A recent update on the rockweed harvesting lease application by Scotia Garden Seafood reveals that a date error has necessitated the issuance of a revised public notice. The error was identified in the Nov. 29 notice, requiring the company to rectify the situation by publishing a corrected notice in accordance with the regulatory guidelines.
According to the rockweed harvesting lease application process, a Notice of Application, specifying the upcoming date of the formal application, must be published not less than 10 days before the date of application.
The initial notice, was published on Nov. 29 and indicated that the formal application would occur on Nov. 23, a week before the notice’s publication date. Considering the publication date, the earliest date for the formal application would have been Dec. 9, meeting the 10-day requirement.
The Nova Scotia Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture confirmed the error, which in turn invalidated the notice.
It remains uncertain when Scotia Garden Seafood’s revised notice will be published. The Nova Scotia Royal Gazette, mandated to carry the updated public notice, is published weekly on Wednesdays.
NS Fisheries did not indicate whether advocates from the Kingsburg Coastal Conservancy, who first flagged the issue and called on members of the public to speak with their government representatives about the short notice.
As the situation unfolds, stakeholders and the public await Scotia Garden Seafood’s updated notice, anticipating further insight into the company’s approach to sustainable rockweed harvesting in Nova Scotia.
