Nova Scotia judge upholds fisheries ministers right to impose licence moratorium – Halifax [Video]

The right of Nova Scotia’s fisheries minister to impose a moratorium on new licences for fish buyers and processors has been upheld in a recent court decision.

Last week, Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice James Chipman dismissed an appeal by Meteghan, N.S., lobster processor Lobster Hub Inc., related to the moratorium that has been in place since 2018.

The company launched the appeal in April after applications to expand its processing licence to include snow crab and other species were rejected by three different fisheries ministers over a three-year period. Lobster Hub filed its initial request to the provincial Fisheries Department in February 2021.

The company’s application was turned down by then-Liberal fisheries minister Keith Colwell and then two subsequent attempts were rejected by Progressive Conservative ministers Steve Craig and Kent Smith, who is now the current minister.

In his decision, Chipman wrote that the Fisheries and Coastal Resources Act …