Nova Scotia seafood processors are urging lawmakers in the Canadian province to keep turbines out of the lucrative fishing grounds of the George's Bank, as they consider a new bill to promote offshore wind development, reports the CBC.

Bill 471, titled the "Advancing Nova Scotia Opportunities Act," was introduced to the provincial legislature on Sept. 10 for a first reading. As previously reported by Undercurrent News, the omnibus legislation, which impacts seven other laws, proposes several changes related to aquaculture and fisheries.

It would allow the province to fast-track the start of offshore wind development without having to wait for approval from Ottawa.

What concerns groups like the Seafood Producers Association of Nova Scotia (SPANS) is what's not mentioned in the bill.

The bill does not update the George's Bank moratorium, which has been in place since 1980 to prevent offshore oil and gas development in that area of the ocean, said Ian McIsaac, president of the processor group.

SPANS wants amendments to the bill to maintain that moratorium and keep wind turbines out of the George's Bank, an important lobster, scallop and groundfish fishing area in the Atlantic Ocean. The George's Bank is a relatively shallow submarine plateau, with depths of 3-150 meters. It extends across the Canadian and US maritime boundaries.

The two countries work collaboratively on most areas of mutual concern including transboundary fish stocks and species at risk, Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans explains on its website. 

A 2021 study commissioned by the Offshore Energy Research Association to examine the socio-economic value of the George's Bank shows that the value of fish landed from there in 2020 was CAD 145 million ($106.7m).

Nova Scotia's minister of natural resources and renewables, Tory Rushton, said he would ensure the protection of George's Banked through regulation.

"We do not want to develop wind in this area," Rushton said in a media scrum on Tuesday (Sept. 10).

However, he said protection for the George's Bank does not belong in Bill 471. Instead, the bill is focused on setting up an offshore wind regulator and that regulatory body would work to protect the George's Bank, Rushton said.