After facing backlash in the United States and Canada over the escape of thousands of its farmed salmon into Puget Sound in Washington state, Cooke Aquaculture quietly withdrew plans for a salmon hatchery it was planning to build in Nova Scotia.
The Blacks Harbor, New Brunswick, Canada-based Cooke opted not to purchase 25 acres of land in the Granville Beach area, the Annapolis County Spectator reported.
“We’ve been notified by the realtor that the property is back on the market,” Hague Vaughan, spokesperson for the Grainville Road Ratepayers Association, told the newspaper. “It’s very happy news.”
“Tests have determined that the land is not suitable, so we are no longer considering this property,” Cooke Spokesperson Nell Halse said.
In mid-August, Cooke officials offered to meet with the community of Granville Beach, after the association vowed to oppose the potential new facility.
“It is very important that Cooke know directly that most residents of this area – not just Granville Road residents – are adamantly against a fish farm/hatchery in Granville Beach,” according to an email sent from the Granville Road Ratepayers Association to the community at large, according to an Annapolis County Spectator article.
At the time, Halse told SeafoodSource that Cooke executives did not understand the community’s concerns.
“We….have no idea why anyone would oppose a project before knowing anything about it,” Halse said.“This is a rural location with farms and a small village and is one of the options we are considering. No decision has even been made and, if we did want to build here, we would have to comply with all the relevant environmental regulations and we would want to meet with the community before construction.”
