Where We Are Now
After four years, Friends continues to fund, conduct and share our research while voicing our concerns. In all our work, we have strived to be fact-based, to initiate dialogue, and seek co-operation with all stakeholders including the aquaculture industry.
Discussions with Cooke Aquaculture
In February of 2009, Cooke Aquaculture, based in New Brunswick, took over management of the site at Spectacle Island. In August, 2009 the last fish were harvested, and the site has been fallowed (i.e. not restocked with fish).
Over the last year Friends and Cooke Aquaculture have maintained open communication lines. It led to Cooke granting permission for Friends and Dalhousie University to sample the seabed within the site boundaries in October and November 2009. Representatives of Friends, Dalhousie and Cooke were on board the boat when samples were taken in the fall of 2009.
Our monitoring includes seabed sampling within the boundaries of the farm site and elsewhere in the Bay. Life forms are counted and lab analysis work provides information on the pattern of recovery. This type of study is comprehensive and has not, to our knowledge, been undertaken previously on any finfish aquaculture site in Nova Scotia. (Read the report).
In addition, Cooke Aquaculture has offered to leave the Spectacle Island salmon site empty (fallow) for 3 years. During this time, with the co-operation of Cooke, Friends will be continuing with the site monitoring and research on recovery timeline, resilience and biodiversity.
Friends appreciates the opportunity to complete these studies. Friends also acknowledges the corporate citizenship behind the decision to fallow the farm for an extended period.
History of the Spectacle Island Site (#835)
- Aqua Fish Farms started raising salmon in 1994/95 at Spectacle Island
- Cooke Aquaculture acquired ownership in late 2008, and assumed management of the site in February 2009
- The site has been fallowed since August 2009 when the last fish were harvested
- NSDFA renewed the site lease on March 13 2010, a 5-year renewal period
What We Have Been Doing
Our community, with its diverse skills and expertise, has been active on many fronts. Our activities, past and ongoing, include:
- increasing public awareness of our concerns about Port Mouton Bay through media campaigns
- meeting directly with the aquaculture industry and government officials who regulate it
- actively participating in public consultations held by provincial and federal government departments
- holding community meetings to facilitate dialogue and gather input
- conducting extensive research and study of the bay itself
- sharing our research with the industry, government and the public
- participating in the Coastal Coalition of Nova Scotia - coastal community and environmental groups involved in coastal management and protection
And, we are pleased to note that our efforts have met with considerable success.