Fisheries and Aquaculture 1575 Lake Road Shelburne, Nova Scotia B0T 1W0 www.novascotia.ca APPLICATIONS POSTED NOTICE These initial documents have been submitted with respect to a boundary amendment of an existing site held by Kelly Cove Salmon Ltd. The information in these documents is provided as part of the routine disclosure of information by the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture. Some information may be redacted as business confidential information or personal information. This application is in the preliminary stages of review by the Department. Please note, the review process may require the applicant to submit additional information to the Department which will be posted to the Department’s website. These documents were provided to the Department by the applicant. The Department is not responsible for the content of these documents, including, but not limited to, the accuracy, reliability, or currency of the information contained within. Boundary Amendment Applicant: Kelly Cove Salmon Ltd. Species: Atlantic salmon Location: AQ#1040, Annapolis Basin, Annapolis Method of Cultivation: Marine cage cultivation County To learn more about the marine aquaculture lease and license application process, please visit https://novascotia.ca/fish/aquaculture/licensing-leasing/Aqua-Licensing-and-Leasing-Overview.pdf For information on the Nova Scotia Aquaculture Review Board, please visit https://arb.novascotia.ca/ Site 1040 - 1 Site 1040 - 2 Site 1040 - 3 Site 1040 - 5 Boundary Amendment Application Boundary Amendment for Site #1040 Victoria Beach County of Annapolis Province of Nova Scotia October 24, 2016 Prepared for: Kelly Cove Salmon Ltd. P.O. Box 1546 Shelburne, NS B0T 1W0 Prepared by: Sweeney International Marine Corp. 46 Milltown Blvd. St. Stephen, NB E3L 1G3 Canada Tel: (506) 467-9014 Fax: (506) 467-9503 www.simcorp.ca SIMCorp File #SW2016-060 Site 1040 - 6 46 Milltown Blvd. St. Stephen, NB Canada, E3L 1G3 Tel: (506) 467-9014 Fax: (506) 467-9503 www.simcorp.ca October 24, 2016 SIMCorp File # SW2016-060 Jeff Nickerson Kelly Cove Salmon Ltd. P.O. Box 1546 Shelburne, NS B0T 1W0 Dear Mr. Nickerson: Reference: Application for a boundary amendment for aquaculture site #1040, Victoria Beach, Nova Scotia Please find enclosed the supporting materials for the above mentioned boundary amendment at marine aquaculture site #1040, in Annapolis Basin, NS. If you have any questions or comments on the above noted report, please do not hesitate to contact me at 506-467-9014. Sincerely, Sr. Marine Environmental Biologist Atlantic Region Sweeney International Marine Corp. @simcorp.ca cc: (SIMCorp) Brennan Goreham (NSDFA) (KCS) New Brunswick Nova Scotia Newfoundland Site 1040 - 7 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Project: Application for a boundary amendment of aquaculture site #1040 in Annapolis Basin, Nova Scotia The following report and associated documents have been prepared by Sweeney International Marine Corp. (SIMCorp) for Kelly Cove Salmon Ltd. (KCS) in order to satisfy the criteria of the Nova Scotia Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture (NSDFA) Regulation 347/2015 Schedule A: Regulations Respecting Aquaculture Licences and Leases, section 3: Factors to be considered in decisions related to marine aquaculture sites. The purpose of this report is to formally apply for a boundary amendment of marine aquaculture site #1040 in Annapolis Basin, in Annapolis County, Nova Scotia. The following document contains supporting information for a boundary amendment to include a farm consisting of sixteen, 49- m, grid cells in a 2 x 8 configuration. The lease dimensions being applied for are 240 x 223.9 x 443.3 x 187.1 x 240 x 800 m, resulting in a farm with an area of 25.51 ha. The proposed site would be stocked with 550,000 Atlantic salmon in fourteen cages. It is KCS’ intention to modify the lease boundaries such that they encompass all the necessary gear to support the level of production required to make the marine farm economically sustainable. SIMCorp is assisting KCS in this application for a boundary amendment of site #1040 through the preparation of this report and other supporting roles. All correspondence should be copied to SIMCorp. i Site 1040 - 8 PROJECT TEAM AND CONTACT INFORMATION The project team, their qualifications, and roles with respect to the preparation of this report are summarised as follows: Team Member Affiliation Role Qualification Vice President of KCS Corporate Support Salt Water Operations NS Production Jeff Nickerson KCS Corporate Support Manager SIMCorp Sr. Project Manager Company Owner Sr. Marine Environmental SIMCorp M.Sc. Biologist, Atlantic Region Nova Scotia Division SIMCorp M.Sc. Manager Acker & Doucette Stephen Acker Survey Plan Preparation N.S.L.S. Surveying Inc. CONTACT INFORMATION Proponent: Company Name: Kelly Cove Salmon Ltd. Principal Contact: Jeff Nickerson Mailing Address: P.O. Box 1546 Shelburne, NS, B0T 1W0 Telephone: (902) 875-8603 Facsimile: (506) 755-1492 Cellular: E-mail: [email protected] Project Management: Company Name: Sweeney International Marine Corp. Principal Contact: Mailing Address: 46 Milltown Blvd. St. Stephen, New Brunswick, E3L 1G3 Telephone: (506) 467-9014 Facsimile: (506) 467-9503 Cellular: E-mail: @simcorp.ca ii Site 1040 - 9 TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED IN DECISIONS RELATED TO MARINE AQUACULTURE SITES ........... 1 a. Optimum Use of Marine Resources ............................................................................ 1 Location Identification and Geographic Description of Site ............................................. 1 Marine Resource Use ..................................................................................................... 1 b. Community and Provincial Economic Development ................................................... 4 c. Fisheries Activities ..................................................................................................... 6 Commercial Fisheries ..................................................................................................... 6 Groundfish ................................................................................................................. 7 Pelagics ................................................................................................................... 13 Shellfish and Other Invertebrates ............................................................................. 19 Seaweeds ................................................................................................................ 30 Recreational Fisheries .................................................................................................. 31 Aboriginal Fisheries ...................................................................................................... 31 d. Oceanographic and Biophysical Characteristics ....................................................... 32 Baseline Survey ............................................................................................................ 32 Physical Oceanography ................................................................................................ 32 Wind ......................................................................................................................... 32 Waves ...................................................................................................................... 37 Extreme Storm Events and Storm Surge .................................................................. 40 Temperature ............................................................................................................ 40 Superchill ................................................................................................................. 43 Sea Ice ..................................................................................................................... 44 Salinity ..................................................................................................................... 45 Tides ........................................................................................................................ 48 Currents ................................................................................................................... 48 Chemical Oceanography .............................................................................................. 49 Oxygen .................................................................................................................... 49 Biological Oceanography .............................................................................................. 51 Harmful Algal Blooms ............................................................................................... 51 e. Other Users of the Public Waters ............................................................................. 52 Geology Need to update ............................................................................................... 52 Archaeology.................................................................................................................. 52 Shipwrecks ................................................................................................................... 53 Recreation and Tourism................................................................................................ 53 Marine Protected Areas ................................................................................................ 55 Significance of Proposed Area to SARA ......................................................................