Frequently Asked Questions:

What is Aquaculture?
Aquaculture is the breeding, rearing, and harvesting of fish, shellfish, algae, and other organisms on land. These aquaculture operations utilize large volumes of water and generate toxic waste bi-products that have long caused concerns about their disposal.

What is the difference between open water pens and land based?
Open water pens are exactly as the name describes and have been used for many years. The environmental damage caused by them has mandated their closure. In response, the aquaculture industry is moving to rear their products in large tanks built on land that still has very high requirements for water and power.

Who is Georgian Bay Innovation Group?
GBIG would appear to be a Toronto based upstart company claiming to have three decades of experience in aquaculture but this can not be substantiated and no history of prior operations have been made publicly available.

Where is the proposed aquaculture facility for the Bruce to be built?
On April 13, 2021, GBIG took possession of a parcel of land approximately 215 acres at 83 Berford Lake Road, South Bruce Peninsula, approximately 1 kilometer from Colpoy's Bay. This property includes areas that have been used for crops, grazing livestock and also consists of designated wetlands.

What is the zoning and were any zoning changes required?
The proposed site has continuously been zoned agricultural. The Mayor and Council met with the Directors of GBIG on two separate occasions, both of which were off the record and without any public input. GBIG has publicly stated on their website that they received confirmation that the proposed operation would be in compliance with existing zoning from the town.

What is the proposed size of the facility?
All indications from varying sources suggest that GBIG intends to construct a 500,000 square foot facility (approximately 11.5 acres) with anticipated production capacity of 15,000 metric tonnes of Atlantic Salmon per year. This would exceed the total provincial output by two and half times. Although the company has publicly stated the facility will create 200 jobs, review of similar operations around the globe would suggest 50 to 60 jobs is a more realistic projection. Of those jobs, many will be company staff including highly skilled veterinarians, technicians, and biologists.

Where will water be sourced for the proposed aquaculture facility?
GBIG has announced that they intend to construct a pipeline directly into Colpoy's Bay to withdraw, utilize, filter and return water to the Bay. The Ministry of the Environment has confirmed that they are in possession of an application for GBIG to take in excess of 50,000 litres of water per day. The proposed scale of the operation will require many times more than this.

What contaminants should I be concerned about?
Although screens, filters and UV treatment can remove particulates and microbiological organisms there still will be accumulated chemicals including toxins, antibiotics, anti-fouling agents that will be returned with the treated water.