Review board cancels April hearings into fish farm expansion

Debris from the fish farm near Coffin Island on Beach Meadows Beach in 2021. (Rick Conrad photo)

April hearings into a proposed fish farm expansion in Liverpool Bay have been cancelled.

The Nova Scotia Aquaculture Review Board posted on its website last Wednesday that “all sessions of the hearing have been adjourned until further notice. Timeframes for submissions to the Board remain unchanged and are closed.”

It’s the latest surprising turn of events for the review board. In early February, Premier Tim Houston announced at a business luncheon in Liverpool that he personally opposes the expansion in Liverpool Bay. He added that he respects the independence of the review board.

Kelly Cove Salmon, which is owned by Cooke Aquaculture, applied in 2019 to expand its existing operation off Coffin Island. It also wants to add two new site off Brooklyn and Mersey Point.

On Feb. 20, groups involved in the hearing got a “high priority” email telling them the hearings scheduled for March 4 to 8 were cancelled. They were also told that board chairwoman Jean McKenna was no longer with the board.

Lawyers were told that other dates that had been scheduled for early April were still a go.

A new chairman was appointed. Tim Cranston was appointed to the board in February 2023. He also ran for the Tories in the last provincial election in Halifax.

Houston told reporters that McKenna’s term had expired and that there was nothing inappropriate about Cranston’s appointment.

And then last week, the board posted on its site that the April dates were now cancelled.

The board has been mum about all the recent changes and hearing cancellations, saying only that when new information is available, it will be posted on its website.

There is no indication when or if they will be rescheduled.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com