Hearing Hi-lights

We hope you are enjoying your summer and all the gifts Antigonish and Nova Scotia have to offer.

Before memory of the ARB hearings fade, we thought it might be helpful to recap just a few of the many important facts revealed so far in testimony by witnesses from TPCI and the NS Department Fisheries and Aquaculture prior to the hearing adjourning on June 10.   Here are a few of the interesting and important facts revealed thus far:

Piping Plovers

  • Contrary to a consultant report filed by TPCI, Dunn’s Beach has been an active Piping Plovers nesting site over the past decade, including at least one nesting pair this spring.

  • Canada Wildlife Services (CWS) has repeatedly called for a 300M buffer zone around Dunn’s beach to protect this endangered species. 

  • TPCI’s proposed lease site 1444 is even closer to the protected area than claimed in the above referenced consultant’s report and infringes even more into the buffer zone deemed essential by CWS.

Cleaner / Clearer Water

  • Dr. Jon Grant, an expert witness for TPCI acknowledged that the impact of the oyster farm on water quality in the harbour will be negligible due to the volume of water flowing in and out of the harbour from tides and rivers being so much greater than the filtering capacity of the proposed oyster farm.

  • Improved water clarity has been one of TPCI’s most prominent claims and is also key to TPCI’s assertion that its farm will benefit eelgrass as a result of more sunlight reaching the harbour floor.

Facts and Fact Checking

  • The manager for NS Fisheries and Aquaculture responsible for reviewing TPCI’s application acknowledged in testimony that he had not verified a variety of key data submitted by TPCI in its application. 

  • Among data never verified was TPCI’s measurement of the speed at which water flows through the lease sites.  TPCI used a floating buoy and a stopwatch for this important measurement.  Unfortunately, TPCI either failed to report or to record the exact GPS locations where measurements were taken or the date, time of day, or tide conditions. 

  • Dr. Peter Cranford, a retired DFO scientist expert in interactions between aquaculture and ecosystems, made multiple trips to Antigonish Harbour to measure current speeds and evaluate sediment samples using sophisticated equipment and techniques.  Dr. Cranford’s measurements indicated water speeds dramatically slower than the stopwatch readings reported by TPCI.  Dr. Cranford did record GPS coordinates, time, tide and date for each reading.  Higher current speeds are important for various reasons including dispersal of oyster feces before accumulating on the harbour floor only a few feet below the cages.  Excessive oyster feces can harm eelgrass and other species.

Eelgrass

  • TPCI’s other scientific expert witness, Dr. Garbary of St. FX, acknowledged that his statements regarding the absence of eelgrass in TPCI’s lease sites were incorrect and that he had possession of a report by DFO’s Dr. Jeffrey Barrell indicating the presence of eelgrass in the lease sites prior to making his statements. 

 Many other pertinent facts emerged.  None of the witnesses opposed to the TPCI application have testified.  Even Dr. Cranford, who submitted a report as evidence prior to the hearing has not had the opportunity to review or defend his report.

 Hearings resume September 26-29 at St. Ninian’s Place, Antigonish.

FOAH