Citizens from coastal communities throughout Nova Scotia have written to Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister Sterling Belliveau for answers to 52 questions that he should answer at the July 12 public aquaculture consultation meeting in Shelburne.
In June at the LFA 33 (lobster fishers from Shelburne to Halifax) public meeting in Bridgewater where he was being questioned about potential adverse effects on the traditional fishery and marine habitat from aquaculture leases being granted in Jordan Bay and Shelburne Harbour, Minister Belliveau told the attendees that “all concerns about the leases and their effects would be addressed at the July 12 meeting”
“We are giving the Minister heads up in advance about the questions that are on people’s minds and we fully expect him to follow through on his promise,” says Sindy Horncastle of Jordan Bay.
The questions submitted to the Minister include those about sustainable jobs, habitat protection, department policy, sea lice and infectious salmon anemia outbreaks, processing capacity, environmental report deficiencies, remedial actions, financial considerations, and future actions.
View letter and questions on web
Download PDF of complete document
__________________________________________________________
July 7, 2011
Honourable Sterling Belliveau
Minister, Fisheries & Aquaculture
Province of Nova Scotia , Canada
Halifax , Nova Scotia
Dear Minister Belliveau,
We appreciate you and members of your department planning to come to Shelburne on July 12 to answer the many questions people here have about the proposed aquaculture sites at Middle Head, Jordan Bay, and Blue Island and about aquaculture in general. At a recent LFA 33 meeting in Bridgewater you assured the assembled fishermen and guests that “all concerns about the leases would be addressed at the July 12 meeting in Shelburne”. This is greatly appreciated in that the lack of information and distribution of misinformation has added to distrust among the Shelburne citizens and elsewhere and between citizens and their local governments.
You will see that the attached list of questions are relevant to the important issues at stake in the decisions you and your department are making regarding aquaculture development in coastal communities in Nova Scotia. But the questions only partially reflect community concerns. Other questions and opinions are sure to be voiced at the meeting and afterward.
In order to handle this large volume of issues in a manageable way that would permit you to answer all questions, we strongly urge that answers to the attached questions be posted on the NSDFA website by July 26, 2011 . This record of your responses should increase the clarity of citizens about the work of the department in these matters and will minimize the possibility that you might be misunderstood or misquoted. Because of the intense interest in these issues, these questions have been distributed widely.
Thank you,
CITIZENS FOR SUSTAINABLE JOBS
Sindy Horncastle - Jordan Bay
Mary Manning - Shelburne
Inka Milewski - Miramichi
Nellie Baker Stevens - Southwest Cove
Ronald Stevens - Southwest Cove
Dennis Carter - Southwest Cove
Marcia Regina - Southwest Cove
Timothy Gillespie - Shelburne
Sandy Hanson - Freeport
Andy Moir - Freeport
Bill Rapp - Gunning Cove
Patricia Rapp - Gunning Cove
Clara Scott - Jordan Bay
Sindi McGrath - Jordan Bay
Robert Locke - Sandy Point
Louise Lindsay - Shelburne
Darrell Tingley - Lunenburg
St. Mary’s Bay Coastal Alliance
Mayday Shelburne County
Freeport Community Development Association
Cc:
Premier Darrell Dexter
MLAs & other Public Officials
Members of Parliament
NSDFA staff
various media
concerned citizens
Aquaculture DIGEST 