Investment inspires Newfoundland expansion
After two years of economic uncertainty for residents of Harbour Breton, the province of Newfoundland & Labrador is investing $1.5 million towards its expanding aquaculture industry.
The investment includes $1 million towards refurbishing the wharf adjacent to the fish plant and $500,000 will enable 54417 Newfoundland and Labrador Co Ltd, managed by Barry Group International, to purchase pre-rigor processing technology for the plant, allowing it to move into value added-processing of locally-grown salmon for the first time.
Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister Vaughn Granter said the province's support for the project will help diversify the seafood industry, energize area communities and ensure the sustainability of the aquaculture sector.
“We are very proud as an industry of this accomplishment and look forward to see the doors of the plant reopen this fall,” Mark Lane, executive director of NF Aquaculture Industry Association (NAIA), told Fish Farming Expert.
The plant was once operated by Cooke Aquaculture, but it closed two years ago after an outbreak of salmon anemia. There was further uncertainty after the Barry Group decided not to renew Cooke's lease.
The Barry Group is investing some $3.5 million into the plant in an effort to establish a facility that produces high-quality, value added products from Atlantic salmon grown locally at aquaculture sites owned by Northern Harvest Sea Farms. The ability to have fish processed in Harbour Breton is critical to Northern Harvest Sea Farms expansion plans that were announced earlier this summer.
Northern Harvest operates aquaculture sites in New Brunswick and on Newfoundland's south coast, is planning to increase its yearly production of salmon from 12,000 to 16,000 tonnes. The company will receive $8.15 million from the province toward a $17.6 million expansion of its operations, which is expected to increase employment from 145 full-time equivalent positions to 180.
With the reopening if the plant in Harbour Breton, Newfoundlanders and Labradorians from the Coast of Bays region will return to work where they previously did in their home town to process Atlantic salmon 52 weeks per year. “When you travel throughout the region the socio-economic benefit of the aquaculture industry is evident,” said Lane.
Total employment generated from the salmonid sector in NFLD has increased since 2003. In 2013, the salmonid sector created 734 person years of employment through direct and spin-off activities. This represents an increase of approximately 553 person years over 2003. Salmonid aquaculture accounted for 84.1 per cent of total employment generated by the aquaculture sector in 2013.
The province says the economic impact of this development will benefit the entire region, resulting in an increase of approximately $55 million in Provincial Gross Domestic Product and an additional $30 million in wages, salaries and benefits over the next 10 years.
Lane adds: “This industry has given and continues to revitalize rural coastal regions of our province that were negatively impacted by the closure of the commercial cod fishery in 1992. Hard working Newfoundlanders and Labradorians take great pride in going to work each and every day in their hometowns producing the world’s finest cultivated seafood. It is through their dedication that this province has become a recognized global contributor to feeding the ever-increasing demand for seafood.”
