January 26, 1998
(COOPERATION Agreement)

Daniel's Harbour aquaculture char facility to expand

The Great Northern Peninsula Development Corporation plans to expand its Daniel's Harbour aquaculture facility allowing it to raise Arctic char from eggs to market size in 18 months. The project will be undertaken with the help of a $1.2 million contribution from the Canada/Newfoundland Strategic Regional Diversification COOPERATION Agreement.

The announcement was made today by Humber-St. Barbe-Baie Verte MP Gerry Byrne on behalf of Fred Mifflin, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Secretary of State for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), and by Chuck Furey, Minister of Mines and Energy, on behalf of Beaton Tulk, Minister of Development and Rural Renewal.

"The funding will be used to construct a 90-tonne land-based water recirculation facility which will provide a disease-free environment for char," said Mr. Byrne. "It will also provide for a fully integrated facility that takes char from eggs to harvesting which will help the Great Northern Peninsula Development Corporation to become competitive in international markets."

Char has a distinctive flavour, more delicate than salmon. Further, the world demand for Arctic char exceeds the supply and growers are able to charge a premium, making char a niche product. But wholesalers will only buy from sources guaranteeing a constant supply.

"This is why we have moved to a 90 tonne rather than a smaller 50 tonne facility that was originally considered," says Mr. Byrne.

The facility previously received a $1 million contribution from the Canada/Newfoundland Strategic Regional Diversification COOPERATION Agreement in June 1997.

"This new support for the Daniel's Harbour project will help the corporation advance from a research facility to a commercial operation," said Mr. Furey. "The commercialization of a char aquaculture industry will help diversify the local economy and will ultimately provide new employment opportunities on the Northern Peninsula."

Mr. Furey noted that test samples of Daniel's Harbour char that were sent to Asian markets, where it is considered an exotic and rare freshwater fish, received good reviews.

"Our aquaculture industry needs to move into new species that offer greater economic returns," said Mr. Furey. "That is why we have invested in this research and development project. Once the project is fully commercialized, the hatchery will have the ability to supply commercial fish farmers and benefit the entire aquaculture industry in Newfoundland."

Work on the project will begin immediately and is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.

The Strategic Regional Diversification Agreement is a 70:30 cost-shared agreement between the federal and provincial governments respectively. The agreement 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

Clifford Grinling
Department of Development and Rural Renewal
(709) 729-7066