The Nova Scotia Aquaculture Review Board has approved the proposed expansion of a salmon farm in Liverpool Bay, N.S., ending a seven-year battle between the owner, local residents and government, and various advocacy groups.

The approval allows the owner, Kelly Cove Salmon Ltd., to add six more cages to the site. 

The board concluded in its decision that the expansion “represents the optimum use of marine resources.” The board also mentioned a 2022 review by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, which did not recommend approval or rejection of the expansion. 

Joel Richardson, vice-president of Cooke Aquaculture, which owns the Kelly Cove farm, welcomed the decision. 

“The changes took seven years to get approved and to go through public consultation and do open houses and talk to the community and go through all the regulatory processes and reviews. So this is a very rigorous process,” he said. 

Richardson said the Coffin Island farm produces 400,000 fish annually. With this expansion, he said the company hopes to increase production to 600,000 fish. 

The approval follows years of debate and a lengthy public hearing held last year in which local communities and environmental advocates weighed in the expansion.

Brian Muldoon, the founder and president of Protect Liverpool Bay Association, said the decision is disappointing but not surprising. The association — represented by Ecojustice Law — is concerned for the local environment and the shoreline. 

“They’re not listening to the community. Coastal communities have a voice here and we’re being shut out,” he said. 

According to the decision, this case goes back to 2018 when the province granted Kelly Cove the option to lease in Liverpool Bay.

The board heard from different interveners in October 2025, including Protect Liverpool Bay, Cooke Aquaculture, commercial fishermen who say the expansion will interfere with their livelihood, the Region of Queens Municipality and the Kwilmu’kw Maw-Klusuaqn Negotiation Office for the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs. 

Two other farm sites

Along with the expansion application filed in 2019, Kelly Cove had also applied for two new aquaculture sites, one at Brooklyn Point and another one at Mersey Point, with a total of 40 more cages.

That second request was later separated from the original application in 2025, and it is currently on hold. 

When asked about the other potential sites, Richardson said they are not off the table, but not high in the priority list. 

Region of Queens Municipality Mayor Scott Christian told CBC News that he felt the change in the application — from considering three sites to only one expansion — affected the municipality’s case.

He said the municipality had prepared arguments against three sites — not a single expansion.

 “It’s a little frustrating when we weren’t provided the opportunity to update or obtain new evidence or new testimonies to argue that point,” he said. “I don’t think it was ideal from my perspective.”

Next steps

Christian said the municipality will confer with legal counsel to determine whether an appeal is feasible, especially considering the finances involved. 

Similarly, Muldoon said his association is considering an appeal. 

In a statement to CBC News, Kwilmu’kw Maw-Klusuaqn said it is disappointed and “will consider an appeal.”

Richardson said the new cages won’t be added for a few years, adding that they need to wait for the next harvesting cycle. 

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