Another application from Target Marine Hatcheries Ltd. will be headed to public hearing for proposed zoning and bylaw amendments soon, this time to allow processing of fish on site (not limited to sturgeon) and the commercial growing of underwater plants.
Target first made an application to harvest sturgeon for caviar on site in 2007 and that application saw three public hearings, numerous legal challenges and ultimately a non-binding referendum before it was finally approved and the issue laid to rest in early 2012.
At the time Target said they had no plans to process anything other than sturgeon on site and a special zoning was created to allow that specific use. However, now the company is looking to "diversify production," a staff report given to District of Sechelt council at their Nov. 13 committee of the whole read.
"I'm going to be supportive of this and try to get it moving forward and I realize it's going to create a little bit of a storm on the horizon especially as we go into the public hearing component of it," said Coun. Chris Moore. "It's about job employment and it's about furthering and expanding their operation, and given the size of the land and stuff like that, it's another move in the direction that we want to head."
Coun. Tom Lamb also pledged his support for Target's application, noting, "I'd like to see us try to set this up so that they don't have to come back."
"It would be just nice if we could set it up so they could just go to work and do what they have to do," Lamb said.
What Target Marine Hatcheries plans to do is use their existing sturgeon harvesting building to process other types of fish and grow plants inside fish tanks that can be sold as part of a new commercial "aquaponics" venture.
"It's the cultivation of vegetation in the recirculation water. It's a kind of new term to us as well, but it's just basically the growing of aquatic plants in water," said Ray Parfitt, director of development services.
The changes would likely result in Target processing about 10 additional tonnes of fish per year, the staff report said. Last year Target processed 20 tonnes of sturgeon on site.
"My understanding with the zoning change is that they wouldn't be necessarily limited in terms of the processing," Moore noted. "I suppose if they say 10 tonnes per year they could go to 15 tonnes per year if they could use that facility."
No expansion of the plant is proposed in Target's application.
Specific fish mentioned for processing include trout and coho salmon, although the application is asking to allow the processing of "fin fish and/or shellfish that are not necessarily grown on site."
Councillors unanimously moved the application forward to their next council meeting for first reading and referral to a public hearing.
The application will also be sent to groups like the Tuwanek Ratepayers Association, the Sechelt Advisory Planning Commission and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans for comment.
