Stated in a PRESS RELEASE issued this morning by Ecosjustice: "Ecojustice lawyers, on behalf of community groups and affected individuals, are demanding that the Nova Scotia Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture and Minister of Environment put the rights of communities and the environment ahead of the aquaculture industry’s interests."
"Ecojustice lawyers are acting on behalf of Protect Liverpool Bay Association, the St. Mary’s Bay Protectors, the Association for the Preservation of the Eastern Shore, the Atlantic Salmon Federation, Brad Armstrong and Geoff LeBoutillier on this matter."
This demand letter sent by our group urges the ministers to stop facilitating lease and licence violations at five open-net pen sites operated by Kelly Cove Salmon ( COOKE Aquaculture) and includes site AQ#1205, Coffin Island, in Liverpool Bay. The demand letter calls on Minister Keith Colwell and Minister Gordon Wilson to reject all five of Kelly Cove Salmon's noncompliant applications for lease expansions and to require the company to hold public information meetings before submitting more applications for those sites. The letter also calls for the ministers to ensure that Kelly Cove Salmon come into compliance with lease boundaries at all these noncompliant sites until such time lease expansion applications are fully approved - which includes being referred to the ARB for a public hearing. We have asked for a response from the government by Mar. 12th.
Brian Muldoon, Protect Liverpool Bay says:
“For too long Kelly Cove Salmon has been allowed to sidestep the law and operate outside its lease boundaries. This has permitted the company to potentially have more cages, and therefore more fish, on each site than what is permitted by their lease. This is bad news for the province’s wild fish stocks and for our communities. It’s time for the ministers to start following the province’s laws and ensure Nova Scotia’s communities have a seat at the table before aquaculture lease expansion applications are approved.”
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Scroll down to view the demand letter in full and a downloadable PDF link.
