MEMBERSHIP
Our membership and how you can get involved. From the Eastern Shore to the Digby Neck, there are Bay Protectors all across Nova Scotia.
Who are we?
We are the people of Nova Scotia. Across the province, groups and individuals opposed to open net-pen aquaculture have joined forces to form the Healthy Bays Network. We are a community-driven alliance, comprised mostly of volunteers, working together to guard our coastlines and build a better future.
JOIN US
A message from the Healthy Bays Network team on why you should add your name to our growing list of supporters.
Nova Scotia has pristine bays, superb coastal waters, sustainable wild catch fisheries, and rural communities that are absolute gems by any standards. We have all of this and so much more, however the business model of open net pen fish farming threatens the entire province. It is a serious situation.
The Healthy Bays Network is a province wide, community based and community led resistance movement. We believe that Nova Scotia and Nova Scotians deserve much better than the open net-pen model, and we are proud to say it publicly.
The Government of Nova Scotia and the Government of Canada genuinely believe that feedlot fish farms are assets to this province and this region. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Feedlot fish farms pollute our coastal waters, threaten our wild caught fisheries, and diminish dramatically the value of any and all adjacent activities and coastal properties. Feedlot fish farms threaten our Atlantic Salmon by diminishing the genetic makeup of our wild fish when farmed salmon escape from the net-pens.
Further, the reputation, value and marketability of our wild caught species hang in the balance. If we were to suffer the inevitable national and international exposure to the nature of the coastal net pen fish farms - if for instance, certain groups in Europe and Asia were to become aware of the polluting aspects of these industrial aquaculture operations - the value of our entire fisheries could plummet overnight.
Open net-pen salmon farms do not produce the employment that is claimed, and they do not generate the tax dollars for our province that we only wish they did…
So, we must take the high road, promote our wild fisheries and an increasingly green economy, and leave open net-pen fish farming to other jurisdictions which have not yet seen the light. We must take this important and timely message to government, to industry, to consumers, to the media and your next door neighbour and her dog if it comes down to it.
We need a strong voice representative of all Nova Scotian, and especially of those of in the coastal communities most impacted by these developments. We want and we need you to join the Healthy Bays Network. Your support and the support of the member you next recruit can make a massive difference!
With gratitude, on behalf of the Healthy Bays Network team.
Our members
We're strongest when we're together. See our founding membership groups below, and get in touch with a Healthy Bays Network contact near you for more on what's happening in your own backyard bays.
OUR MEMBERS
Association for the Preservation of the Eastern Shore
APES was formed in February 2012 when communities on the Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia became aware of and concerned about proposed applications to establish open net-pen finfish farms in our harbours.
Wendy Watson-Smith: wendy.watsonsmith@gmail.com
Ecology Action Centre
The Ecology Action Centre is Atlantic Canada's oldest and largest member-based environmental non-profit, taking leadership on critical issues from biodiversity to climate change and environmental justice.
Simon Ryder-Burbidge: sryderburbidge@ecologyaction.ca
_.png)
Twin Bays Coalition
Twin Bays Coalition is a group of volunteers dedicated to protecting Nova Scotia's shorelines from open net fish farming and promoting sustainable fish farming practices.
Geoff Le Boutillier: twinbayscoalition@gmail.com
Atlantic Salmon Federation
The Atlantic Salmon Federation (ASF) is a world-leading science and advocacy organization dedicated to conserving and restoring wild Atlantic salmon.
Kris Hunter: khunter@asf.ca
Nova Scotia Salmon Association
The Nova Scotia Salmon Association is a leading volunteer non-profit organization promoting the wise management and conservation of our wild Atlantic salmon and trout stocks.
Protect Liverpool Bay Association
The Protect Liverpool Bay (PLB) Association is a group of citizens advocating to keep our oceans free from the destructive impacts of open net-pen fin-fish farms in Liverpool Bay and all of Nova Scotia.
Brian Muldoon: protectliverpoolbay.ns@gmail.com
St. Mary's Bay Protectors
The St. Mary’s Bay Protectors (SMBP) is a group of community organizations, citizens, fishers, lobster fishers & business owners concerned about the economic prosperity, social well-being and environmental sustainability of our coastal resources.
Gwen Wilson: gwenwilson@mac.com