Communities urged to speak out on new industrial open-pen fish farming proposals
BY ST. MARY’S BAY PROTECTORS, MELISSA MERRITT (EAST FERRY) AND RICK WALLACE (FREEPORT)
A Norwegian company wants to put open net fish farms in St. Mary’s Bay. This means Mink Cove Little River, East Ferry and Long Island. They want to put 10-12 pens in four different locations, as a first step. Each of these sites is roughly 160 acres. Yes, you read that correctly, each site is 160 acres (80 hectares approx) big. 3,000,000 industrial farmed salmon in St. Mary’s Bay poses what many see as a massive environmental and economic risk.
As before, open-net pens have serious environmental, ecological and economic impacts. These are not new issues. Many of us remember the battle in 2020 when Cermaq (a Norwegian industrial salmon corporation, owned by Japanese multinational Mitsubishi) withdrew their application for St. Mary’s Bay and elsewhere in Nova Scotia following strong community opposition.
Sadly, this time it is Norwegian-owned Canadian Salmon Ltd that want to put four sites St. Mary’s Bay. The Nova Scotia Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture is now reviewing the application which, if approved, will then pass it to the Aquaculture Review Board (ARB) for final approval. It is time for us to make our voices heard once again.
Our communities’ livelihoods depend on the health of our Bays. Our lobster, scallops, fishing and tourism in District 34/35 are currently worth roughly a billion dollars annually when you include direct, indirect, and spin-off impacts. Literally, thousands of local jobs depend on that, be it on boats, processing, repairs, etc.
Our communities and families depend upon the beaches, rivers, creeks, beautiful views and fresh sea air that we are accustomed to, and that form the backbone of our tourism industry.
The sight and smell of the feces of three million farmed salmon is unlikely to be pleasant especially during the summer when water temperatures in parts of the bay can approach 20° C.
This DFO Science Advisory Report indicates that most of the seabed in St. Mary’s Bay could be exposed to salmon feces deposition. (https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/csas-sccs/Publications/SAR-AS/2025/2025_004-eng.html#wb-cont).
Yellow circles represent the location of four proposed new marine finfish aquaculture sites in St. Mary’s Bay, Nova Scotia (#1452, #1451, #1450, #1449).
Existing finfish aquaculture sites are marked by green circles (#0829, #0742, #1353, #1354, #1012)
Red stars represent approximate locations of seasonal lobster holding facilities in the vicinity.
Map: Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Review of Four Proposed New Marine Finfish Aquaculture Sites, St. Mary’s Bay, NS (2025).
Your action
First, we implore you to take a few minutes to write a go online for five minutes to a DFO community submissions pages that could help save St. Mary’s Bay and the Bay of Fundy. We need as many letters of opposition sent in as this will go in the public record.
Second, our MLA and Municipal Councillors need to understand that we are not happy and don’t want this. That is Jill Balser, MLA (902-308-1992, jillbalser@digbyannapolis.ca), our Municipal Councillors Peter Scherer (902-247-0530, pscherer@digbymun.ca) and Joan Ross (902-245-1855, jross@digbymun.ca).
DFO Community Submissions Online – Easy to do!
This link below is the online site for submissions. Just go online to their site.
https://forms.cloud.novascotia.ca/NewSubmission/e47492d3-150c-45f7-865e-0b09eed4d42d
While the Provincial Government has expressed strong support for industrial fish farming, public submissions remain part of the official record — and it’s important that opposition is documented.
Once online, you go to section 5 and there are eight (8) subjects you can discuss. Choose any and keep it short. We give examples of what you can say below, but put it in your own words. The online letter is really a simple statement of concern and opposition. Doesn’t have to be fancy. You can simply say politely that you don’t like nor want it. Yup, that easy.
Section 5 (8 possible subjects you can reference):
a. The contribution of the proposed operation to community and Provincial economic development;
(Example answers follow in italics)
“The proposed operation contributes little to the economic development of our community.”
b. Fishery activities in the public waters surrounding the proposed aquacultural operation;
“The proposed aquaculture operations pose a significant negative environmental impact on surrounding public waters and existent fisheries, particularly lobster. As a community member and past/current fisheries worker, the environmental impact of concentrated fish waste and what many view as ineffective environmental monitoring and consequences of this pollution are well- documented. It is NOT welcome in our community.”
c. The oceanographic and biophysical characteristics of the public waters surrounding the proposed aquacultural operation;
“The proposed aquaculture operations will impose a significant negative environmental impact on surrounding public waters and existent fisheries, particularly lobster.
As a community member and past fisheries worker (lobster)… You do not need a degree to understand that tons of waste deposited in the water and beneath these net pens will not magically disappear. Much of it will be dispersed – spread throughout our Bay which will negatively affect the biophysical characteristics of our public waters. This is especially true given the large number of these operations that are being proposed and as described by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans advice. We do not want or need these feedlots.”
d. The other users of the public waters surrounding the proposed aquacultural operation;
“We have seen in the past how these operations negatively impact property values, the attractiveness of our coastline, the serenity of our Bay. Marine, noise, and visual impacts from these operations are seen by many residents as insufficiently addressed by existing regulations. They are like a stain on our bay that never goes away.”
e. The public right of navigation;
“Except for water lots, our Bay is considered public waters. The industrialization of these waters restricts our freedom of use and enjoyment. Many industries depend upon this freedom as part of their business plan. The scale of development, both announced and likely planned, is excessive, unneeded and unwanted.”
f. For marine finfish applications, the sustainability of wild salmon; and
“Sea lice outbreaks have occurred in Nova Scotia waters. Disease and pests like this, given the scale of development announced in our Bay, are not worth the risk. We have salmon bearing rivers and streams. They deserve protection from these operations. The sustainability of wild salmon in the Bay of Fundy is also at risk through the inter-breeding of wild salmon species with farmed species, thereby putting at risk wild salmon sustainability. Industry will tell you that the fish are sterile. While farmed salmon are typically sterile, some may not be. As a community member and past fisheries worker (lobster)… The precarious sustainability and marginal number of wild salmon should not be put at further risk by the potentially harmful effects of escaped farmed salmon through their genetic, territorial and health impact on wild finfish and salmon.”
g. The number and productivity of other aquaculture sites in the public waters surrounding the proposed aquacultural operation.
“As a community member and past fisheries worker (lobster)… Environmental concerns exist over the increased number of open-net fish pens along our coast, particularly their concentration, size and number. Many residents believe there is an inadequate level of impact assessment, environmental monitoring and research that would allow regulators and the public to confidently deem these aquaculture sites safe and non-disruptive to the marine ecosystems and fisheries.”
For more info and updates follow us at:
St. Mary’s Bay Protectors (https://www.facebook.com/ProtectOurBay.ca/) AND Twin Bays Coalition (South Shore).(https://www.twinbays.ca)
EcoJustice (https://ecojustice.ca/news/tribunal-approves-salmon-farm-expansion-despite-community-opposition/)