VIDEO: Province Releases Aquaculture Strategy

Sterling Belliveau

The province's fisheries minister is promising to increase oversight in the aquaculture sector. Sterling Belliveau released a strategy Tuesday to improve regulations and share more information with the public about the $50-million industry. He says he's trying to understand public concern over aquaculture.


 
Under the plan, the provincial government wants companies to report fish losses due to disease and mandate disinfection of aquaculture sites. The announcement comes a month after a fish farm near Shelburne was ordered to kill hundreds of thousands of salmon due to a viral outbreak. Infectious salmon anemia was found at a Cooke Aquaculture site outside Shelburne Harbour earlier this year.

Efforts To Get New Yarmouth Ferry Service Moving Ahead

A meeting in Stockholm, Sweden a few days ago may go a long way in re-establishing ferry service between Yarmouth and Maine.  The head of the Nova Scotia Ferry Partnership and an official of the province's economic development department met with officials interested in exploring the possibility of re-establishing the link.  Yarmouth Mayor Phil Mooney says the meeting was a forerunner of what may come in the not too distant future.

The mayor is hoping a new ferry can be in operation by next year.  Meanwhile, the special committee set up by the premier to examine the best economically- feasible ferry service for the area will be in Yarmouth next week, gathering information for its study.

UPDATE: Queens General Health Project

The final stage of prep work before a tender is issued for the Queens General Health Project is underway. Maintenance staff are in the midst of constructing temporary inpatient units at the hospital. The new units will keep patients comfortable and away from construction areas while the bulk of the work is being carried out. South Shore Health spokeswoman Liz Finney says a number of staff needed to relocate their offices in order to accommodate the short term units.



A work tender for the $16 million dollar project is expected to be awarded in July with construction scheduled to begin in August. The QGH Project includes a new primary care clinic and redevelopment of the 22-bed in-patient unit at the hospital in Liverpool.