Kelly Cove Salmon farm in Digby, Nova Scotia. Cooke's subsidiary seeks to expand its operations in the area.
Cooke Aquaculture Inc.
Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston has expressed his rejection of Cooke's plans to expand its salmon farming operations in Liverpool Bay, the Canadian public broadcaster CBC informed.
"There's certainly a lot of people in Liverpool that are concerned about this. I respect their concerns and have heard their concerns," Houston told reporters in Halifax according to CBC.
"While I think there are incredible opportunities for aquaculture in this province, it's my personal opinion that Liverpool Bay is not an appropriate place for that," he concluded.
The Canadian aquaculture giant applied for two new marine finfish aquaculture licenses and leases for Atlantic salmon farming in Liverpool Bay at Brooklyn and Mersey Point, and a boundary correction to the existing Coffin Island site.
"Nova Scotia has a fitting opportunity to realize increased investment, jobs, and local community spending in the highly innovative ocean aquaculture sector that aligns perfectly with the province positioning as home to Canada's Ocean Supercluster and marine technology hub," said the company in its statement on the application.
Cooke applied through its subsidiary Kelly Cove Salmon Ltd and the renewal procedure for its existing marine aquaculture licenses and leases includes technical, environmental, and biological performance assessments.
The application was submitted to the Nova Scotia Aquaculture Review Board (ARB), which has published that it will hold a public hearing on an application referred by the Nova Scotia Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture under the Fisheries and Coastal Resources Act and the Aquaculture Licence and Lease Regulations. The hearings will start on Monday, March 4th, 2024.
