Government Home Search Sitemap Contact Us

December 22, 1997
(Fisheries and Aquaculture)

Preliminary numbers on 1997 fishery released

Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister John Efford says that during the first 11 months of 1997, in excess of 187,000 metric tonnes of various species were landed and processed in the province.

The total landed value approximated $255 million and the export value, based on the amount of processed product, was in the range of $525 million to $540 million for the same period. Groundfish landings have been about double what they were in 1996, reflecting mainly the test fisheries for cod on the south and west coasts. Shellfish landings also increased, particularly for shrimp and crab.

More than 10,000 employees were involved in processing activity, for a total of 5,300 person years of employment.

Mr. Efford said that while all figures are preliminary and are subject to change as final data become available, "It is clear that we still have a fishing industry that is a major player in our economy, particularly in rural areas. While the void created by the commercial collapse of our groundfisheries has not been filled, our fishing industry is progressively moving forward in new directions. Contrary to what some may believe, our fishery is the dominant economic factor in many rural areas. In fact, for many harvesters and plant workers this industry is providing better income now than it used to."

More than 40 species were processed - from rock crab to herring to sea urchins and whelk. "This reflects government's view that multi-species operations are key to a productive fish processing sector," Mr. Efford said.

Highlighting some species, Mr. Efford said that approximately 12,000 tonnes of skate, 7,500 tonnes of female capelin, close to 11,000 tonnes of cod, 44,000 tonnes of snow crab, 1,200 tonnes of scallop, 6,500 tonnes of squid, 16,500 tonnes of surf clams and 10,500 tonnes of Icelandic scallops were harvested up to the end of November.

One significant development in 1997 has been in northern shrimp. "For the first time ever, we had an inshore fishery for northern shrimp on the northeast coast," he said. "This complemented the ongoing inshore shrimp fishery in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and provided new income in both the harvesting and processing sectors. Approximately 6,500 tonnes of northern shrimp were harvested this year for the first time by the inshore sector."

"One interesting point," he noted, "is that more than 4,000 tonnes of male capelin were processed. This is a significant indicator that industry is moving toward utilization of a resource that traditionally had been discarded."

The minister said that preliminary figures also reveal some other interesting indicators about the processing sector, among them the steady development of previously underutilized species such as sea urchins, whelk, swordfish and quahogs.

"In the area of sea urchins alone, close to 200 workers were employed at this species this year. This is a good example of how new employment opportunities are generated by development of new fisheries," he said.

Mr. Efford noted that there are now several companies involved in processing northern shrimp, with some prepared to make significant investments for the 1998 fishery. "This clearly demonstrates their confidence in the prospects for this growing resource," he said.

He further noted that there were also close to 9,000 tonnes of secondary processed products up to the end of November, and that the seal fishery had an export value of about $20 million, providing income for around 3,000 sealers and 300 plant workers.

Contact: Josephine Cheeseman, Director of Communications (709) 729-3733.