A vision you can sea in Port Mouton

“This is apparently a part of the ongoing government review of this aquaculture application,” says Friends of Port Mouton Bay member, Robert Ross.

An employee from Transport Canada in Moncton, New Brunswick is coordinating all of the government responses regarding the proposed expansion of the fish farm in Port Mouton, notes Ross.

“He has been working with the Port Mouton people and government agencies and trying to deal with this application.”

Four to six weeks ago he asked Friends of Port Mouton Bay if they had a community vision in place.

“As a result of that question, we decided as a group to take that initiative on and try to develop a community vision,” says Ross.

“The vision initiative that Robert and Clyde Fisher are pursuing is independent of the activities of Friends of Port Mouton Bay,” says Friends spokesperson, Darlene Norman.

The vision tries to identify the important values of the residents who live in Port Mouton, Ross explains.

The top five important vision values from a report are as follows:

To adhere to sustainable principles in protection of the natural resources and in preservation of the natural environment in the area;

To maintain and enhance community character by respecting local social, historical, cultural and traditional values;

Achieve an increased level of sustainable local employment, tourism, commercial and other economic development opportunities;

Continue to encourage people to live, work and visit Port Mouton Bay area by maintaining and enhancing the local high quality of life and addressing threats to this quality of life;

And pursue collaborative and community based decision-making that supports Port Mouton Bay.

The vision statement also lists objectives and the purpose of the vision.

“I am optimistic that the majority of people within the Port Mouton Bay area will find themselves on common ground when it comes to the goals and objectives,” says Norman. “The FPMB believe that widespread input and acceptance of this visioning statement may well be the beginning of a much greater project, input into coastal water management.”

Ross says their goal now is to circulate the community vision throughout Port Mouton and then send it to Transport Canada for the ongoing fish farm application review.

The public meeting will take place Aug. 28 at 7 p.m.