Members of the Association for the Preservation of the Eastern Shore (APES) are marching in Halifax on Friday December 7th at 1p.m. to ask for a moratorium on the licensing open pen salmon feedlots in two bays in HRM’s coastal waters. These Eastern Shore citizens argue that open pen salmon feedlots do not meet the minimum environmental criteria set out by the industry and the province, and risk spreading tons of fecal waste on our coasts. They will also be presenting Minister Belliveau with their responses to Environmental Assessments carried out for the industry by a private assessment company.
“Sweeny’s Environmental Assessments are quite frankly a joke.” says Sandy Moser, who co-drafted APES’ responses. “Sweeny produced versions of EA’s for the Eastern Shore, Jordan Bay (South Shore), and St. Mary’s Bay (Digby Neck) that are nearly carbon copies. Current and wind speed data are taken from waters that are hundreds of kilometres from the Eastern Shore. Sweeny does not seem to know we have hurricanes here.”
Marike Finlay, President of APES adds, “We have nowhere to go now with our replies to the Sweeny’s sloppy Environmental Assessments, now that the federal government has eliminated the requirement for Environmental Assessments in their spring omnibus budget bill. According to a Memorandum of Understanding, the matter is now in the hands of the provincial minister of the Environment.”
APES is calling upon the Minister of the Environment to step up the level of play of the Environmental Assessments for licensing of open pen salmon feedlots along the Eastern Shore. The organization wants the minister to call an independent community based inquiry. They are asking the province to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that there will be no deleterious effects form open pen salmon feedlots to their environment, quality of life, and extant industries such as tourism and the lobster fishery.
APES is also calling for a separation of the Ministries of Aquaculture, Fisheries and the Environment. “There is an obvious conflict of interest between a ministry that is promoting open pen salmon feedlots and a ministry that is supposed to protect the wild catch fishery and a ministry that is supposed to protect the environment. Not only should these ministries be separated, they should never be held by the same person.” Says Bill Williams, Vice-President of APES. “There is no way that Mr. Belliveau can lead an objective environmental ssessment of licenses for open pen salmon feedlots when he actively promotes this industry.”
APES is one of the 116 groups who joined with ACAR, the Atlantic coalition for Aquaculture Reform, which called for a province-wide moratorium last June in Halifax. The December 7 march is intended to draw specific attention to the immanent threat of licensing of open pen salmon feedlots on the Eastern Shore, but APES members will be joined by representatives of ACAR from across the province.
The site for the Halifax local of The Media Co-op has been archived and will no longer be updated. Please visit the main Media Co-op website to learn more about the organization.
