You undoubtedly have heard that the  NS government has given the Norwegian aquaculture giant, Cermaq, the option to explore putting open-net pens in St. Margaret’s and Mahone Bays. Open-net fish farms, which are being eliminated in BC, threaten our environment through disease, parasites, toxic chemicals and more. Opposition to having open-net pens in our waters is mounting.

Our chapter has joined the Twin Bays Coalition which is a very active organization  working with the St. Margaret’s Bay Stewardship Association, Friends of Nature, Ecology Action Centre, as well as interested individuals to oppose open-net fish farming.

If you are concerned about this issue, here are a few opportunities for action and education. 

We are sorry that due to an overflow crowd at our public meeting on January 26, people had to be turned away.  We now have a clean ‘edited’ version of the presentations.  You can watch it by going to the youtube channel and searching for twinbayscoalitionrally.  It is in 8 short episodes. You can also watch it on the Twin Bays facebook page. 

Representatives from the Twin Bay Coalition have been making presentations to municipal councils. There has been a misunderstanding and the  presentation to the Town of Lunenburg Council will not take place on Tuesday, February 11 at 5:15 pm. Stay tuned for notification of the new date for this presentation. 

Councillor Michael Ernst is moving this motion at the regular MODL council meeting on Tuesday, February 11. “Request that the Municipality of the District of Lunenburg not support the development of open pen fish farms in District 8, Mahone Bay, as defined on the attached map.” The meeting begins at 9 am and when necessary continues after the lunch break and this item is near the end of the agenda. It is important to have supporters in attendance but it is not possible to give an accurate time. You can check with the municipal office to see if they have a better idea of the time frame. Councillor Ernst has also stated that “If other Councillors representing coastal areas of the Municipality wish to amend this motion to include the coastal areas in their districts they may do so.” In light of this it is important that you contact your councillors before Tuesday and urge them to amend the motion to include your district.

Here’s a terrific op-ed in the January 31  Chronicle Herald, from Helga Guderley.  Read it here

We will have an info table at the Lunenburg Farmers Market on Thursday, February 27^th. Contact us if you are able to work a 1.5 hour shift or if you are at the market stop by and have a chat with us.

The Twin Bays Coalition has organized a second public meeting, this time in Tantallon.  It will be held on Sunday, March 1^st at 2pm at St. Margaret’s Centre in Upper Tantallon.  Facebook event here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/twinbays/

Finally, consider joining the Twin Bays facebook group:  twinbayscoalition.  And visit the website: twinbays.ca.  Links to petition, opportunities for action and lots more information. 

We know that Cermaq is doing an excellent job of lobbying our elected officials.  We need to work equally hard to convince our elected officials that open-net fish farming is not the answer for our communities, our economy, or the environment. Write and/or call your local councillor, MP and MLA to register your concern.

Thank you for your support!

Dear Friends:

Jamie Simpson, one of our board members, is acting for Bob Bancroft and three other groups in launching this action to require the NS Government to  live up to their legislated requirement to protect species at risk.

Friends of Nature fully supports this action. Great work Jamie and Bob!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 24, 2019   Halifax, Nova Scotia

Wildlife biologist Bob Bancroft and nature organizations launch legal action for Nova Scotia’s species at risk

Mr. Bob Bancroft and three of Nova Scotia’s naturalists’ societies say it is time to ask the courts to intervene on behalf of Nova Scotia’s most at-risk wildlife and plants.

“The Department of Lands and Forestry has mandatory legal obligations under the Endangered Species Act that have not been fulfilled,” explains retired Acadia University biology professor Dr. Soren Bondrup-Nielsen, president of Blomidon Naturalists Society, one of the parties to the legal proceedings.  “We’re simply asking the Court to tell our government to do what it is already required to do by law.”

In court documents filed today, the applicants allege that the Department of Lands and Forestry (formerly the Department of Natural Resources) has failed to meet its legal obligations with respect to 34 species, including mainland moose, wood turtle, bank swallow, and a host of other species designated at risk in Nova Scotia.

“The Department has not yet identified core habitat for our mainland moose, a requirement that is now over-due by more than a decade,” says wildlife biologist Bob Bancroft, president of the Federation of Nova Scotia Naturalists (also known as Nature Nova Scotia).

The legal documents allege that the Department of Lands and Forestry has not yet identified a single acre of core habitat of threatened and endangered species, despite the legal requirement to do so under the Endangered Species Act.

Other short-comings noted in the documents include failures to appoint recovery teams and create recovery plans within the time-frames required under the Act.

“This is a rule of law case,” notes Jamie Simpson, lawyer for the applicants.  “The Act requires the Minister of Lands and Forestry to do certain things towards the recovery of species at risk in Nova Scotia.  We are asking the Court to uphold the rule of law and require the Department to abide by the Act.”

The Department’s short-comings with respect to species at risk has been reported several times.  In 2015, the East Coast Environmental Law Association published a report calling on the Department to address the alleged violations of the Species at Risk Act.  In 2016, the Office of the Auditor General of Nova Scotia published a review of the Department’s track-record on species at risk, noting the alleged failure to fulfill mandatory requirements under the Act.

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For more information:

Bob Bancroft: 902 386 2501 , wild1@eastlink.ca

Soren Bondrup-Nielsen: 902-582-3971,  soren@bondrup.com

Jamie Simpson: 902 817 1737, jamie@juniperlaw.ca