Nova Scotia fishers want protections from wind energy projects

A lobster boat sailing in choppy waters off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada
A lobster boat off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada | Photo courtesy of Atlantic Coast Images/Shutterstock
4 Min

Fishermen in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia are pushing to ensure that fishing grounds on Georges Bank are protected from wind energy project development.

The CBC reported that a new piece of legislation working its way through Nova Scotia’s parliament – Bill 471 – includes changes to multiple pieces of legislation, including a new mandate to include wind energy projects and the ability for the province of Nova Scotia to fast-track offshore wind development.

Seafood Producers Association of Nova Scotia President Ian McIsaac, at a committee meeting on 16 September, told the government that he’s concerned the legislation could open the door for development of a fishing area that has been protected for decades.

Development in Georges Bank has been restricted since the 1980s, when the government placed a moratorium on offshore petroleum development. However, the new bill doesn’t update that moratorium for wind energy and leaves important fishing areas open to projects, according to McIsaac. He called for more scrutiny on the matter to understand what impacts wind energy projects could have on Nova Scotia’s fishing industry.

"In the past, whenever the moratorium has come up for consideration, it has been subject to intense study of the environmental and socioeconomic impacts of change to determine if, in fact, such changes are appropriate,” he said, according to the CBC. 

Nova Scotia Minister of Natural Resources and Renewables Tory Rushton said he plans to ensure the fishing area will be protected through regulation. 

"We do not want to develop wind in this area," Rushton told reporters at Province House. "We respect that the bank is a very economical benefit to the fishers, and we don't want to destroy that."

However, he also said that protections should come in a separate bill, as Bill 471 sets up a regulatory body to manage offshore wind and that body will then establish protections.

The bill in question would institute ...


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