N.S. fishermen to block mill’s survey vessel from Northumberland Strait

A group of Northumberland Strait fishermen say they will block a survey boat hired by the Northern Pulp mill from entering the strait to do work on a proposed new route for an effluent pipe. Darryl Bowen, a fisherman from Caribou, N.S., said in a telephone interview on Monday he will make sure his boat or another fishing vessel is placed in front of the survey vessel if it tries to leave Pictou’s harbour in northeastern Nova Scotia. The 48-year-old fisherman says his group has a number of fishing boats available to move quickly to block the survey vessel if it attempts to leave. “If they try to get out, we’re just going to keep getting in front of them so that they can’t get by us,” he said, adding there were six or seven boats in the one-kilometre long harbour mouth. “They won’t get by ... We’ll block them,” said Bowen. However, a spokeswoman for Northern Pulp said the survey vessel isn’t currently in the water, and that the company doesn’t plan on doing anything that will jeopardize the safety of its contractor’s staff. Kathy Cloutier, director of communications at the mill’s parent company, Paper Excellence Canada in Richmond, B.C., said in an email that, “Safety within Paper Excellence Canada and its facilities is paramount. “When situations occur, we will seek guidance and work with authorities to ensure the safety of all involved.” She said there have been talks over the past week between Northern Pulp, contract survey crew and leadership of fisheries groups. Bowen said the protest by fishermen from several ports started Monday but will continue as long as necessary. Though the Northern Pulp mill near Pictou provides key jobs for the town of about 3,000 residents, its pipeline plan has raised concerns about the impact on the lobster fishery, other seafood businesses and protected areas along the coast. Under provincial legislation, the mill has until 2020 to replace its current wastewater treatment plant in Boat Harbour, and Premier Stephen McNeil has confirmed he is sticking with that deadline. Northern Pulp wants to pipe treated waste directly into the strait that separates Nova Scotia from P.E.I.

ANDREW VAUGHAN/THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Fishing boats pass the Northern Pulp mill in July as residents, Indigenous groups and fishermen protest the mill’s plan to dump effluent into the Northumberland Strait.