Fishers want 'incredibly important' Georges Bank protected against offshore wind development

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."

McIsaac said that same approach should continue as the province moves toward offshore wind development.

He's looking for amendments to the bill to keep the moratorium on Georges Bank in place.

"Georges Bank is incredibly important as a fisheries bank," he told CBC News following his committee appearance.

He pointed to a 2021 study commissioned by the Offshore Energy Research Association and conducted by engineering firm Stantec, which looked at the socio-economic value of Georges Bank.

According to that study, the value of fish caught off Georges Bank — primarily groundfish, lobster and scallop — was $145 million in 2020. Southwest Nova Scotia fishers were the main beneficiaries of those landings, and the study noted that fishery employment in that region accounts for over 11 per cent of total employment.

McIsaac said Georges Bank is not the only important fishing bank off Nova Scotia, but it's the only one with this unique protection. He said the industry broadly supports maintaining that protection.

Bill 471, introduced at Province House last week, is an omnibus bill that includes changes to seven pieces of legislation. Among the changes is a new mandate for the offshore regulator to include wind energy projects. Another change allows the province to fast-track the start of offshore wind development without having to wait for Ottawa, as was the original plan.

Tory Rushton, Nova Scotia's minister of natural resources and renewables, said he will ensure the bank is protected through regulation.

"We do not want to develop wind in this area," Rushton told reporters at Province House. "We respect that the bank is a very economical benefit to the fishers and we don't want to destroy that."

Rushton said protection for Georges Bank does not belong in Bill 471. He said the bill is squarely directed at setting up an offshore wind regulator, and protecting the bank will be one of the first things the regulatory body does.

Rushton said he wants to move away from the previous system of long-cycle moratoriums and make the protection permanent, but he could not say exactly what the mechanism would be.

"I don't want to presuppose what the regulatory body will suggest," he said.