Minister confident in process amid concerns about aquaculture development
Public comment period approaching on first proposed sites in Argyle development area
As the provincial government's public comment period approaches for five proposed aquaculture sites in the Municipality of the District of Argyle, the cabinet minister responsible says he's pleased with the process used to reach this point — despite ongoing concerns from some community members.
Kent Smith was responding a day after Fisheries and Aquaculture Department officials heard concerns at public meetings about the multi-year process that led to the creation of the Argyle aquaculture development area.
"There's been so much consultation and we have such a robust set of regulations that I'm confident that we're going to land in the right place for the municipality," Smith said in an interview Wednesday.
The development area, which includes 53 pre-assessed sites for potential shellfish and plant-based aquaculture, was announced last year. Six sites were put up for bids, with five being awarded to proponents whose applications for licences are now being reviewed before going to a 30-day public comment period.
But during one of the meetings Tuesday at a hall in the municipality, some residents said there's been a lack of community input in the selection of the proposed lease sites and they feel that decisions about expanded aquaculture development in the area have already been made.
"It's too late, in our view," Chris Thibedeau, one of about 20 people who attended the meeting, told officials.
"I can't see how anything we would say could change the outcome."
Department staff walked people through the process to provide feedback, which includes a 30-day window to submit comments via email, letter or online submission form once a lease applicant's proposal is complete and posted on the department website.
Comments must relate to one or more of eight factors set out in regulations. They include the optimum use of marine resources; fishery activities in public waters surrounding a proposed operation; public right of navigation; and other users of the waters surrounding a proposed operation.
Calls for change
People who live within 500 metres of a proposed site are notified by mail when a public comment period is about to open, although some meeting attendees said that buffer doesn't go far enough.
"If you're going from the point in the water to the land, that could very well be 500 metres there and so you'd be informing nobody along that shoreline," said Joanne Tulk.
Tulk, who has previously worked in the oil and gas industry, was critical of the communication process so far around the development area and said the province is missing an opportunity to get broad community buy-in and help the area's economy.
She suggested the 500-metre notification zone for neighbours begin at the shoreline in front of proposed lease sites.
"I would love to see this succeed and to do that we have to be informing people properly," she said.
"Otherwise, everybody gets upset, people don't understand what's going on and when you don't understand what's going on, then things can get blown out of all proportion, people don't feel heard and then they feel upset."
Smith said he'd discuss that suggestion with people in his department.
"We don't want people to feel like they're not part of the process or feel like they're being left out, but on the other side of the coin, 500 metres from shore is pretty far out there."
Another concern voiced Tuesday was that some of the proposed lease sites fall within the area of the Tusket Islands Wilderness Area.
Smith deferred comment on that issue to the province's Environment and Climate Change Department. On Thursday, officials with that department said the proposed aquaculture sites do not fall within the wilderness area because the designation applies to land and bodies of water on the land, but not the ocean water around it..
Meeting participants also took issue with industry members having a hand in suggesting where proposed sites would go before eventually getting to bid on them. But Smith said it only makes sense and is standard practice to enlist industry feedback and ensure that sites are suitable for aquaculture before they are posted for bids to lease.
"We don't want people going into an area where we don't have any idea whether or not it's even possible to grow oysters or mussels," he said.
'This has to expand somewhere else'
Although department staff said there needs to be a balance to find a way to allow the industry and neighbours to coexist, it was a difficult sell Tuesday. Shellfish aquaculture operations need to be in sheltered areas such as bays and inlets, but some residents said Tuesday they don't want to see them.
"I don't want that mess on Salt Bay," said Donna Gaudet. "This has to expand somewhere else."
Gaudet said the issue has created a divide among some community members who feel like their concerns are not being addressed.
Supporters of the development area, the first of its kind in the province, say it's a way to diversify the local fishery, create jobs and stimulate economic growth for the municipality.
Smith said he's satisfied with the level of consultation throughout the process and the public comment period will allow residents to highlight any issues that might have been missed before any leases are awarded.
But he noted the initial consultation was several years ago and "a lot of time has passed since then" now that the process has reached consideration of lease applications. He thinks compressing the time in between could help.
"So that people are more aware and get as many people involved as possible, but keep the decisions a little closer to the consultation so it's fresh in people's minds."
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