Open net pen aquaculture - Media Downloads
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For Immediate Release
March 02, 2020
Hatchery decision marks latest aquaculture failure for NL government: NL-CAR
Mowi to undergo new environmental assessment after court throws out decision from environment minister
ST JOHN’S – Mowi no longer has permission to add millions of additional aquaculture salmon to waters off the South Coast of Newfoundland after a judge threw out then Environment Minister Andrew Parson’s decision to forgo a full environmental assessment of the proposal. Mowi wanted to register the hatchery only and not the sea cages thereby splitting the project.
It’s the third major court decision against unchecked aquaculture expansion in the province since July 2017 and closes a major loophole that companies have exploited to avoid scrutiny of their actions in the marine environment. To proceed, Mowi will have to complete a full environmental assessment.
Until now, sea-cages constructed apart from hatcheries were exempt from provincial environmental assessment and hatcheries built apart from sea-cages were only examined for local impacts, like freshwater use. The negative consequence to wild fish and the environment of stocking millions of aquaculture salmon annually into coastal waters was deliberately ignored.
In his February 27 decision, Justice Daniel M. Boone found the minister’s decision to release Mowi’s hatchery expansion from further environmental assessment without considering the resulting increase of aquaculture salmon in Newfoundland waters “was not based on an internally coherent and rational chain of analysis,” and violated Newfoundland’s Environmental Protection Act.
“We expect that from now on, whether cages alone are being built, or a hatchery expanded, the Minister must look at the total impact to the environment when making decisions,” said Leo White, spokesperson for the Newfoundland and Labrador Coalition for Aquaculture Reform (NL-CAR) “Ecojustice and the applicants have set a lasting precedent.”
“It has taken years of fighting against the government to ensure the law is followed, but we have reached the point where open net pen salmon farms can no longer be developed without proper environmental review,” said John Baird, President of the Freshwater-Alexander Bays Ecosystem Corporation, one of the applicants that brought the case forward. Other applicants were the Salmonid Association of Eastern Newfoundland and the Port au Port Bay Fishery Committee, all members of the Coalition.
Since 2016, when the governing Newfoundland Liberals pledged to increase finfish aquaculture production to 50,000 metric tonnes annually, actual production has decreased by 40 per cent. According to Statistics Canada, 25,411 metric tonnes were produced in 2016 compared to 15,107 in 2018, the last year for which information is publicly available.
“Companies cannot keep their fish healthy, they are dying by the millions, stressed by lice and disease. Furthermore, the government’s attempts to cut corners and ignore the law when approving projects has failed every time,” said Leo White. “As Canada moves on with alternative aquaculture production models, Newfoundlanders are coming to realize that this industry cannot operate sustainably and cannot stand up to environmental scrutiny.”
For more information contact:
Leo White, Spokesperson for NL-CAR at leopwhite@hotmail.com or call +1-709 753 4034
March 02, 2020
Hatchery decision marks latest aquaculture failure for NL government: NL-CAR
Mowi to undergo new environmental assessment after court throws out decision from environment minister
ST JOHN’S – Mowi no longer has permission to add millions of additional aquaculture salmon to waters off the South Coast of Newfoundland after a judge threw out then Environment Minister Andrew Parson’s decision to forgo a full environmental assessment of the proposal. Mowi wanted to register the hatchery only and not the sea cages thereby splitting the project.
It’s the third major court decision against unchecked aquaculture expansion in the province since July 2017 and closes a major loophole that companies have exploited to avoid scrutiny of their actions in the marine environment. To proceed, Mowi will have to complete a full environmental assessment.
Until now, sea-cages constructed apart from hatcheries were exempt from provincial environmental assessment and hatcheries built apart from sea-cages were only examined for local impacts, like freshwater use. The negative consequence to wild fish and the environment of stocking millions of aquaculture salmon annually into coastal waters was deliberately ignored.
In his February 27 decision, Justice Daniel M. Boone found the minister’s decision to release Mowi’s hatchery expansion from further environmental assessment without considering the resulting increase of aquaculture salmon in Newfoundland waters “was not based on an internally coherent and rational chain of analysis,” and violated Newfoundland’s Environmental Protection Act.
“We expect that from now on, whether cages alone are being built, or a hatchery expanded, the Minister must look at the total impact to the environment when making decisions,” said Leo White, spokesperson for the Newfoundland and Labrador Coalition for Aquaculture Reform (NL-CAR) “Ecojustice and the applicants have set a lasting precedent.”
“It has taken years of fighting against the government to ensure the law is followed, but we have reached the point where open net pen salmon farms can no longer be developed without proper environmental review,” said John Baird, President of the Freshwater-Alexander Bays Ecosystem Corporation, one of the applicants that brought the case forward. Other applicants were the Salmonid Association of Eastern Newfoundland and the Port au Port Bay Fishery Committee, all members of the Coalition.
Since 2016, when the governing Newfoundland Liberals pledged to increase finfish aquaculture production to 50,000 metric tonnes annually, actual production has decreased by 40 per cent. According to Statistics Canada, 25,411 metric tonnes were produced in 2016 compared to 15,107 in 2018, the last year for which information is publicly available.
“Companies cannot keep their fish healthy, they are dying by the millions, stressed by lice and disease. Furthermore, the government’s attempts to cut corners and ignore the law when approving projects has failed every time,” said Leo White. “As Canada moves on with alternative aquaculture production models, Newfoundlanders are coming to realize that this industry cannot operate sustainably and cannot stand up to environmental scrutiny.”
For more information contact:
Leo White, Spokesperson for NL-CAR at leopwhite@hotmail.com or call +1-709 753 4034