Victoria seafood plant expansion prompts concern about environmental impact

Victoria seafood plant expansion prompts concerns about environmental impact

Jan. 21, 2025

By Blaine Auld

Linda Gilbert, a Victoria, P.E.I. council member, supports the decision council made in approving the expansion of Amar Seafood P.E.I. Most of her concerns have been addressed at the company’s most recent public presentation and she hopes they will be good corporate citizens. Blaine Auld photo.

The planned expansion of a seafood facility near Victoria, P.E.I. is prompting both interest and concern from residents, primarily about how it will impact the environment.

Amar Seafood P.E.I., owned by a Norwegian company, is moving forward to grow its existing operations where it breeds halibut and wolffish.

It purchased more than 50 acres of land in March 2024 to support the project. It is now working with the province on obtaining a building permit for the facility.

Part of the application includes public meetings.

Victoria council member Linda Gilbert, who attended the most recent meeting on Jan. 8 at the community’s historic schoolhouse, supports the expansion but has reservations.

She has seen similar business ventures in the community fall through, leaving empty buildings behind.

She is concerned this may happen to Amar Seafood P.E.I. too.

“I wonder if we as a community have put in enough safeguards, and if we’ve asked all the right questions.”

Amar Seafood P.E.I. is currently the only land-based aquaculture facility for halibut and wolffish in North America.

The expansion would create 30 jobs, provide an increase in tax revenue and could draw more attention from tourists upon its completion.

In addition to increased fish yields, the new facility would also come with an interpretive centre to attract tourists and school students and a store to buy its products.

“I think there is certainly a willingness by Amar to listen, and I think they would happily adapt to any input that they could, as long as it met their economic requirements,” Gilbert said.

MLA for Borden-Kinkora, Matt MacFarlane, also attended the recent public meeting.

He reviewed a 374-page environmental impact report on the expansion.

He said it is clear a lot of time and money had been invested into the report, and it is now in the hands of the provincial government to review.

“Like any development, we just have to make sure that all the boxes are checked to make sure that any potential harm to the environment is really minimized.”

MacFarlane noted there are issues to consider with the expansion, such as the habitats of animals in the area and the amount of saltwater extracted from the ocean.

The proposed expansion would see 20,000 litres of water per minute pumped out of and back into the strait.

He is hopeful the Department of Environment will examine the environmental impact report carefully.

“I want to make sure that the environmental experts within our government leave no stone unturned with respect to the proposal.”

MacFarlane, who has lived most of his life in the South Shore region, is also concerned about the rate of erosion where the facility will be built.

The building is located on Causeway Road, which runs directly over the Northumberland Strait.

The MLA is worried the road will not be there in the future unless shoreline protection measures are put into place.

“That would be a concern if I was Amar, because they're putting millions of dollars into this new facility that could be underwater in a few years unless some effort is taken to hold back the sea.”

Scott Travers, the CEO of Amar Seafood P.E.I., understands the concerns residents of Victoria and neighbouring communities may have about the expansion.

He said the facility uses well water without additives, does not emit carbon and removes solid from water before it is discharged.

“We’re truly sustainable by all definition.”

Travers has welcomed feedback from community members at public meetings.

The public has also been invited to submit comments on the project via email to the Department of Environment, which will be accepted up to Feb. 7, 2025.

The CEO said he is committed to building a sustainable business and having an open-door policy with residents of Victoria.

“The only way I can diffuse it is sharing everything that we do.”

Travers sees the expansion as an opportunity to put a spotlight on Victoria.

He said the project will bring a lot of interest and foreign investment to the community.

“We’re looking at attracting the entire world to this little place in Victoria for what we’re doing.”

Green Party MLA Matt MacFarlane attended Amar Seafood P.E.I.’s most recent presentation on its proposed expansion on Jan. 8, 2025, at the historic schoolhouse in Victoria, P.E.I. He hopes the environmental impact of the project will be minimized. Blaine Auld photo.

Scott Travers understands concerns people may have about the proposed expansion of Amar Seafood P.E.I. in Victoria, P.E.I. He says the project is a sustainable business that will generate a lot of interest to the community. Blaine Auld photo.