The Nai’Kun Wind Energy Group’s open house last Tuesday in Prince Rupert did not convert members of the Prince Rupert crab fleet over to their side.
The Crab Industry spokesperson Geoff Gould outlined how he believes the project would create problems for the local crab fishery on the North Coast.
The planned location of the 110 wind turbines required to make the project go would take up a fair amount of the commercial crabbers fishing waters and put their industry and its 26 million dollar income at risk.
Gould outlined his industry’s concerns in a front page Head line story in Thursday’s Daily News.
NAI’KUN BLOWS INTO TOWN TO GET THEIR MESSAGE OUT
Crab Fishermen raise concerns about proposed project
By George T. Baker
The Daily News
Thursday, October 9, 2008Pages one and three
Nai’Kun Wind Energy Group Inc. (Nai’Kun) held its open house Tuesday at the Coast Hotel in Prince Rupert and while the turnout was solid, those who did turn out took the time to ask some serious questions regarding the projects future in Hecate Strait.
Questioned ranged from how deep the underground transmission cable should be to how the turbines word and how they should look, to how the transmission line running between Porcher Island and Stephens island through the Edye Passage could effect sport fishing there.
But the biggest opposition group to the project is the Area ‘A’ Crab Association who has been against to the project ever since it was proposed.
“We are not against wind power projects just this one,” said AACA President Geoff Gould, who attend the meeting and spoke about the problems the project could create for the local crab fishing trade.
The concern is that the projected 110 wind turbines that are currently planned would eat up a significant amount of long-standing commercial crab fishing water and would put the crab fishing trade’s $26.6 million per year income at risk.
“It’s there every year. The crab fisheries is employing people in the are from Masset to Prince Rupert,” said Gould.
That’s not to say that the AACA doesn’t see any advantage tow work with Nai’Kun. Gould said the AACA is looking to find some scientific research on the crab population along the North Coast through the project’s environmental studies of Hecate Strait.
The AACA met earlier in the day with Nai’Kun representatives to discuss the AACA’s concerns and according to Gould, the meeting ended on a positive note.
“We expressed our desire that there be some kind of study on crab migration and we are discussing that and have agreed to have another meeting in November,” said Gould.
He said that they have only briefly been in touch with the provincial environmental assessment office (EAO) but said the group has been in touch with the EAO and would be bring them their concerns in the future.
Nai’Kun was hosting open houses all week across on the North Coast in an effort to get informative feedback from local residents. They started the week in Port Edward where it was estimated that 11 people showed up to have a peak at what is being planned.
Port Ed city administrator Ron Bedard said that the turn-out was small but that the district did want some information from Nai’Kun.
“We are generally in support of the project but the concerns for us would be where is the under-ocean transmission cable going to be and it looks to me like they are going to be using existing rightaways so there should be no kind of negative impact anywhere,” said Bedard.
The wind power company is completing the public consultation process in an effort to form its design of both the exact wind turbine location and the two transmission lines that will hook up the Queen Charlotte Islands to the mainland.
“We are almost complete all of our data studies and we will be submitting our application in early 2009,” said Nai’Kun’s Director of North Coast Relations Lucy Shaw.
Shaw added that they would still be looking for public input on the design of the project to refine their location, which she said would influence Nai’Kun’s final design.
Nak’Kun is promising 50 long-term jobs for the North Coast, though at this point there has been no public decision over where the location of the company’s operational office will be.
The Crab Industry spokesperson Geoff Gould outlined how he believes the project would create problems for the local crab fishery on the North Coast.
The planned location of the 110 wind turbines required to make the project go would take up a fair amount of the commercial crabbers fishing waters and put their industry and its 26 million dollar income at risk.
Gould outlined his industry’s concerns in a front page Head line story in Thursday’s Daily News.
NAI’KUN BLOWS INTO TOWN TO GET THEIR MESSAGE OUT
Crab Fishermen raise concerns about proposed project
By George T. Baker
The Daily News
Thursday, October 9, 2008Pages one and three
Nai’Kun Wind Energy Group Inc. (Nai’Kun) held its open house Tuesday at the Coast Hotel in Prince Rupert and while the turnout was solid, those who did turn out took the time to ask some serious questions regarding the projects future in Hecate Strait.
Questioned ranged from how deep the underground transmission cable should be to how the turbines word and how they should look, to how the transmission line running between Porcher Island and Stephens island through the Edye Passage could effect sport fishing there.
But the biggest opposition group to the project is the Area ‘A’ Crab Association who has been against to the project ever since it was proposed.
“We are not against wind power projects just this one,” said AACA President Geoff Gould, who attend the meeting and spoke about the problems the project could create for the local crab fishing trade.
The concern is that the projected 110 wind turbines that are currently planned would eat up a significant amount of long-standing commercial crab fishing water and would put the crab fishing trade’s $26.6 million per year income at risk.
“It’s there every year. The crab fisheries is employing people in the are from Masset to Prince Rupert,” said Gould.
That’s not to say that the AACA doesn’t see any advantage tow work with Nai’Kun. Gould said the AACA is looking to find some scientific research on the crab population along the North Coast through the project’s environmental studies of Hecate Strait.
The AACA met earlier in the day with Nai’Kun representatives to discuss the AACA’s concerns and according to Gould, the meeting ended on a positive note.
“We expressed our desire that there be some kind of study on crab migration and we are discussing that and have agreed to have another meeting in November,” said Gould.
He said that they have only briefly been in touch with the provincial environmental assessment office (EAO) but said the group has been in touch with the EAO and would be bring them their concerns in the future.
Nai’Kun was hosting open houses all week across on the North Coast in an effort to get informative feedback from local residents. They started the week in Port Edward where it was estimated that 11 people showed up to have a peak at what is being planned.
Port Ed city administrator Ron Bedard said that the turn-out was small but that the district did want some information from Nai’Kun.
“We are generally in support of the project but the concerns for us would be where is the under-ocean transmission cable going to be and it looks to me like they are going to be using existing rightaways so there should be no kind of negative impact anywhere,” said Bedard.
The wind power company is completing the public consultation process in an effort to form its design of both the exact wind turbine location and the two transmission lines that will hook up the Queen Charlotte Islands to the mainland.
“We are almost complete all of our data studies and we will be submitting our application in early 2009,” said Nai’Kun’s Director of North Coast Relations Lucy Shaw.
Shaw added that they would still be looking for public input on the design of the project to refine their location, which she said would influence Nai’Kun’s final design.
Nak’Kun is promising 50 long-term jobs for the North Coast, though at this point there has been no public decision over where the location of the company’s operational office will be.
No comments:
Post a Comment