N.S. Fish Farm PR Guy Says There's "No Suspected Loss Of Fish" After Massive Storm Damage
So I guess we can all just relax, since they obviously know that no fish escaped. What a relief!
In addition to ice and snow, remnants of Nova Scotia's first major winter storm are all over the shore of Jordan Bay, N.S. in the form of buoys and plastic pipes. The debris, which came from the Cooke Aquaculture fish farm, is concerning to commercial lobster fisherman Ricky Hallett. He suspects many of the fish died.
"Seventeen out of 20 of the pens have the tops off them and most of them have the sides smashed down," Hallett said. "I live just adjacent to the site and I can look right out on it."
Kelly Cove Salmon, the farming division of Cooke Aquaculture, said in an email Saturday its crews cannot yet safely get to the site to assess the damage. But Chuck Brown, communications manager for Cooke Aquaculture, wrote "inspections from the shore indicate there has been no damage to the main cage structure and no suspected loss of fish."
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Arnold said the Ecology Action Centre hopes the province will be proactive when it comes to communicating with the public about fish farm damage. She said the province's environment department should be sending its own inspectors and reporting to the public. "It just would be great for the province to take that initiative and send their own inspectors rather than relying on the company to self-report," she said. CBC News contacted the province's Department of Fisheries and Environment on Saturday for comment on the incident, but have yet to receive a response.
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http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/debris-from-fish-farm-concerns-lobster-fisherman-1.4476332
