Will commercial fishermen plying their centuries-old trade off the coast of southern Nova Scotia soon have some additional company on their traditional fishing grounds?
They will if the province’s premier has his way.
During his current mandate, Premier Tim Houston appears to be all in on kickstarting offshore petroleum and wind developments off the province’s south coast.
Houston recently joined leaders from the country’s energy sector to discuss Canada’s energy future.
The Canadian Energy Executive Association’s annual conference, held in Banff, Alberta, focused on the current momentum and Canada’s status as an energy superpower.
“Nova Scotia has everything it takes to be a leader in our country’s energy future,” Houston said.
“Our untapped offshore natural gas and wind have the potential to not only strengthen our province’s resilience, but our country’s resilience. Harvesting these resources safely and responsibly means stronger local economies, energy security and investment opportunities for Canadians.”
A government press release added that “the province is working to responsibly develop its energy resources, including onshore and offshore oil and natural gas, onshore and offshore wind, solar, tidal, geothermal and bioenergy. There has been significant progress this year on energy resource development in the province, with both international and domestic interest.”
The provincial government has stated that Nova Scotia has an estimated 148 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 49 billion barrels of oil potential that could provide reliable supply, economic value and energy security for North America for decades.
Nova Scotia’s Onshore Petroleum Atlas estimates a potential seven trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas, primarily in tight shale formations; this is roughly equivalent to three Sable offshore energy projects and could supply the Maritimes at current demand levels for about 80 years.
And finally, the province has one of the strongest offshore wind resources in North America, with annual average wind speeds exceeding nine to 11 metres per second.
Those statistics are quite impressive, but for now, Nova Scotia’s offshore energy industry is just that — stats and nothing more. It currently pales in comparison to the province’s commercial fishery, which generates approximately $2 billion in revenue each year.
Nova Scotia’s offshore energy regulator recently granted Inceptio Oil and Gas Ltd., a British energy company, the right to explore for oil and gas in two areas of the province’s ocean floor.
But what comes next is the question.
The Fraser Institute recently pointed out that the province needs to come up with better policies to attract outside investment for major offshore projects.
“Back in the late-1990s and early-2000s, investment in Nova Scotia’s natural resources sector (mining, quarrying, oil and gas) comprised 20 per cent of all business investment in the province, often exceeding $1 billion per year (all figures adjusted for inflation in 2017 dollars). But following the decommissioning of the Sable Island gas project, which began in 2017, investment in the sector has averaged just 2.3 per cent of overall business investment (excluding investment in residential housing), with an average investment level of $140 million per year. That’s a collapse in investment on an epic scale and bad news for workers in Nova Scotia,” the Fraser Institute noted.
The Houston government seems determined to attract more outside investment in natural resources to boost economic growth and create high-paying jobs. But at what cost? Where does the future health of the commercial fishery factor into this initiative?
In the recent past, major offshore projects such as the Sable Offshore Energy Project and Deep Panuke brought investment, employment, government revenues and energy supplies to the province. However, the expansion of offshore gas development created conflicts with commercial fishers because both industries depend on the same marine environment. Such disputes involved competition for ocean space, concerns about environmental impacts, disruption of fishing activities and disagreements over compensation and decision-making.
For any new offshore energy industry, one of the most direct sources of conflict is bound to be competition for space. Commercial fishing requires access to productive fishing grounds, while offshore gas development requires platforms, pipelines, drilling sites, support vessels and safety zones. Around offshore production platforms, fishing activity can be excluded within designated safety areas.
As well, the impacts of offshore energy development are not just limited to physical infrastructure. Exploration activities, especially seismic surveys, can create underwater sound that raises concerns about fish and other marine organisms. Drilling, construction, vessel traffic and pipeline installation can also disturb marine habitats.
Another major issue is uncertainty about the long-term economic effects on fishers. How will harvesters be financially compensated for the loss of their fishing grounds?
Fishing income can vary substantially from year to year, making it difficult to determine whether a decline is caused by an offshore project, changing fish populations, weather, market conditions, or other factors. This uncertainty can make negotiations between fishermen and petroleum companies complicated.
Ultimately, the conflict between Nova Scotia’s commercial fishery and fledgling offshore energy industry reflects a broader challenge: how to balance different economic uses of a shared ocean. The fishery provides long-term benefits to coastal communities, while offshore energy development can provide investment, employment and energy resources.
So, where is the happy medium?
Nova Scotia’s past experience with Sable and Deep Panuke shows that offshore development and fishing can coexist. But coexistence should depend on recognizing the economic and environmental importance of the fishery rather than treating it as secondary to energy resource development.
As the province considers and acts on proposed future uses of its offshore, lessons from the somewhat brief natural gas era should help ensure that economic development does not come at the expense of existing, economically valuable commercial fisheries and the many rural communities that depend on them.
