Recommendations on Aquaculture Regulations

**** Fisheries Media Release Recommendations on Aquaculture Regulations ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Province is moving forward with recommendations from an advisory committee to improve aquaculture regulations in Nova Scotia. A report from the Nova Scotia Aquaculture Regulatory Advisory Committee, released today, March 17, finds the sector's current regulatory framework is a good foundation. It makes 17 recommendations for improvements. "Our aim is to support low-impact, sustainable growth in Nova Scotia's aquaculture industry," said Steve Craig, Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture. "These recommendations are the result of extensive consultation and will guide us in making improvements. I thank the committee and everyone who participated for sharing their insight to help us with this important work." There are three themes in the recommendations: -- applying the right level of regulation to both small and large operations -- sharing more information and making it easier to find and understand for better transparency -- creating more opportunity for public participation in the application process for licences. The current aquaculture regulations, developed following an independent review, have been in place since 2015. Quick Facts: -- consulting firm Davis Pier facilitated stakeholder and public consultation for the aquaculture regulatory review -- there were 988 survey responses and representatives from the aquaculture sector, fish harvesters, environmental and community groups, municipalities and academia were consulted -- there are 235 marine and land-based aquaculture sites in Nova Scotia -- the aquaculture industry employs about 900 people and contributes more than $80 million per year to Nova Scotia's economy Additional Resources: Aquaculture Regulatory Review: Final Report and Recommendations: https://novascotia.ca/fish/aquaculture/laws-regs/docs/regulatory-review-final-report.pdf What We Heard Summary Report and more information on the regulatory review: https://novascotia.ca/fish/aquaculture/laws-regs/docs/regulatory-review-what-we-heard-summary-report.pdf News release - Public Consultation on Aquaculture Regulations: https://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20220809001 Mandate Letter of the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture: https://novascotia.ca/exec_council/letters-2021/ministerial-mandate-letter-2021-FA.pdf