September 17, 2024 — As Nova Scotia rushes to establish an offshore wind industry, some fishers are calling for explicit protection for the rich fishing ground on Georges Bank.
The cabinet minister in charge of developing renewable energy projects says he will keep turbines off the bank, but not by changing a piece of legislation that is now moving through Province House.
Ian McIsaac, president of the Seafood Producers Association of Nova Scotia, brought his concerns to a legislature committee Monday as it reviews a new bill that, if passed into law, would enable offshore wind development.
McIsaac said Bill 471 doesn’t update the Georges Bank moratorium that’s been in place against offshore petroleum development since the 1980s.
“We feel this is a technical error,” he said.
“In the past, whenever the moratorium has come up for consideration, it has been subject to intense study of the environmental and socio-economic impacts of change, to determine if, in fact, such changes are appropriate.”