Salmon farmer is currently investigating the possibility of a multimillion expansion into Nova Scotia.
In April, Cermaq Canada announced that it was planning a 20,000 tonne salmon farm expansion in Nova Scotia, Canada.
On its latest newsletter, the Mitsubishi Corporation-owned salmon farmer wrote that it had sent a team out to scout out areas for expansion for the USD 500 million project.
The areas identified within the Options to Lease include the Chedabucto Bay region (Guysborough Country and Richmond Valley) on the eastern shoreline and in the St. Mary’s region south of Digby on the province’s south-western coast.
“This information is being used to shape our upcoming association and community engagement which we will be launching in late July and early August. We will continue to hold engagement sessions and meetings throughout the summer and fall. Work completed or underway We have had a few members of our technical team visit the Chedabucto and Digby regions to begin the process of collecting ocean and site data,” the salmon farmer wrote.
Cermaq Canada wrote that they’ve met with local agencies to gather historical data and are also working to get sensors in the waters to begin to collect temperatures, current speeds and wave action.
“Through these meetings, email and our social media accounts, we have heard a few consistent themes or requests. The first is that if we do want to join the Nova Scotia Seafood Story, we need to ensure that our operations do not have a negative impact on existing commercial fisheries, including the important lobster fishery. We agree with this and commit to stating that if we can’t add value, or we will be harming existing fisheries, then we will not proceed,” it wrote.
Cermaq needs between 10 and 20 fish farms with an annual output of 20,000 tonnes to justify coming to Nova Scotia, where it would also open a hatchery and processing plant.
