A new report on how and why climate change should be incorporated into fisheries management in Atlantic Canada and the Eastern Arctic begins with an ominous passage that serves as a stark reminder of just how tragically wrong we humans can be about the limits of the natural bounty on this planet.[i] The report was ...
Sea lice are decimating Atlantic salmon, and climate change is making the situation worse
A recent study shows that the negative effects of sea lice increase as water warms, and that increases the risk that open-net pen salmon farming present for wild salmon.
A Dalhousie University researcher is among a team of scientists tracking a big threat to Atlantic salmon: sea lice. Climate change can increase risks of disease in marine ecosystems and pose an additional threat to the health of Atlantic salmon, according to a recent paper published in Nature’s peer-reviewed journal, Scientific Reports, and authored by […]
Atlantic Gold paid $0 in taxes in 2019
As the company is in court facing 32 charges of polluting the environment, the promised windfall in tax revenue is proving illusionary.
Atlantic Mining NS Inc., an affiliate of the St. Barbara company Atlantic Gold, which operates the Touquoy open pit gold mine at Moose River, has succeeded in delaying its day in court. Arraigned in Dartmouth Provincial Court, Atlantic Mining NS asked for and received an adjournment until March 15. In September 2020, Nova Scotia Environment […]
Nova Scotia has laid charges for 32 environmental infractions against Atlantic Gold
Citizens raise concerns about environmental impacts of gold mining in Nova Scotia's moose country.
Much attention is focused on Crown land in Digby County that is threatened by logging operations. And last week, nine people from Extinction Rebellion were arrested while trying to prevent contractors in the employ of the WestFor consortium from accessing the public forest and moose habitat slated for cutting. But in another part of the […]
Lobster: the last, best fishery
Part 2: The new cod?
Lobster stocks in Atlantic Canada have been flourishing in recent years, ironically not just because of conservation measures, but also because of two ecological disasters — the collapse of groundfish stocks and climate change. But can the lobster fishery survive with current rates and rules for harvesting as waters continue to warm and ecosystems change? […]
Lobster: the last, best fishery
Part 1: Stocks are healthy, but why?
Lobster stocks in Atlantic Canada have been flourishing in recent years, ironically not just because of conservation measures, but also because of two ecological disasters — the collapse of groundfish stocks and climate change. But can the lobster fishery survive with current rates and rules for harvesting as waters continue to warm and ecosystems change? […]
Independent inshore lobster fishers fear the Clearwater purchase could decimate their livelihoods
At a November 12 press conference, Sipekne’katik First Nation Chief Mike Sack announced that his Band was launching “hundreds” of lawsuits related to the way governments, some commercial fishers, and the RCMP reacted to its launch of its moderate livelihood fishery on September 17, the 21st anniversary of the landmark Marshall decision that affirmed Mi’kmaq […]
In Search of Common Ground: An interview with Arthur Bull about the lobster fishery crisis in St. Mary’s Bay
It’s been more than a month since the Sipekne’katik First Nation launched its own self-regulated lobster fishery off the Saulnierville wharf in Southwest Nova Scotia — 21 years after the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in the Marshall decision, affirming the 1760-61 Treaty Rights of the Mi’kmaq to fish for a “moderate livelihood.” For weeks […]
Deciding Northern Pulp’s future
A tangled mess of dubious science, loans, and liabilities will determine how government officials will act in coming days — and how much it will cost Nova Scotians.
Nova Scotia’s business minister Geoff MacLellan says it’s not the time to talk about all the money that Northern Pulp owes the province, and it won’t be until after environment minister Gordon Wilson makes his decision on the mill’s new effluent treatment facility on or before December 17. CBC reporter Michael Gorman notes that MacLellan […]
Government moves slowly, except when it moves lightning fast
Morning File, Friday, October 4, 2019
News 1. Twenty years after the Marshall decision, DFO still has no agreement with First Nations communities over fishing management It’s been twenty years since the Marshall decision (in which the Supreme Court of Canada found that Donald Marshall Jr. had a treaty right to fish for eels out of season) and the Department of […]