LICENCE RENEWAL
WHAT'S Hot...
Now that the provincial election is over, we have moved the material that states the Government's position on our concerns to our WHATS NEW! page accessed via our menu at the top of this page.
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What's hot now is the impending licence renewal process for the net pens near Bayswater.
Sometime before 13 March 2025, Kelly Cove Salmon will file a request with the NS Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture to renew their licence at the Bayswater site. The Minister responded to our concerns in a letter where he stated, "I encourage Twin Bays to participate in... ...the 30-day public consultation period on the renewal of AQ#1006, when posted..." (the Bayswater site). This applies to the general public, not just Twin Bays Coalition and we know that lots of comments are a good thing.. We don't know when that consultation will happen but we will keep you advised.
BAYSWATER BEACH
Within our bays, we have one open net-pen finfish operation at Aspotogan Harbour near Bayswater Beach Provincial Park, just up the coast from Blandford.
The operator has applied to the Aquaculture Review Board (ARB) for a lease expansion, but there's a catch: the expansion has already happened. The Twin Bays Coalition plans to intervene in the ARB hearing that will decide on this retroactive approval.
Why do we care about this? Check out our BAYSWATER page to learn more about the beach and the apparent impacts the fish farm expansion has had on the local environment.
THE TWIN BAYS COALITION STORY
The Twin Bays Coalition first came together to fend off a massive open net-pen salmon farming proposal by Cermaq Canada that would have forever changed the nature of our bays. In the face of terrific public opposition, Cermaq packed up and left officially in April of 2020, abandoning development plans. The very next day, Cooke Aquaculture reaffirmed their plans to significantly increase the amount of farmed salmon currently produced in Nova Scotia. Now they are continuing with expansion plans throughout the province, including at Saddle Island, on the Aspotogan Peninsula. This site, known as AQ # 1006, Aspotogan Harbour, has become the new focal point of our local efforts.
