ABSTRACT
This chapter examines a conflict regarding lease applications by a private-sector aquaculture company to the Nova Scotia Department of Fisheries. Aquacultural development came to be seen as a threat to their personal positions in the social system and to the local values in which they had a vested interest. The public hearing was perceived by the residents of Waldon Bay to be the last hope in their battle against aquaculture development in their "paradise." In a contemporary climate of environmental awareness, the impact of aquaculture on the environment has become an emotional issue. In the province of Nova Scotia, an aquaculturist is dependent upon various government departments and the Minister of Fisheries for granting an aquaculture lease and licence. Using traditional fishing rights as leverage, they argued that further competition for fishing rights would threaten the ongoing viability of investment in the lobster fishery.
