The Newfoundland Aquaculture Industry Association (NAIA) and Cooke Inc. CEO Glenn Cooke are pushing back against a proposal for a new marine protected area (MPA) they both say will negatively impact the aquaculture and fisheries industries in the Canadian province.
Canada’s federal government has proposed a new National Marine Conservation Area (NMCA) for the South Coast Fjords area, located on the southwest coast of the island of Newfoundland. The study for the new NMCA covers 9,112 square kilometers, and the feasibility of the project is currently being assessed by the government.
According to Parks Canada, the Canadian government, the government of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Miawpukek First Nation, the Qalipu First Nation, and the town of Burgeo signed a memorandum of understanding in June 2023 to begin assessing the feasibility of the new conservation area.
“This ecologically rich marine environment is a productive marine ecosystem and biodiversity hotspot,” Parks Canada said in a summary of its efforts. “It is amongst the most productive marine environments in Atlantic Canada and is home to the largest tides in Newfoundland.”
Conservation groups like the Atlantic Salmon Federation and The Pew Charitable Trusts have supported establishing the South Coast Fjords MPA as a means of protecting the environment and wildlife species that utilize the area, including 20 species of whales that migrate through the region, Atlantic cod, redfish, and leatherback sea turtles.
As the government continues to investigate the feasibility of the new conservation area, NAIA, Cooke, and some provincial officials have come out to oppose it on the grounds it would negatively impact multiple seafood industries in the region with dubious benefits for wildlife.
“Charting the best course for our marine environment should not come at the expense of the seafood industry and the livelihoods it supports; it doesn’t have to,” NAIA said in a release.
NAIA claimed that the proposal is being pushed through by “activists embedded within Park Canada” who haven’t established how the NMCA will impact fishing, aquaculture, and recreational activity in the area and will develop the site first and determine what’s allowed in it later – to the detriment of the seafood industry.
“The fact is that the NMCA in Gwaii Haanas, British Columbia, has restricted fishing in nearly half of the ocean area and completely restricted all commercial aquaculture,” NAIA said...
