Examining the Canadian Shellfish Sanitation Program in Nova Scotia Through a Food Security Lens: Management for Subsistence Shellfish Harvest

Abstract

Defined as molluscan bivalves, shellfish are an important source of protein for subsistence harvesters in Canada. Due to health risks associated with consuming contaminated shellfish, routine monitoring of the coast is required. This responsibility falls to a federal program called the Canadian Shellfish Sanitation Program (CSSP). Although the CSSP is the sole authority for shellfish safety, its core mandate prioritizes delivery for commercial shellfish producers and its resources have not increased proportionately with costs, prompting program downsizing in Nova Scotia (NS). The purpose of this project is to analyze the CSSP from a food security lens. It aims to determine the impacts of CSSP on subsistence food security in NS, and whether the federal CSSP model is structured to meet food security needs. This project used thematic coding to analyze semi-structured interviews with federal and provincial government staff, resulting in the identification of four main themes and 13 sub-themes. Findings show that the CSSP decreases access for subsistence harvesters and increases health risks as it struggles to deliver testing, leaving large stretches of coastline unavailable for food and limiting Indigenous harvest rights. The program’s mandate is not structured to meet the needs of subsistence harvesters, and governance inefficiencies combined with resource shortages prevent adaptation. A commitment to drastic institutional change to address the underlying governance challenges of the CSSP is recommended. A federal program efficiency exercise and a comprehensive engagement project in NS should be conducted to determine how the program can deliver better outcomes for Canadians in the interim.