For Nova Scotia it’s Déjà vu All Over Again
The latest brouhaha between fishermen in Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia is over shrimp quota allocations.
So what else is new?
Years ago, I remember discussing various fisheries topics with the then-federal Fisheries Minister Romeo LeBlanc. At one point I asked him what was the most difficult part of his job and he quickly replied, “allocations.”
Since the 1970s, a policy known as Last In, First Out (LIFO) has been in effect in Atlantic Canada. In other words, the first ...
Nova Scotia Says No to ‘Franken Salmon’ but GMO Foods All Around Us
There’s a big push globally to have all seafood labelled by its origin, how it was caught, by what means and if it is under sustainable management.
While Atlantic companies and fisheries have become part of the project simply because they had to if exporting to most foreign countries, I’ve yet to see a label attached to fresh Atlantic salmon steaks or portions in local grocery chains stating where the salmon came from.
Does everyone know that most are cage-reared and were fed copious ...
Scientists, Environmentalists Plead for Repairs of Damage Done by Harper Government
Fisheries and Oceans is wounded but not slain and many people in the fishing industry hope that it will rise up again because in these times of high uncertainty and anxiety, what the fishing industry needs is more credible science.
The Harper government certainly did a job on Fisheries and Oceans. Budgets were slashed, scientists muzzled, all in the name of having a balanced budget which Harper hoped would return his party to power for a third term. Fortunately, this didn’t happen.
The ...
Foreign Workers Rules Relaxed: Catamaran Ferry Wrong Boat for N.S. Fishery
A policy which was crippling Atlantic fish plants will see changes which will be to the industry’s benefit.
Ottawa announced recently that it was moving ahead with exemptions to the Temporary Foreign Workers Program which would allow employers such as a fish plant operator to bring in an unlimited number of temporary foreign workers, provided the work period is shorter than 180 days.
The Harper government literally killed a number of fishing enterprises when it limited the number of ...
Action Committee Hopes Liberals Stick to Commitment on Environmental Assessments
In a region which has been labelled as ‘have not’ for so many years, the thought of any project that will create jobs for any extended period of time is music in the ears of politicians, as well as their constituents.
The problem with this scenario is Atlantic provincial governments did not practice due diligence on mega projects which promised much and produced very little.
Thus we have major failures in the four Atlantic provinces in the field of attracting companies which last the ...
Ferry Solution Needed for Bay of Fundy / Nova Scotia Needs to Readjust Aquaculture Priorities
Federal Fisheries Minister Hunter Tootoo may be asked to get into the transportation business if the ferry mess in southwest Nova Scotia isn’t solved in the immediate future.
It may cost Canadian taxpayers millions to correct what the Tories did to the system before they were relegated to Never Never Land, but what else is new.
The New England marketplace is a key player for fresh fish and seafood produced in western and south western Nova Scotia — both as a consumer and as a hub to ...
Mega Projects May Not Be the Only Way to Go
Pictured above: Location of Ann's Bank off Cape Breton
Every coastal community in Atlantic Canada has seen the brain and brawn drain of our younger generation in the past decade or so, brought on by the lack of economic opportunities down here compared to the streets of gold in the Alberta oil patch.
How things have changed.
We now have an exodus of our young people returning to the fatherland due to the collapse of the oil and gas industry — due in large part to the actions of ...
Will the Winds of Change Sweep into the Open-Pen Fish Farming Business?
P.W. MacKay wrote a paper outlining the challenges posed by aquaculture and the potential environmental risk to fish and fish habitat from fish farm operations entitled Perspectives on the Environmental Effect of Aquaculture.
These included organic loading of the sea-bed, use of anti-foulants on structure and nets, interaction between escaped farmed salmon and wild stocks and wild salmon by genetic contamination and pressure on wild stocks from increased parasitism (sea lice) arising from ...
Georges, Browns Banks Could be Threatened by New Offshore Leases
The battle to keep offshore oil and gas interests off Georges Bank was long and hard and prosecuted both here and in New England.
At stake was the continued existence of one of the richest fishing grounds on the planet with a unique ecosystem which feeds sea life, plants and animals.
In this neck of the woods, you had fishermen, aboriginal groups and environmentalists in a coalition against those that would turn this part of Nova Scotia into Alberta East.
Those people are still around ...
Improved Safety Measures Lead to Lower WCB Payments
The Miss Ally disaster, which claimed the lives of five Nova Scotia fishermen from the community of Woods Harbour during a severe February storm in 2013, was one of the catalysts which led the fishing industry to take safety measures more seriously.
As a direct response to this accident, organizations such as the Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB), the Fisheries Association of Nova Scotia (FSANA) and the Nova Scotia Fisheries Sector Council (NSFSC), got their heads together and decided to ...
