Fisheries investments to focus on quality and technology

Trevor Taylor, Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, today announced that the province is investing in several innovative fisheries technology, quality, and market analysis projects.

Sea cucumber is a developing fishery but the processing of the animal can be cost-prohibitive because it is entirely manual. To help develop the fishery, $10,000 has been committed to the continued design, construction, and testing of processing machinery. The venture will involve the Marine Institute, the Canadian Centre for Fisheries Innovation (CCFI), Memorial University of Newfoundland, and industry partners. As well, with an objective of improving shrimp yields, $6,500 will be used to study the drainage and yield of boxed versus bagged shrimp. Another $8,000 will be spent on examining methods used to assess the quality of shrimp landed to Newfoundland and Labrador shrimp processing plants.

"Investments in our fishery are being made within our fiscal means where they make the most positive impact," said Minister Taylor. "Our shrimp fishery is a multi-million dollar industry and shrimp quality is highly important if we want to further maximize the returns on our resource. By comparison, based on existing data, sea cucumber is an emerging species that has the potential to become a viable industry."

One of the provincial government�s priorities is economic growth and job creation, particularly in rural areas. Programming to diversify the fishing industry from its traditional dependence on groundfish is one innovative and creative approach. The funding supports areas such as quality enhancement, secondary processing, and market development.

Media contact: Alex Marland, Communications, (709) 729-3733