The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society’s Newfoundland and Labrador Chapter is “deeply disappointed” by what it calls the provincial government’s “reckless and unilateral decision” to terminate the MOU on a feasibility assessment of the proposed South Coast National Marine Conservation Area off the south coast.

CPAWS says pulling out of the agreement means that the province has “thrown away potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal funding” which would have benefitted local communities including Burgeo, Ramea and Conne River.

Executive Director Tanya Edwards says ending the feasibility process before the evidence could even be gathered doesn’t make sense.

“The sad part is that the feasibility study is not even the creation of a protected area, it’s the process used to answer these questions, and to consult with communities to determine whether a conservation area would even co-exist in the area.”

Edwards says concerns surrounding the impact on aquaculture and the local commercial fishery were based on misinformation.

“The MOU explicitly guaranteed that existing licences would continue and would not be affected by the feasibility process” says Edwards. “The proposed study boundary that was being looked at had already been adjusted to exclude all existing and any potential aquaculture sites, which was directly in response to the industry concerns. That’s why the feasibility study was important, because it provides the facts instead of speculation.”