The Nova Scotia Aquaculture Review Board (Board) is an independent decision making body with a mandate to decide on aquaculture applications in marine areas for new sites, expansions to existing sites, and the addition of finfish species to sites not currently approved to produce finfish.
This independent tribunal will preside over public hearings where applicants and other parties will present their cases in respect to the aquaculture application(s) in question. Once the hearing concludes, the Board will decide on the application(s) for implementation by the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.
Our Board
The Nova Scotia Aquaculture Review Board is comprised of up to ten appointed members who hear and decide upon applications coming before the Board.
The members are as follows:
Tim Cranston, Chair
Mr. Cranston is a lawyer with 20 years+ experience as in-house counsel for two award-winning marine bio-tech companies. During that time, Mr. Cranston owned and operated two rockweed leases issued by NS Fisheries and Aquaculture. Mr. Cranston holds a Master Degree of Technology, Entrepreneurship & Innovation from SMU's Sobey School of Business.
Appointment: Two-year term.
Coleen Morrison, Vice-Chair
Ms. Morrison has practiced Intellectual Property and Administrative law for the last 25 years. Before becoming a lawyer Coleen studied Oceanography.
Appointment: Three-year term.
Paul Boyd, Member
Mr. Boyd's career at Fisheries and Oceans Canada included three decades participating in various regulatory, policy, and planning environments. Mr. Boyd continues to provide consultancy services in the fisheries, seafood and coastal planning sectors.
Appointment: Three-year term.
Roger Percy, Member
Mr. Percy has over 35 years experience in the environmental/fisheries field in Canada and abroad. Prior to retiring, he managed Environment Canada’s Environmental Emergency Program in the Atlantic Region. He is currently a member of the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board.
Appointment: Three-year term.
Lori Kittilsen, Member
Lori Kittilsen is a retired civil servant with 30 plus years with the Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture and is now farming full time with her husband.
Appointment: Three-year term.
Bruce Morrison, Member
Mr. Morrison is a retired provincial civil servant with over 35 years experience in environmental and public health issues, legislation and regulation. Mr. Morrison has been an active participant on community, municipal and provincial boards.
Appointment: Three-year term.
Damien Barry, Member
Originally from Ireland, Damien Barry moved to Canada in 2013. Mr. Barry is a lawyer currently working as in-house counsel and CAO for a seafood company in Cape Breton..
Appointment: Three-year term.
Clerk
The Board is supported by the Clerk of the Nova Scotia Aquaculture Review Board. The Clerk is responsible for all administrative aspects of the Board including; receiving applications, scheduling and organizing hearings, receiving hearing related submissions from the public, acting as the conduit between all parties to a hearing and the Board, responding to questions from the public, and distribution of Board decisions.
Conduct of Hearings
In carrying out its responsibilities, the Board will travel throughout the province to hold hearings in the communities that it determines to be closest to the aquaculture site in question.
The Clerk will post information about Board hearings on this website, in the Royal Gazette, on the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture website, and anywhere else deemed appropriate to advertise the hearing.
Board hearings are open to the public. Depending upon the type of application submitted to the Board, a hearing may last up to 5 days. Members of the public can participate at a hearing in several ways, as described on the How to Participate page.
Although the Board is not a court, its proceedings will be conducted in accordance with Rules of Procedure. Please refer to the Rules of Procedure and Policies page for more specific information on how Board hearings will be conducted.
The Board is required to issue a decision about the application under review. All decisions will be in writing and will include the reasons and the rationale for how the Board reached its decision. All decisions can be found on the Decisions page.
Board Decisions may be appealed to the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia about any question of the Board’s jurisdiction or about any question of law.