Nova Scotia Leads Marine Environment Group

Nova Scotia will lead an international marine environment group during the Year of the Ocean, Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister Keith Colwell announced Monday on Oceans Day.

The department will host the Secretariat of the Gulf of Maine Council. Deputy Minister Peter Underwood accepted the honour at the conclusion of the group's biannual meeting in Salem, Mass., last week.

"Balancing and protecting the concerns of this valuable ecosystem will be a priority of the secretariat during its time in Nova Scotia," said Mr. Colwell. "We are pleased to provide a leadership role."

As secretariat host, Nova Scotia will provide staff to support the goals of the council, which include enhancing fisheries habitat and the environment. As well, the province will host the council's upcoming fall and spring meetings.

The Nova Scotia departments of Fisheries and Aquaculture and the Environment represent the province on the cross-border committee, which also includes senior government officials from Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and New Brunswick.

"With 1998 being the Year of the Ocean, co-operation on the council needs to be reflected in the day-to-day work of council members. That's in Nova Scotia, New Hampshire or anywhere else," said Irene D'Entremont of MIT Electronics in Yarmouth, a council member. "It's an exciting time for Nova Scotia to lead this group."

Some of the council's activities include publishing a quarterly newspaper entitled The Gulf of Maine Times and operating an environmental monitoring project called Gulfwatch.

The Gulf of Maine is the ecosystem in the Atlantic Ocean extending from Cape Sable Island through the Bay of Fundy to Nantucket, Mass.