and community events...,"...engaging with our communities...", and "providing much needed economic activity."

Taylor explained that Glenn Cooke and others at the party complained to him that the moratorium was getting in the way of their business plans and suggested that the Municipality should press the McNeil government to allow new salmon farm sites.

The mayor and staff of the Town of Shelburne were also recently encouraged to lobby McNeil and his cabinet to allow expansion.

The letter to McNeil warns that delays caused by the moratorium and the recent aquaculture regulatory review process could result in "losing momentum" and suggests that governments need to "move quickly to encourage investment."

The letter says, "... we need to move forward with the site review and approval process," and that the Municipality of Shelburne feels that "... sites could be approved as long as they comply with any new regulatory framework..." put in place by the current government.

Copies of the letter were sent to mayors and wardens in Shelburne, Lockeport, Digby, Clare and Queens.

When asked what he thought of the recent conflict between Cooke and the McNeil government and assertions that Cooke must repay the $9 million advance from the province due to the firm's failure to meet the contract terms, Taylor told SCT, "A lot of that sounds like politics, and I am really more interested in economic progress."

 

[agentaqua]

http://www.novanewsnow.com/News/Loc...k-premier-to-fast-track-new-fish-farm-rules/1
Shelburne politicians ask premier to fast track new fish farm rules
GregGreg BennettPublished on January 12, 2015

Plans for a fish processing facility in Shelburne have been stalled until at least 2018.

SHELBURNE -The Municipality of Shelburne is urging the provincial government to get moving on new fish farming regulations so that Cooke Aquaculture and other companies can continue expanding the industry in Nova Scotia.

The letter, written by Municipal Warden Roger Taylor has been forwarded to Premier Stephen McNeil as well as other municipal units in southwestern Nova Scotia.

Noting that planned expansions have been stalled by the regulatory review process, Taylor wrote that the municipality was afraid of losing momentum and the opportunity for growth.

“We have an industry ready to invest, and we must move quickly as governments to encourage that investment. It is unfair to keep these opportunities away from our communities,” he wrote.

Last month, Cooke Aquaculture informed local municipal units that its plans for building a new salmon processing centre in Shelburne or a new hatchery in Digby County had been stalled. The earliest date suggested for the new processing facility is now 2018.

Cooke Aquaculture spokesperson Nell Halse explained the company is waiting on new fish farming regulations from the provincial government before continuing with their expansion plans in Nova Scotia.

That expansion, announced in June 2012, came with the promise of a $25-million provincial loan (including a $9-million forgivable portion) from the then-NDP government. The company has already accessed $18-million through the Nova Scotia Jobs Fund so far.

Provincial officials say Cooke will have to pay back everything they borrow if the company does not complete its expansion by the end of 2015.

Company officials say the intent is to move forward, only on a different timeline. They say the company needs more fish farm sites to justify the expansion.

The company points out that, despite the stalled plans, Cooke continues to be an important economic generator in the province, with 140 direct employees and more than 400 jobs supported by its activities.

In 2013, the company reported $139-million in sales from its Nova Scotia operations.

The province is now reviewing an independent review panel report on the industry and is expected to respond later this year.

The report calls for major changes to regulations on the industry to create a low environmental impact while offering high economic value.

Among other things, the report says fish farming should only be allowed in suitable coastal waters and recommends a classification system based on suitability.

 

[agentaqua]

http://thechronicleherald.ca/opinion/1262037-responsible-coastal-oversight-needed

Responsible coastal oversight needed
DALE SMITH
Published January 12, 2015 - 5:00am
Last Updated January 12, 2015 - 5:10am

West Mabou beach, Inverness Co. Once targeted for private development, this spectacular shoreline is now protected within one of Nova Scotia’s most outstanding provincial park properties. (N.S. DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES)

The most recent reminder of the sorry state of coastal stewardship in Nova Scotia is provided by last month’s report of the Doelle-Lahey panel, mandated to recommend a regulatory framework for aquaculture.

The authors concluded coastal zone planning could be a valuable tool, particularly with respect to site selection and coordination with other uses and activities. However, in the absence of any reasonable expectation of a viable coastal planning process in the foreseeable future, the report recommends that other, and arguably less effective, regulatory options be pursued.

Nova Scotia’s coastline and the coastal zone are widely recognized as our most distinguishing natural feature and our most predominant natural capital asset. Yet responsible planning and management of coastal areas is neither directed nor guided by comprehensive and coherent policies, plans or regulations.

Our coastline, including coastal islands and the tidal segments of rivers flowing into the sea, is an estimated 13,300 kilometres in length. Our cities and major towns are situated on the ocean shoreline, most of the province’s population resides within a narrow band parallelling its coastal perimeter, and no place in Nova Scotia is more than 60 kilometres from the ocean.

Nova Scotia’s economy is tied closely to the sea and Nova Scotians gravitate to the shore for recreation. Nova Scotia’s regions are defined by their shorelines. And tourism marketing campaigns highlight Canada’s Ocean Playground, So Much to Sea, and Shaped by the Sea.

The importance of the coastal zone to Nova Scotia’s economy is clear and undeniable, as is its indelible imprint on our collective psyche and quality of life. It is therefore perplexing that successive provincial governments, regardless of political stripe, simply have fallen short in providing leadership in the development of policies and plans to ensure valued coastal assets will be maintained and used sustainably for the benefit of present and future generations.

There are numerous pieces of legislation and corresponding programs and regulations that apply to various aspects of managing, protecting, developing and using coastal areas, but these typically have been designed for specific purposes. The need is for a more comprehensive approach, with greater emphasis on co-ordination and integration. In fairness, this has been attempted, but unfortunately efforts have been tepid at best and decidedly without success.

In the 1990s, the province initiated an ambitious coastal planning process, known as Coastal 2000. This effort identified key coastal issues and recommended corresponding management goals and objectives. However, the process failed to generate a broad base of interest and support within the public realm, across provincial departments and at the political level. As a result, the effort was abandoned.

A decade or so later, after several years of preliminary work, a comprehensive technical report on the state of the coast was completed in 2009. This report provided background for open and inclusive public and stakeholder consultations, following which a draft coastal strategy was released in 2011 for further review. The final strategy, slated for the spring of 2012, has never seen the light of day and now the whole effort has faded into the shadows.

Looking forward, there appears to be little basis for optimism.

The Ivany Commission’s February, 2014 report, despite its rather thorough analysis and many strong recommendations on the economy, gives faint attention to the complementary role of land-use planning, either in reference to the coast or to the province overall. This is an unfortunate omission, as the land and water base is the foundation upon which a healthy economy must be built.

The recent aquaculture report recognizes “an integrated coastal plan for Nova Scotia could do much to improve the efficiency, effectiveness and fairness of the regulatory process.” It is therefore disappointing that, however sound the balance of the report, the panel chose not to advocate comprehensive coastal planning in the strongest possible terms. This is particularly so when the alternatives recommended by the panel in the absence of a coastal plan could have been framed more positively and constructively as an interim measure until such time as coastal planning had progressed.

The approach adopted by the aquaculture panel suggests little confidence the provincial government will make progress on coastal planning any time soon. Taking a pass on recommending comprehensive coastal planning is in effect a silent indictment of the province’s lack of commitment and resolve regarding its stewardship responsibilities for the coastal zone.

We must do better, all of us.

Dale Smith is a land use planner with interests in parks and protected areas, outdoor recreation, nature tourism and sustainable community development. He lives in HRM.

 

[agentaqua]

Black on Fact Based Salmon Farm Decisionmaking
CHRONICLE-HERALD - Opinions

BLACK: Fact-based decisions best fish-farming model

BILL BLACK
Published January 9, 2015 - 5:24pm

Aquaculture represents one of the best opportunities for sustainable development in Nova Scotia. It can be a valuable source of jobs in rural communities.

It needs effective regulation that is open and transparent to communities, ensures acceptable impact on the coastal environment and other users, and nevertheless facilitates healthy growth in the sector.

The final report on aquaculture by Dalhousie professors Meinhard Doelle and William Lahey provides an excellent framework for achieving these goals.

The aquaculture industry has expressed its support for the direction of the recommendations. Some environmentalists would have preferred a ban on marine-based salmon farms, but they also feel that the process leading to the report was good and the proposed direction represents a big improvement. They are emphatic that they would like the recommendations implemented without exception.

Minister Keith Colwell of the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture says that the government is in broad agreement with the recommendations and accepts that the more robust proposed regulatory framework will need greater funding.

All this can lead to decisions about growing the economy while respecting the environment being made by knowledgeable people working with the needed information.

It does not always work that way.

Consider, for example, the important business of regulating what goes into a sewer. Triangle Petroleum has for several years been looking for a way to properly dispose of the wastewater left from its fracking operations in 2007 and 2008. Some of the water has been treated with a process called reverse osmosis that leaves the potential contaminants behind and brings the water to drinking quality standard. They proposed to then dispose of it through Amherst’s sewer system.

One would think that flushing drinking water down the toilet would not represent much of a risk to a municipal sewer system. But the citizens of Amherst, which would have benefitted to the tune of $500,000 under the proposal, would have none of it.

Mayor Rob Small, supported by knowledgeable experts, tried to explain the process at a town meeting last fall seeking public input. The crowd, animated by a Facebook campaign replete with misinformation, voted almost unanimously against.

One attendee nicely summed up the crowd’s perspective: “I want to hear what they have to say, but there is not a thing they could tell me that would convince me otherwise.” This is just as illogical as it sounds.

The environment is much worse off if the fluid is left untreated in holding ponds than if it is managed as proposed.

It is in this context that we should examine the Doelle-Lahey recommendations. The principal focus is on marine-based finfish, primarily salmon, which is the area of both greatest economic opportunity and potential opposition on environmental grounds.

The report is clear that the present regulatory process at the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture (DFA) is neither adequate, nor transparent, nor sufficiently engaged with communities where aquaculture is proposed. It recommends that all citizens have access to the application and relevant information at every stage of the approval process, and that they be invited to provide representations to DFA as part of that process.

That decision on each application should be based on compatibility with other uses of coastal resources, environmental sustainability and socio-economic benefits to the community.

The DFA would be required to explain how its decisions address these licensing principles and any other issues raised by communities.

Not on the list of factors is a count of how many people demonstrate for or against the project at a town meeting. In other words, the decision is ultimately to be based on a knowledgeable evaluation of the relevant facts.

Appeals would be possible. The report is unsure whether these should be to the minister or to an independent aquaculture review board (with a final appeal to the provincial Supreme Court available in either case).

Appeals through an independent board are much to be preferred. Appeals to the minister could start a whole new round of political lobbying to undermine an otherwise well-constructed process.

For example, the Liberals’ former minister of energy, if allowed, would have overridden the recent decision by the Utility and Review Board on electricity rates, even though that decision was supported by the facts and by all representatives of customers at the hearing.

The general direction of the aquaculture report has been known since August. No new salmon farms can be developed until the new regulations are in place. It is disappointing that the minister cannot confidently predict completion of those regulations before the end of 2015.

But at least we are pointed in the right direction.

Any good regulatory process for resource industries should insist on the right of citizens to provide their input, whether well-informed or wilfully ignorant. But the process should then make and communicate a decision based solely on the relevant facts, and the policy framework recommended by Doelle and Lahey.

Done well, this process can boost rural employment in aquaculture and set the example for development of other resource industries.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/opinion/1262021-black-fact-based-decisions-best-fish-farming-model
- See more at: http://asf.ca/black-on-fact-based-salmon-farm-decisionmaking.html#sthash.SMdrmmQ2.dpuf

 

[agentaqua]

http://asf.ca/province-ponders-aquaculture-reform-recommendations.html
Province Ponders Aquaculture Reform Recommendations
Nova Scotia's Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture responds to the strong support shown Jan. 8 for implementation of the recommendations of the Doelle-Lahey Report.

An interesting interview.