The Striped Bass Association (SBA), a Nova-Scotia based conservation group, is opposing to the installation of in-stream tidal energy turbines in the Minas Passage at the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia.
SBA is calling upon respective agencies, industry, and government to act in support of striped bass and other endangered species conservation in the Bay of Fundy, SBA’s press release reads.
The Bay of Fundy striped bass population is currently assessed as endangered by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC), and according to SBA, the recent baseline study on the movements of striped bass shows it can be found in the Minas Passage and in the FORCE dedicated turbine test areas year-round.
“Multi-year studies indicate that there may be risk of fish-tidal in-stream energy conversion (TISEC) interactions when turbines are tested at FORCE and potentially if installed at other locations within Minas Passage. This risk may be heightened during the winter months because striped bass in Minas Passage are likely to be moving passively with tidal flows in response to cold water temperatures. Additional research is needed to determine the winter use and activity levels of Striped Bass in the Minas Passage and the behaviour of striped bass at and near TISEC devices at FORCE,” it is stated in SBA’s press release.
SBA also states that current claims by FORCE, under which the 2.5 GW of potential energy extraction comes without significant threats to the natural environment, are not supported by the current evidence in regards to fishes within such environment.
To remind, Cape Sharp Tidal, plans to install two 2 MW tidal energy turbines in the Bay of Fundy later this year.
Cape Sharp Tidal was one of the four tidal energy developers that received approval for developmental feed-in tariff , granted by the Government of Canada late in 2014, for the installation of tidal energy arrays in the Bay of Fundy.