Annapolis Basin Protectors Association Hosts Community Event on Proposed Port Wade Expansion

The Annapolis Basin Protectors Association hosted a community action event at Kings Theatre in Annapolis Royal on May 14 to address Kelly Cove Salmon's proposed expansion at Port Wade - adding four cages for a total of 20, expanding from 8.21 to 31.4 hectares, and increasing production from 550,000 to 660,000 fish. Residents raised concerns about noise, odors, light pollution, water contamination, and impacts on wild salmon and traditional fisheries.

Cooke Aquaculture vice president Joel Richardson stated the company has "operated the fish farm at Victoria Beach near Port Wade for 24 years in compliance with the government's Environmental Monitoring Program." However, the company applied for a boundary amendment for the Victoria Beach site (AQ#1040) in October 2016. The company's Rattling Beach site operated outside its legal lease boundaries before similarly applying for a boundary amendment in 2024.

The company reported a containment breach in July 2024 and acknowledged elevated sea lice levels in December 2021 at both Rattling Beach and Victoria Beach farms in Annapolis Basin.

Richardson characterized opposition as coming from "special interest groups." The Annapolis Basin Protectors Association is composed of Port Wade residents and adjacent property owners - legally recognized stakeholders under Nova Scotia's aquaculture regulations who were directly notified of the expansion application due to their proximity to the site.

Richardson stated the company is "very willing to work with area residents to minimize sound and light." Port Wade residents report concerns about noise, odors, and light pollution have been ongoing since 2018. Read more at SaltWire

Kelly Cove Salmon Seeks Emergency U.S. Vessel for Sea Lice Outbreak

Kelly Cove Salmon applied for emergency approval to bring a U.S. delousing vessel into Canadian waters, citing "prolonged above normal summer temperatures" that created increased sea lice presence across their operations. The company's application stated they had deployed the majority of their delousing vessels to Newfoundland, "leaving salmon farm sites in New Brunswick without adequate treatment services." The document acknowledged that "Kelly Cove's current vessel assets are inadequate to cover the breadth of affected pens in an adequate time to stop simultaneous infestations." The application warned of "significant mortality loss of livestock, significant economic loss to the company and impacting hundreds of processing plant and supply chain jobs" without emergency U.S. assistance. View Application

Mass Salmon Die-Offs at Cooke Newfoundland Sites Kill Over 60,000 Fish

Cooke Aquaculture reported two mortality events at Newfoundland sites that killed over 60,000 salmon. At the Olive Cove site in Hermitage Bay, approximately 47,000 fish died over multiple days beginning July 19 due to warm water and sea lice. Days earlier, a mechanical failure during smolt transfer at the Grip Cove site killed 17,000-18,000 juvenile fish. Joel Richardson stated "it's unfortunate that you have crop loss and you lose fish. But, you know, that is the nature of farming and growing food" and claimed mortality events are "not cause for great environmental concern." The incidents occurred during the same period when Cooke sought emergency U.S. delousing vessels, citing inadequate treatment capacity for simultaneous sea lice outbreaks. Read more at CBC

Healthy Bays Network Critiques Provincial Aquaculture Mapping System

Healthy Bays Network released a report critiquing the province's Coastal Classification System for failing to consider commercial fishery impacts, wild salmon habitat, tourism, and community opposition to open-pen fish farming. The system shows areas suitable for aquaculture but critics note it doesn't analyze social licence or community support. Cooke Inc. defended their operations, claiming farms meet environmental conditions - though the company has faced multiple investigations including a 2024 containment breach at Rattling Beach and ongoing cruelty allegations at their Maine hatchery. Read more at SaltWire

Chile Orders Partial Closure of Cooke Operations, Levies $1.42 Million in Fines

Chile's environmental supervisory authority (SMA) ordered the partial closure of two Cooke Aquaculture salmon-farming centers and fined the company $1.42 million for environmental violations. The 266-page ruling cited nine charges including exceeding maximum production, placing structures outside designated concession areas, and lacking contingency plans for oil spills or wildlife interaction. Cooke Chile CEO called the sanctions "abhorrent" and "nonsense," claiming the company operates with "the highest production standards." The SMA rejected these arguments, stating production increases must be environmentally evaluated due to impacts on biodiversity, water quality, and fish escape risks. The dispute dates to 2021 when the SMA accused Cooke of producing salmon beyond permit levels and maintaining concessions illicitly inside Laguna San Rafael National Park. Read more at Seafood Source

Cooke Aquaculture Faces New Cruelty Allegations at Maine Hatchery

Undercover video from Animal Outlook shows alleged animal abuse and environmental violations at Cooke Aquaculture's salmon hatchery in Bingham, Maine. The facility supplies fish for operations including those in Nova Scotia. Staff were allegedly filmed clubbing fish, kicking them, and cutting into living fish, with employees reporting contaminated feed, accidental fish escapes, and mass culling of excess fish. Maine's Department of Agriculture has opened an investigation. This is the second such investigation at the facility in seven years. Read more at The Guardian

Containment Breach at Rattling Beach Site

On July 8, 2024, Kelly Cove Salmon reported a containment breach at AQ#1039 (Rattling Beach) in Annapolis Basin during smolt offloading operations. The Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture required a third-party audit of the containment management plan. View Official Notice

ARB Approves Liverpool Bay Expansion Despite Opposition

The Nova Scotia Aquaculture Review Board approved Kelly Cove Salmon's expansion at their Liverpool Bay site, adding six more cages despite significant public opposition and a seven-year battle by community groups and residents. Read more at CBC

Ecojustice Intervenes in Rattling Beach Hearing

Environmental law organization Ecojustice represented local resident Gregory Heming as an intervenor in the Aquaculture Review Board hearing for Kelly Cove's Rattling Beach expansion application. The hearing addressed nearly two decades of illegal operations outside lease boundaries. Read more at Ecojustice

Sea Lice Outbreak Threatens Endangered Wild Salmon

Kelly Cove Salmon acknowledged elevated sea lice levels at Rattling Beach and Victoria Beach fish farms in the Annapolis Basin. Ecology Action Centre called it potentially Nova Scotia's first sea lice outbreak after the company and government had long claimed it was not an issue. Read more at Halifax Examiner