Tag Archives: Keith Colwell
Nova Scotia seafood sector far exceeds targets set a decade ago
Federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay was roasted by opponents last week when he posted a photo on X (formerly Twitter) of himself eating a lobster in Malaysia while on a trade mission in the Indo-Pacific. The P.E.I. politician was denounced as tone deaf and out of touch with average Canadians, but overseas trade missions are one reason Nova Scotia seafood exports have exceeded goals set for the industry 10 years ago in the Ivany report — a blueprint for expanding the province’s economy. Veteran seafood analyst Peter Norsworthy, while not weighing in on the optics of the MacAulay image, said seafood exports from Nova Scotia to China have grown from $25 million in 2007 to $666 million in 2021, with almost all of that growth in lobster. Photos, more, >>click to read<< 06:31
Coronavirus: Flights of live lobster to China plummeted in late January. When will they resume?
“It’ll probably be three or four months at least,” Keith Colwell told reporters after announcing $2.5 million in funding for a lobster quality research and innovation centre at Université Sainte-Anne in Church Point, N.S. “It’s a concern for us. It’s a serious concern, not just with lobster, but everything we export there.” Initially, Colwell called it a blip.,, “I think this is a big deal, particularly the way they’ve dealt with it, like they’ve closed stuff down,” said Chandra Gavin, a commercial fisherman from the Gulf of St. Lawrence. “We went through SARS and I don’t think any of that, none of this happened for that.” Video, >click to read< 07:47
Lobster Quality Research and Innovation Centre To Help Fishery – >click to read<
Science journal article disputes claims that aquaculture is a sustainable industry
Inka Milewski, a research associate in the Department of Biology at Dalhousie University, said Monday her conclusions are partly based on a series of long-term studies of a fish farm in Port Mouton Bay, N.S. She says evidence of an impact on lobster populations and eelgrass in the bay around those pens run counter to a “narrative” found on various federal Fisheries websites that Ottawa manages the industry in “a sustainable way.” Her report notes that Ottawa had collected reports of 14.4 metric tonnes of antibiotics and 439 metric tonnes of hydrogen peroxide pesticides being placed in the waters since federal aquaculture regulations came into force four years ago. >click to read<17:51
Nova Scotia looks to keep redfish quota as other provinces want in
A Nova Scotia seafood company is urging the federal government to wait several years before starting a large-scale commercial harvest for redfish in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Also known as ocean perch, the species has made a remarkable comeback after a 25-year moratorium. “This biomass is huge. It’s probably the largest in history,” said Jan Voutier of Louisbourg Seafoods Ltd., a Nova Scotia redfish harvester and processor. It’s believed 3.5 million tonnes of redfish are in the gulf today, setting the stage for a looming interprovincial conflict in Atlantic Canada over who gets a piece of the action.”All of a sudden, everyone wants to rush in and get the pot of gold, as it were,” said Keith Colwell, Nova Scotia’s fisheries minister. >click to read<12:20
Ottawa considers dozens more marine protected areas in Maritimes that have not been made public
Ottawa is considering dozens more marine protected areas in Maritime waters, according to maps and other data shared by the federal government with stakeholders. The maps show 24 proposed marine protected areas (MPA) on the Scotian Shelf, including the entire Bras d’Or Lakes in Cape Breton and dozens more in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The maps show 24 proposed marine protected areas (MPA) on the Scotian Shelf, including the entire Bras d’Or Lakes in Cape Breton and dozens more in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. >click to read<18:53
Fish farms a necessity: minister – It’s time to get this crap out of the water and into industrial parks
Farmed fish are here to stay as wild fish stocks have come under increasing pressure worldwide, says Nova Scotia Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister Keith Colwell. Colwell responded Thursday to a federal audit tabled before parliament that warned the Department of Fisheries and Oceans had not yet crafted a plan to restore 12 of 15 wild fish stocks deemed to be in critical condition. “The real issue is we don’t have enough wild fish stocks. We’re probably fishing worldwide to the maximum it can be,” Colwell told the Chronicle Herald Thursday. Read the story here
The Minister is using fear monger tactics to push open pen aquaculture as the savior of humanity, but, at what cost? If this is as he say’s, and he cares about environmental issues, there is only one answer, and it is to remove this industry from the ocean and into enclosed facility’s on land in industrial parks that keep wild fish segregated from the chemicals and waste generated by this industry. Large concrete tanks with the ability to treat the waste is the only answer. Cooke Aquaculture seems to have plenty of money to buy into fishery’s in the US, and other country’s while they wreak havoc on area’s that they conduct their business, perhaps they should invest in enclosed land based fish farms. Perhaps the Minister should do the right thing instead of boosting profits and environmental destruction for the open pen aquaculture industry. 10:48
N.S. committee to work on system for tracking escaped farmed salmon
Nova Scotia now has a committee to develop a system to track escaped farmed salmon. “This is a first step where government, industry and wild Atlantic salmon conservation groups are working together to develop a system to trace the paths of escaped farmed salmon from the cage to the river. “Escapees are a worldwide concern wherever there are marine salmon farms,” chair Carl Purcell of the Nova Scotia Salmon Association, said in a news release issued Tuesday. “Nova Scotia can become a world leader in this field and develop a tracing system that could be used globally.” Read the article here 15:54
Nova Scotia: Proposed five cent lobster levy is out of bounds says MLA
“I honestly don’t know where Keith Colwell gets off thinking he can impose a five cent a pound tax on lobster without getting the approval of the industry first,” says Belliveau. “Lobster fishers have fought hard to maintain their independence and Minister Colwell has no right to impose anything on them without first getting their permission.” Read more here 18:49
