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The following are speaking notes delivered today by Premier Brian Tobin at a news conference in St. John's announcing funding for aquaculture initiatives:

I am delighted to participate with Minister Mifflin today in announcing joint funding for these aquaculture initiatives.

The province's Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, John Efford, can not be here today because he is in Asia on other issues related to his portfolio. On his behalf, I pass along his regrets that he can not be here.

The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is proud to be a partner with the Government of Canada in the more than $4.5 million in funding for the three projects being announced today.

The Aquaculture Research Centre for Memorial's Ocean Sciences Centre, the new Resource and Industry Support Services Centre at St. Alban's in Bay d'Espoir, and the new aquaculture education facility here at Memorial's Marine Institute are vital to the ongoing development of our aquaculture industry.

The future expansion of our aquaculture industry hinges to a great extent on whether appropriate research and training facilities are available. Clearly, research and training endeavours to date have had exciting results, with practical applications in the industry. I must point out that the private sector has been directly involved in some research and development efforts, including the pilot-scale halibut hatchery at the Ocean Sciences Centre which Minister Mifflin and I announced on March 26 of this year.

Although there have been significant achievements and success stories, our aquaculture sector is relatively new compared to other jurisdictions elsewhere in Canada and the world. In this context, there are still challenges to be met before the industry realizes its full, considerable potential. In particular, our research and development capability lags behind that of even some of our sister provinces such as New Brunswick where there has been a strong research capability.

In short, our aquaculture industry is a growth industry. It is an industry that can contribute significantly to our economy, particularly in rural areas hard hit by problems with our groundfisheries.

The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador fully appreciates this, and is committed to realizing the industry's potential. The initiatives announced today demonstrate our commitment.

Here at the Marine Institute, the new facility will support aquaculture training, graduate student research, skills upgrading for industry participants, and applied research. Students will have valuable hands-on aquaculture experience. As you know, graduates of Marine Institute programs have been instrumental in the expansion of our aquaculture industry, with many occupying key positions with industry, research and public sector support groups. What may not be as well known is the extent to which the Institute's graduates are in demand outside the province. Last year, for example, one of the largest companies in Canada sent recruiters right across the country to every single institution with aquaculture programs to find people to fill three positions at its aquaculture enterprises in British Columbia. The company selected graduates of the Marine Institute to fill all three positions. I congratulate the Institute for its excellence in programming. I know that the new aquaculture facility will greatly enhance the ability of the Institute to provide the education and training the aquaculture industry needs to move it forward.

The new research centre at Memorial's Ocean Sciences Centre will also benefit the industry substantially. Research to be undertaken will address some of the biological and physical factors that have been identified as impediments to the commercialization of such marine species as halibut, cod, yellowtail flounder and wolffish. Research will be done, for example, to determine how to produce live feed in mass quantities, as well investigating how to reproduce the conditions of the wild in an artificial environment so that the designs for grow-out and holding units in hatcheries are the best that they can be. This state-of-the art facility will be the foundation on which to provide the aquaculture industry with highly trained and specialized expertise in the culture of marine finfish. It also a step toward establishing a permanent infrastructure to train and educate the province's future marine finfish aquaculturists to the high level of technical expertise required, enabling this province to compete globally in the area of human resources.

The focus of the new Resource and Support Centre at St. Alban's will be different from the one at the Ocean Sciences Centre. The benefits to the industry, however, will be no less significant. The centre at St. Alban's will be devoted to developmental research on salmonid strains for commercial aquaculture production, particularly those strains best suited to commercial production in the unique environmental conditions of the Bay d'Espoir estuary. This stage of the research will be followed by development of broodstocks of the strains identified as the best salmonids for the area. In addition, it will have a water analysis capability for marine species, particularly shellfish.

Equally important, the new facility will also house a Fish Health Centre dedicated to the prevention, detection and treatment of diseases of salmonids in commercial aquaculture. Given the tremendously valuable economic contribution of the Bay d'Espoir salmonid aquaculture industry, it is essential that such dedicated support services be located in the area so that services and expertise are available to the industry on a consistent basis. The Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture already has in place for that region a full-time aquaculture veterinarian and has just hired a registered laboratory technologist to assist the veterinarian in the operation of the laboratory. Two other salmonid aquaculture staff members will also be located at the site. We are confident that linkages will also be built with the scientific community at Memorial University.

The significance of aquaculture in Bay d'Espoir is seen in the fact that the region is the largest producer of steelhead in all of North America. Overall, the salmonid aquaculture industry in that area increased in commercial value to $5.7 million in 1996 -- double what it was in 1995. Production of salmon and steelhead increased from 161 tonnes to 1,318 tonnes during the 1991-96 period. The industry is providing several hundred full-time, seasonal and part time jobs in the region, and this will increase as the industry grows.

Clearly, we have much to be proud of. I commend Memorial University, the Salmonid Growers Association, other industry leaders, and all the researchers and individuals who have been such key players in the tremendous accomplishments to date. With the considerable expertise of people involved in the new initiatives we are announcing today, we can look forward to many more.