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January 17, 1997 (COOPERATION Agreement) Sea urchin industry taken one step further towards commercial viability The Gambo Indian Bay Development Association will establish a sea urchin research facility in Wareham, Bonavista Bay to work towards making the farming of sea urchin roe a commercially lucrative enterprise. The purpose of the facility will be to build on earlier research towards finding an efficient and effective way to increase and improve sea urchin roe production and quality for commercial markets. Total funding towards the project of $533,478 over a three year period was announced today by Fred Mifflin, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans on behalf of Lawrence MacAulay, Secretary of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency) (Veterans Affairs) and Judy Foote, Minister of Development and Rural Renewal. The results from this research will be of benefit to the future of the sea urchin industry in the province as a whole. "This pilot project has great potential to increase Newfoundland's market share for sea urchins in Japan. This is a sizeable market and one which, if approached properly, can substantially bolster the export value of Newfoundland and Labradorseafood products," said Mr. Mifflin. "As well, this initiative will have an immediate positive impact on the local workforce, as processing sea urchins is a highly labour intensive activity." It is estimated that 90 per cent of the sea urchins presently harvested in the wild have roe that is of such poor quality or low volume that it cannot be marketed. Preliminary research conducted by Memorial University of Newfoundland, the Canadian Centre for Fisheries Innovation and the Marine Institute, determined that the weight of sea urchin roe could be substantially increased through proper manipulation of diet and water temperatures. The project announced today will conduct that research on a much larger scale to determine if sea urchins can be farmed at a cost which makes it commercially viable and which will provide a reasonable rate of return on investment. The private sector, as well as the Canadian Centre for Fisheries Innovation, will be full participants in this project. "Aquaculture has been identified by both the federal and provincial governments as an industry with a great deal of potential for long-term economic development," said Ms. Foote. "If successful, this initiative will have substantial implications in helping the industry reach its potential both in terms of job creation and wealth generation. It is also an excellent opportunity to expand and diversify a traditional fishery. I commend the Gambo Indian Bay Development Association for bringing together private and public sector partners to determine the commercial viability of a new industry through both biological and economic research activities." Three jobs will be directly created as a result of this pilot project, and depending on the results of the findings, this initiative could have significant employment benefits throughout the province. Funding for today's announcement came from the Canada/Newfoundland Strategic Regional Diversification Agreement (SRDA). The agreement is cost-shared 70:30 under the COOPERATION Program between the federal and provincial governments respectively. The SRDA is administered federally by the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and provincially by the Department of Development and Rural Renewal. Contact: Paul Murphy, COOPERATION Communications, (709) 772-0219 or Susan Laite, Department of Development and Rural Renewal, (709) 729- 4570. 1997 01 17 11:50 a.m.
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