On Tuesday, April 22, at 15:00, Chelsea Boaler will present her master's thesis in Coastal and Marine Management, titled: Caged contention: The nature and extent of perceived conflict with salmon aquaculture along the Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia. Her thesis advisor are Dr Peter Tyedmers and Albertína F. Elíasdóttir, and the external reader is Rodrigo Menafra.

The presentation will be in room 1-2 at the UW and everyone is welcome.

Abstract

Salmon aquaculture is a global industry that has only recently developed to new heights in Canada. Though salmon aquaculture developed sooner in British Columbia, it remains a relatively new marine industry within the Atlantic Provinces. Developing in areas of existing coastal users, the perception is that this expansion has resulted in many conflicts among stakeholders across the country. Most recently in Nova Scotia, there have been a series of applications for new leases for sites along the Eastern Shore that seems to have sparked the newest controversy in the province regarding salmon aquaculture practices. The purpose of this thesis is to gain a better understanding of perceived inter-sectoral conflicts with developing aquaculture on the Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia through a mixed-methods approach including media analyses, community meeting analyses, and interviews. It was found that the province has – and continues to have – regions of conflict along the Eastern Shore related to salmon aquaculture expansion. Recommendations and next-steps towards alleviating conflict and fostering prosperity in rural Nova Scotian coastal  communities were made and included multiple points divided into four main areas of needed improvement: Science and Information; Corporate Relations; Governance and Institutionalization; and Finfish Aquaculture Practice.