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

Supporters and opponents of a fish farm expansion in Liverpool Bay will get a chance to make their case in front of Nova Scotia’s aquaculture regulator after all.

The province’s aquaculture review board will hear an application in October from Kelly Cove Salmon to expand its current operation at Coffin Island, just off Beach Meadows Beach in Queens County.

Kelly Cove Salmon is owned by seafood giant Cooke Aquaculture. It applied in 2019 to expand its salmon farming operation off Coffin Island near Liverpool, and to add two new farms off Brooklyn and Mersey Point. 

All three applications would have increased Cooke’s operation to 60 pens from 14 and include trout as well as salmon. It would have meant up to 1.8 million farmed salmon in Liverpool Bay, compared to about 400,000 now.

The board had scheduled hearings for those proposals for March 2024. But it indefinitely adjourned the matter that month with no explanation.

According to groups involved in the hearing, Cooke applied to the board this June for a hearing on only the Coffin Island expansion.

The review board held a conference call with Kelly Cove and some intervenors last week. Hearing dates were set for Oct. 7, 8, 9 and 10 in Liverpool. 

Originally, the board had set aside only two days. But after lawyers for community group Protect Liverpool Bay objected, the board added two more hearing dates. The group is represented by environmental law charity Ecojustice.

“So there was no consultation at all in picking the dates,” said Brian Muldoon, spokesman for the group which has been fighting fish farms in the area since 2018.

“So our lawyers wrote to the ARB and said this is not reasonable and the ARB added two more dates.”

A board spokesman would not confirm the dates or comment on any upcoming hearings. He said any new information on hearings in Liverpool would be posted online.

A few days after this story was posted, the review board updated its website with the hearing notice.

The Region of Queens was one of the intervenors in the original hearings. Mayor Scott Christian told QCCR this week that the municipality still opposes the expansion at Coffin Island.

“We’re staying the course,” he said. 

“Beach Meadows Beach is the beach where we have municipal amenities. That’s where we have our infrastructure, and we want to make sure that that beach continues to be a really attractive and great place for locals and for visitors to use, and so that’s certainly one element of the opposition to the expansion at that site. ”

Muldoon said he’s worried about the hearings in October. 

“I believe they are not listening to the people or residents of Queens County. They’re moving forward with their agenda. They are going to put these fish farms over the areas where our local lobster fishermen lay their spring traps. This is taking income and disrupting our lobster industry. Right there, they should say, OK, we’re dismissing this application based on the data that we received that this is where lobster fishermen have been fishing for decades. And they’re going to turn around and ignore this information? It’s absurd, totally absurd.

“I have no confidence in the board listening to us.”

In the leadup to the originally scheduled hearings, more than 150 residents, businesses and community groups filed written submissions with the board. Most opposed the expansion and the new farms.

Five groups were granted intervenor status at the hearings: Protect Liverpool Bay, the Region of Queens, the Brooklyn Marina, 22 Lobster Fishermen of Liverpool Bay, and Kwilmu’kw Maw-Klusuaqn, which is representing the Acadia First Nation. 

Jamie Simpson of Juniper Law in Halifax represents the lobster fishermen.

He said his clients are still concerned about how the expansion will affect their fishing grounds and how new pens will affect their ability to set and reach their traps.

“Ever since the original hearing was postponed without a date, I think everyone was hopeful that maybe the entire application would be withdrawn but that’s not the case so we’ll deal with the revised application.”

Joel Richardson, spokesman for Cooke Aquaculture, said he didn’t have time for an interview. But in an emailed statement, he wrote that the company “welcomes the opportunity to appear before the aquaculture review board to seek approval of our applications which have been in the provincial system for many years.

“At every step of the way, Kelly Cove has complied with the application process. At the aquaculture review board hearings our representatives will present how the company meets all the regulatory criteria.”

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston told a business luncheon in Liverpool in February 2024 that he personally opposed new fish farms in Liverpool Bay, though he said he supports the aquaculture industry. 

It was shortly after that that the board postponed and then indefinitely adjourned the hearings.

The Nova Scotia government appointed a new board chair, and some other new members, in February 2024. 

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Lucy the Lobster will once again use her canny crustacean conjecturing on Sunday to predict whether we’ll see six more weeks of winter. (Nova Scotia Lobster Crawl photo)

Organizers call it a shellebration, while lobster lovers think of it as the most delicious time of year.

The eighth annual Nova Scotia Lobster Crawl is set to crack open on Saturday at businesses, galleries and community centres along Nova Scotia’s South Shore. 

Each February, the month-long festival highlights the South Shore’s most famous and lucrative export.

Stephanie Miller Vincent is the co-ordinator of the South Shore Tourism Co-operative, which organizes the event.

“It’s one of the reasons that the lobster crawl happens in February. It’s peak lobster season, yes. But we all know that we get into that spot where we need a little nudge, maybe a little nip with a claw to get us going.”

More than 70 events are scheduled, with more being added as Feb. 1 gets closer.

Two of the biggest events are coming up on Sunday, or Groundhog Day. In Barrington, people will wait to see if Lucy the Lobster sees her shadow, predicting six more weeks of winter. 

And at the Quarterdeck Resort at Summerville Beach, near Liverpool, a dozen restaurants from around the South Shore will compete for the title of best lobster roll. 

Local author Pam Wamback has written a children’s book called Lucy the Lob-Star, about Lucy’s rise from the depths to become a famous weather forecaster.

Lots of food events are scheduled, like a chowder showdown. And many restaurants and bars will be featuring additional lobster dishes on their menus. But the month also features arts events around the South Shore, including local artisan markets.

• Go here for a complete list of Nova Scotia Lobster Crawl events

Liverpool’s Queens Coast Trading Company has even created a special tea blend dedicated to Lucy the Lobster. 

Miller Vincent says the lobster crawl is especially important for local fishermen and businesses in light of the tariff threat from the United States.

“And certainly the events that are happening in the U.S. and the conversations that are being spoken about makes us remember that … we should be looking at home first and shopping. And listen, the South Shore’s got some amazing products and amazing shops, restaurants, marketers, whatever it might be. There’s no better time to go see them than it is in February.”

As for Lucy’s prediction on Sunday?

“Lucy has been right every single year, and I don’t want to jinx her. Last year she was the opposite of Punxsutawney Phil and Shubenacadie Sam. And in the long run, she was absolutely right.

“You know, we did end up with the weather that she predicted. So she’s going to be right, no matter what that is. And the best thing is, no matter what she predicts, we still have at least six more weeks of lobster season.”

For more information on the Nova Scotia Lobster Crawl, visit their website at lobstercrawl.ca or follow them on Facebook.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Fishermen in West Berlin get their traps ready for Dumping Day. (Rick Conrad)

Fishermen around the South Shore are getting ready for the start of lobster season.

Depending on the weather, Dumping Day will start for Queens County fishermen at 7 a.m. Monday, when vessels race to get to some of the most lucrative fishing grounds in North America to set their traps.

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans makes the call on Friday morning based on the forecast. 

Dumping Day can be moved up or delayed by a day if the forecast predicts anything over 26 knots of wind. 

Fishing boat captains can also vote to go a day early or a day later, if they feel conditions are too dangerous.

Bruce Perry fishes out of Port Medway. He was getting his boat ready this week and waiting for the official call to get out on the water. He said he’s looking forward to a good start to the season.

“Just hope there’s a few lobsters everywhere and a good price and some good weather,” he said this week.

The season in lobster fishing areas 33 and 34 goes from the last Monday in November to May 31. LFA 33 includes Queens County and covers the area from Cow Bay to Shelburne. Some 680 vessels fish out of the area.

Dan Fleck, the executive director of Brazil Rock 33/34 Lobster Association, said DFO changed the procedure for the Dumping Day start.

In previous years, boats were allowed to untie and wait in the harbour until the opening bell. This year, though, in an effort to make it fairer for all fishermen, DFO has ordered all vessels to stay tied up at the dock.

“And that could be very dangerous in some harbours,” Fleck said in an interview. “We have some ports with five, 10, 15, 20, 30, 40, 80 boats. It could be tricky, in hours of darkness and vessels loaded and you can’t see.

“It’s an anxious time, everybody wants to get to sea, they want to get to their prime fishing grounds. To have everybody try to untie at the same time, jockeying for position and get out of these wharves, it could be dangerous.”

The first day is a long one. LFA 33 crews can set their traps beginning at 7 a.m., but they can’t start hauling them in until midnight.

“So we have some vessels that will stay out until midnight to start hauling, and some vessels will stay for three or four days,” Fleck says.

Overall catches were down last year, according to DFO. In LFA 33, crews landed 6,881 metric tonnes during the 2023-24 season for a value of $163 million. The year before, 7,692 metric tonnes were landed, valued at $154.8 million.

Fleck says it’s difficult to predict what this season will bring. Fishermen in other areas like LFA 35 in the Bay of Fundy are reporting good catches and getting about $11 a pound, he said.

“Safety’s the most important, make sure everybody gets out there safe and sound, and gets back home the same way.”

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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