Litzgus, L. L., "Land Use Planning for Aquaculture?"

Twenty-five percent of the total population of the Atlantic provinces is scattered along the coastline in more than 1300 small fishing villages, where employment, other than fishing is limited. Figures from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans state that in 1990 more than 90,000 Atlantic Canadians were either fishers or fishplant workers. Dwindling fishstocks, however, have put the future of those employed by the fishing industry in doubt. In spite of this fishing remains the biggest non-government employer in Nova Scotia, and small fishing towns along the Atlantic coast have no other sustenance.

What are the solutions? Two alternatives are economic diversification and development of renewable resources. The aquaculture industry satisfies both of these alternatives. Aquaculture is an industry that blends with the social organization of rural communities, employs local expertise and provides badly needed employment.

Over the last 10 years Federal and provincial governments have been trying to clarify their management roles with respect to the aquaculture industry. Little attention, however, has been paid to the role municipal government could play in the management of aquaculture. Municipalities have a substantial traditional interest in the location of aquaculture sites through the land use planning system. While aquaculture takes place in the water, it usually requires a close tie to a land base.

Municipal government has the opportunity to play a much larger role in the development of aquaculture than it presently does. This thesis explores the questions: "What is the most valuable role for the land use planning system in managing the development of aquaculture?", and "How should municipal governments be involved in this process?"

Atlantic Planners Institute

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This document was last modified on November 30, 2000.