September 14, 2023 – Liverpool, N.S. – Kelly Cove Salmon Ltd. (KCS) welcomes the opportunity to appear before the Aquaculture Review Board (ARB) on February 5-9, 2024, seeking approval of an existing site boundary amendment at Coffin Island and two new marine finfish aquaculture licenses and leases for the cultivation of Atlantic salmon in Liverpool Bay at Brooklyn and Mersey Point, Nova Scotia.
After years of provincial government oversight and regulatory enhancements by the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture (DFA) to ensure best aquaculture practices are conducted for sustainability, if successful, the KCS application would enable a modest Nova Scotia production increase to be phased in over a number of years. According to Statistics Canada, in 2021 Atlantic Canadian salmon aquaculture production in Nova Scotia was 8,592 tonnes, while Newfoundland harvested 15,904 tonnes and New Brunswick harvested 27,423 tonnes.
In our view, there are only a handful of Nova Scotia locations with marine conditions suitable for finfish farming such as Liverpool Bay, so it is reasonable to expand sites where appropriate while adhering to the strict Aquaculture Regulations and Environmental Monitoring Program Framework.
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 provinces positioning as home to Canada’s Ocean Supercluster and marine technology hub.
We have been responsibly operating Atlantic salmon farm sites for 25 years along Nova Scotia’s Southern and Western shores. In April 2020, DFA approved the renewal of the Coffin Island marine aquaculture license and lease in Liverpool Bay after KCS operated it for nearly ten years. The salmon farm was first established in 2000 by a previous company. Earlier in 2020, DFA approved the renewal of two other existing KCS farm sites located at Hartz Point in Shelburne, and Brier Island in St. Mary’s Bay, Digby County. The renewal procedure for our existing marine aquaculture licenses and leases includes technical, environmental and biological performance assessments.
Salmon farming generates $2 billion in total economic output annually in Atlantic Canada, $213.5 million in Nova Scotia. Salmon farming has created 886 jobs in Nova Scotia.
These new Liverpool sites will allow Kelly Cove to improve its operational efficiencies in production and harvesting and will result in up to 20 new direct jobs. The company also plans to install high-tech hybrid electric battery feed barge systems which slash carbon emissions by reducing diesel generator run time and fuel consumption by up to 60 per cent.
The larger operation will require more services and materials to be purchased in the community creating the potential for an aquaculture service hub to be established in the area. With this expansion, other freshwater hatcheries, feed production and trucking will expand accordingly.
At every step of the way, Kelly Cove has complied with our current lease and new license and lease application process, and in February our representatives will present how the company meets all the regulatory criteria to the ARB.
Details on the Aquaculture Review Board and the hearing are available here: https://arb.novascotia.ca/hearings/public-hearing-applications-kelly-cove-salmon-ltd-liverpool-bay-queens-county
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Contact:
Joel Richardson
Vice President, Public Relations
Cooke Aquaculture Inc. / for Kelly Cove Salmon Ltd.
40 Wellington Row, Saint John, NB, Canada E2L3H3
+1 (506) 721-1093 mobile / +1 (506) 694-4900 office
www.cookeseafood.com