— April 25, 2016 —
“Highlights of the report include details about a ground-breaking lobster survey that shows the number of berried female lobsters more than tripled at locations adjacent to a new salmon farm on Grand Manan that was surveyed annually over a period of ive years. To this point, the data shows that the salmon farms did not have a negative impact on wild lobster populations in this area. Also highlighted in the report is the work by salmon farmers on the award-winning Inner Bay of Fundy Salmon Recovery project that resulted in the biggest salmon returns in over 20 years.
“In addition to celebrating our achievements, we were also pleased to celebrate the growth of salmon farming in Nova Scotia,” said Pamela Parker, Executive Director of the ACFFA. “The unveiling of the new Aquaculture Development Strategy earlier this year is an important step in the development of the province’s sustainable salmon farming sector. Nova Scotia has an unprecedented opportunity to create jobs and economic growth in its coastal communities while helping Canada achieve its potential in delivering a healthy protein to the growing world population.”
Over 120 salmon farmers, industry stakeholders, scientists, researchers, provincial and federal government representatives, and community members attended the ACFFA’s fall conference and research workshop on November 14 and 15 at the Huntsman Marine Science Centre in St. Andrews where this report was released. Participants heard from experts on a variety of topics including Canadian Aquaculture Organic Standards, real-time environmental monitoring systems and sea lice management techniques. Participants also identified research priorities for 2013.
The ACFFA’s 2012 Year in Review can be found here.
The Atlantic Canada Fish Farmers Association (ACFFA) is an industry-funded association working on behalf of the salmon farming industry in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The ACFFA represents salmon producers in addition to a wide range of supporting companies and organizations. Salmon farming employs over 3000 people in our region and generates over $330 million to our provincial economies.