For
immediate release: June 5, 2006
Contact:
David
Thompson, Fundy Baykeeper - (506) 635-1297; 650-5849
Janice
Harvey, Director, Fundy Baykeeper Program - (506) 466-4033;
529-8838
FUNDY
BAYKEEPER DISMAYED BY AQUACULTURE SITE
APPROVAL
[St.
Andrews] Fundy Baykeeper® David Thompson
expressed dismay on learning that the provincial government has
approved a new salmon aquaculture site for Cooke Aquaculture. The
site is in Haley’s Cove just east of Chance Harbour.
“This
decision just goes to show that the government sees no value in
maintaining some coves and inlets in the Bay of Fundy without
industrial development,” said Thompson. “The Minister of
Agriculture, Fisheries and Aquaculture does not seem to understand that
for marine ecosystems to function properly, there must be enough
undeveloped area of the coastline to allow fish to spawn, juveniles to
mature, and natural processes to take place undisturbed.”
The
Haley’s Cove site marks the eastward expansion of the finfish
aquaculture footprint in the lower Bay of Fundy. Virtually every
cove west of this site has at least one aquaculture site in it.
According to Thompson, these are industrial sites that are very
disruptive to the local environment.
“Every
aquaculture site discharges tonnes of untreated solid and dissolved
wastes directly into the marine environment every year,” said
Thompson. “Besides this, the associated beaches become dumping
grounds for unused equipment; noisy boat traffic disturbs wildlife;
feeding machines also create noise and lights disrupt fish
migration. Chemicals are used to defoul equipment; drugs
including antibiotics are discharged into the environment in waste feed
and feces. Once an aquaculture site is established in a cove,
that cove is essentially removed as a productive component of the
coastal ecosystem. We have so few undisturbed coves left west of
Big Salmon River that removing one more from the system makes a big
difference.”
Janice
Harvey, Director of the Fundy Baykeeper program, noted that this site
approval
goes
against the spirit of the province’s site allocation policy. The
site allocation policy now on the books says the Province will give
preference for new sites to a grower who needs an extra site in order
to achieve year-class separation of the fish crop. The Haley’s
Cove site was applied for by Cooke Aquaculture, one of the largest
companies in North America.
“When
Cooke Aquaculture (Kelly Cove Salmon) applied for this site over a year
ago, they already had upwards of 20 salmon sites. We submitted
our opposition to the application at that time, stating the position
that this company already had plenty of sites to provide them the
flexibility they needed in reorganizing their operations for fish
health and production objectives. Since then, they bought out the
east coast operations of Heritage Salmon and Stolt Sea Farms. Now
they own approximately 60 sites and are establishing new sites in
Newfoundland. The idea that they need one more site, which will
despoil yet another cove, is absolutely ludicrous,” Harvey pointed
out. “If there was ever a company that doesn’t need a new site,
Cooke Aquaculture is it.”
Harvey
continued, “For some inexplicable reason, the government felt compelled
to approve this site. This demonstrates a willingness on the part
of the government to allow the industry to expand just for the sake of
expansion. This is a very dangerous attitude from the point of
view of ecosystem integrity.”
In
return for the site approval, Cooke Aquaculture agreed to “give up”
four salmon sites
further
west. Yet according to Thompson, the sacrifice was mere
tokenism. “They turned two sites in L’Etete Passage into cod
sites, so they are still operating them. The two other sites they
relinquished weren’t even in operation. One, in the Magaguadavic
estuary, hasn’t operated for years, as far as we know.”
“If
the government couldn’t bring itself to prevent the ever-expanding
footprint of aquaculture by denying an application from a company that
has no legitimate need for a new site, then we see no end to
aquaculture sprawl and further loss of undeveloped coast,” said Harvey.
The
Fundy Baykeeper® works for the Conservation Council of New
Brunswick to defend the public’s right to a healthy Bay of Fundy.
The Fundy Baykeeper program is a member of the international
Waterkeeper® Alliance.
