A proposed sturgeon roe processing plant at Target Marine has stirred up emotion in the community.
Justin Henry, manager of the hatchery, told those attending the public hearing June 12 at the Seaside Centre that Target Marine is the only Canadian company farming white sturgeon, a threatened species, for which they have received a nod from such conservation organizations as the Wildlife Conservation Society, Sea-Web and the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife In Canada.
"There is currently no caviar processing in B.C.," said Henry. "Only the fish grown on site will be processed. This will not be an industrial operation."
Some residents who spoke during the evening believe water that will be discharged from the hatchery into Sechelt Inlet at Tillicum Bay will be untreated.
Barbara Storer cited the Vision Plan and the bylaw that does not allow for industrial business in the residentially zoned community. She said she did not want to see any changes or more companies would want to set up shop. Storer also said she is concerned about waste ending up in the slow-moving estuary or showing up on the beaches in the area.
The hatchery employs 22 people and has been in continuous operation for the last 22 years.
"One hundred per cent of the waste water will be treated. The Ministry of Environ-ment sets the standard," said Henry in response to Storer's concerns. "We are [and will be] regulated, permitted, monitored and inspected by the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Environment Canada."
Currently, the land the hatchery sits on is zoned for residential and not industrial use. For the processing plant to go ahead, council will have to amend a bylaw so the definition of "fish hatchery" includes "the extraction and processing of roe and processing of fish reared on site." Bernie Bennett, co-owner of the hatchery since 1994, said the zoning was not right when he purchased the hatchery but that it had been in operation for several years already without complaint. Target Marine then applied for and received appropriate zoning to operate the hatchery in the late '90s. This is the first time they are applying for a processing licence, Bennett said.
Over the years, Target Marine has acquired forested land surrounding the hatchery as it came up for sale, so that they now own 24.3 hectares.
"I feel we are better stewards of the water quality than the residential," Bennett said. "We bought the adjacent lands to maintain water quality, and there will be no logging. We could make more money developing with houses, but we don't want to do that."
Other concerns had to do with noise the 0.35-hectare processing plant might make, specifically, ambient noise and an alarm that goes off in the night at times. Another speaker made light of the comments and said he has never heard of fish making noise. Neighbour John Hutchinson said his own home makes more noise than the hatchery and he sleeps with his window open every night.
Target Marine had the bulk of supporters at the hearing, who cited as Target's assets good corporate citizenship, job maintenance and creation, environmental protection and educational opportunities for aquaculture students and the public.Those opposed to the processing plant argued that the area is designated for residential structures only and should be protected as such. Many bought or built the homes in which they reside specifically because of the residential zoning.
Target Marine's requests for bylaw amendments will now move on to the District of Sechelt's council meetings, likely sometime in July.
