Fisheries and Aquaculture
October 27, 2006
More than 200 New Direct Jobs for Rural
Newfoundland and Labrador
Millions to be Invested in South Coast Aquaculture
The Honourable Loyola Hearn and the Honourable Peter
MacKay on behalf of Canada�s New Government, along with the Honourable
Tom Rideout and the Honourable Trevor Taylor on behalf of the Government
of Newfoundland and Labrador, and representatives from Cooke Aquaculture
today stood shoulder to shoulder to announce a significant new
aquaculture project for the south coast of Newfoundland.
Through federal, provincial and private sector
investments in excess of $155 million, Newfoundland and Labrador�s
farmed salmon production is about to triple and over 200 new full-time,
year-round jobs will be created. Additional indirect jobs will also be
created in the aquaculture processing, supply and service sectors.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) is
contributing $4.5 million; the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA)
is investing $6 million; and the provincial Department of Fisheries and
Aquaculture (DFA) is investing $10 million; while Cooke Aquaculture
Inc., an independent salmon farming company based in New Brunswick, is
investing $135 million towards the project.
"This investment is exactly the type of shot in the
arm that this area needs," said Loyola Hearn, Minister of Fisheries and
Oceans and Regional Minister for Newfoundland and Labrador. "I'm proud
that my department will be able to help fund a project like this, which
is significant both for the aquaculture industry, and for our great
province of Newfoundland and Labrador."
"This investment reflects Canada�s New Government�s
priorities of investing in people, communities, new ideas and business
growth," said Peter MacKay, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of
ACOA. "This is a large project with the potential to create over 200
full-time, year-round jobs for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador."
"This is truly a great day for our province and the
aquaculture industry in Newfoundland and Labrador," said Tom Rideout,
Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture. "We are witnessing the coming of
age of an industry and new hope for rural communities. Our government is
pleased to invest $10 million dollars in this very worthwhile business
venture. There will also be many indirect jobs created as a result of
this project and the number will grow as the aquaculture industry
develops. Our government has made significant investments in aquaculture
and more than doubled provincial expenditures for aquaculture in Budget
2006. Today we are seeing the results of that investment."
"This is an important initiative that creates
year-round work for people in rural Newfoundland and Labrador," said
Trevor Taylor, Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development. "The
people of the area have worked hard for many years to create a local
aquaculture industry. This latest development should ensure that the
industry grows to its full potential."
Over the next three years, Cooke Aquaculture will
enter 3 million smolts (young salmon) annually into new farms on the
south coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. This will generate an annual
production of approximately 17.8 thousand wfe (whole fish equivalent)
metric tonnes with an estimated value of $86.5 million. In keeping with
its strategy of full integration, Cooke will build a recirculation
hatchery, open a state-of-the-art processing facility and develop a
supporting fleet of service vessels and feed barges. This joint
investment will create the critical mass necessary to position the
aquaculture industry in Newfoundland and Labrador for further growth. It
will provide an immediate and long-term economic stimulus in the rural
and coastal communities of the province�s south coast.
"The aquaculture industry in Newfoundland and Labrador
is a success story just waiting to happen. We on the east coast must
take matters into our own hands and create our own destiny," said Glenn
Cooke, CEO of Cooke Aquaculture. "More than anything I want to realize
the full potential for aquaculture in Atlantic Canada. And that
potential isn�t just about making money. It�s about creating jobs and
it�s about growing healthy families and communities."
DFO�s investment is through the Aquaculture
Collaborative Research and Development program (ACRDP). ACOA�s
investment is from the Business Development Program (BDP) and the
Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is investing through the
Aquaculture Capital Incentive Program.
Cooke Aquaculture is an independent family-owned
aquaculture company based in Blacks Harbour, New Brunswick with 1200
employees, more than $200 million in annual sales and operations in the
Atlantic Provinces and the State of Maine. The Company also farms cod
and is expanding its use of integrated multi-trophic aquaculture farming
operations which is an innovative approach where kelps, mussels and
salmon are grown on the same site with a view to enhancing productivity
and environmental sustainability.
Media contacts:
Michelle Brazil
Press Secretary, Office of the Minister
Department of Fisheries and Oceans
613-992-3474 |
Julie Afonso
A/Director, Communications
Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
709-772-2984 |
Lori Lee Oates
Director, Communications
Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture
Government of Newfoundland and Labrador
709-729-3733 / 709-690-8403 |
Nell Halse
Director, Communications
Cooke Aquaculture
506-651-2434 |
BACKGROUNDER:
The Governments of Canada and Newfoundland and
Labrador have partnered with Cooke Aquaculture on a $156 million project
to realize the potential for economic and social development in the
province�s coastal communities. The project�s intent is the development
of a strong nucleus of a finfish aquaculture industry on the south coast
of Newfoundland. It is being initiated and led by an Atlantic Canadian
company with a proven track record of profitability, growth and success
and a strong contingent of Newfoundland professionals on its management
team. This collaboration is grounded in a belief in the future of the
coastal communities of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is a carefully
researched and thought out plan. The scale of the project is made
possible by the commitment and support of its partners: the Government
of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
and Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
Cooke Aquaculture Inc.
Cooke Aquaculture Inc. is investing in clusters of
state-of-the-art salmon farms on the south coast of Newfoundland, a
recirculation salmon hatchery, a processing facility and the necessary
infrastructure of service vessels. Cooke�s plan will lead to an annual
production of 17.8 thousand metric tonnes (whole fish equivalent) worth
$86.5 Million annually. This will triple the value of the current salmon
farming industry valued at $26 Million in 2005.
Current NL Operations: (already underway)
Construction and installation of first cluster
of 3 sites in Fortune Bay
28 full time employees currently working in
Belleoram area
stocking of 3 million salmon from its mainland
hatcheries into NL farms in Fortune Bay nearly complete
Installation of the first North American 150
meter cage systems designed by GMG (Cooke�s manufacturing
division) and subcontracted for construction to a Newfoundland
firm in Boxey, NL. The first prototypes are currently on site in
Fortune Bay.
Completion of the first phase of site
assessment work in Placentia Bay for future expansion
Site analysis for a processing facility
Site analysis for the construction of a NL
recirculation hatchery that will eventually meet the Company�s
NL smolt requirements
Evaluation of the potential for NL boat yards
to construct future feed barges
Fisheries and Oceans Canada:
Fisheries and Oceans Canada will invest $4.5 million
over the next three years through its Aquaculture Collaborative Research
Program (ACRDP)
Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency:
ACOA is investing $6 million through its Business
Development Program (BDP)
Province of Newfoundland and Labrador:
The Province of Newfoundland and Labrador is investing
$10 million through the Aquaculture Capital Incentive Program.
Summary of Project Benefits:
The total project is expected to generate in
excess of 200 person years of employment on an annualized basis
once all aspects are fully operational. This does not include
any construction or spin-off activities such as construction of
feed barges or cages, trucking activity, and contracted services
such as diving etc.
Freshwater and saltwater fish production will
generate a total of 79 full-time and 27 seasonal jobs once the
hatchery is operational and the second cluster of sites is
developed.
Harvesting and processing operations will
employ 120 people on a full-time basis.
All of this employment is generated around
salmon. Any cod aquaculture development will generate
incremental employment.
Cooke is prepared to establish a multi-species
processing line within its plant operations to process any
locally sourced inshore or offshore fish that may be available.
Any jobs associated with this initiative will also be
incremental.
Opportunities for additional employment will
increase as the industry develops
Economic and Social:
Cooke will work with industry associations and
all levels of government to attract capital investment, and the
support of banks, service industries and feed suppliers. This
will address two major impediments to the growth of the
province�s aquaculture industry: the need to attract capital and
access to low cost feed.
These investments will be supported by locally
developed aquaculture training programs offered by community
colleges, university and private training institutions in
Newfoundland and Labrador.
The economic impact of this investment is
expected to mirror the growth and diversification created by
aquaculture in Charlotte County, New Brunswick as outlined in
the 2001 report: "Salmon Aquaculture in New Brunswick: Natural
Development of our Marine Heritage." Prior to the advent of the
aquaculture industry to Charlotte County, the region�s economy
was based on the inshore fishery and natural resources and was
experiencing high unemployment, seasonal jobs and out migration
- the same issues that are currently facing coastal communities
in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Aquaculture is expected to create the economic
stimulus that will lead to meaningful, skilled, year round
employment and will attract and retain the youth of Newfoundland
and Labrador. Cooke�s current workforce of 1200 has an average
age of 40 years.
A healthy and vibrant aquaculture industry
will attract researchers, scientists, veterinarians and
government support services to the region.
Healthy families supported by full-time and
long-term jobs will strengthen the social fabric of coastal
communities in Newfoundland and Labrador as a family company
with deep roots in the east coast, Cooke continues to invest and
re-invest in infrastructure, people and communities. This
includes annual family events, local infrastructure projects
such as the new roof for the Blacks Harbour arena, and ongoing
contributions to charitable causes.
Infrastructure, Innovation and Technology Transfer:
A practical operational knowledge base will be
created through the introduction of novel large cage culture of
finfish and associated grow-out systems. This includes cages,
nets and mooring systems that have been proven in Bay of Fundy
conditions but are being adapted and scaled up to meet NL
conditions with a possible application to cod.
Scientific information on hydrographic,
environmental and weather related interactions between the
operation and the surrounding environment.
Development of a large scale recirculation
hatchery designed to meet the needs of NL operations
Establish a state-of-the-art environmentally
sound salmon processing facility modeled on the successful NB
operations
Investigate the potential for well boat live
haul technology in a Newfoundland and Labrador application
Work with local industry and government to
develop and ensure full compliance with Biosecurity protocols to
ensure the sustainable development of the province�s growing
industry
Work with the industry and government to
optimize marketing resources for the Atlantic Canadian finfish
aquaculture industry. This will bring critical mass to Cooke�s
ability to lever marketing dollars for the full benefit of the
NL industry
NL industry will benefit from the volume of
Cooke�s investment and subsequent buying power from aquaculture
supplier network i.e. feed, insurance, etc.
NL industry will benefit from the experience
and the technical expertise of Cooke�s management team within
areas such as fish health, marketing, feed management,
broodstock development, alternate species development and
production and husbandry methods.
This investment and the volume of production
will support economies of scale and the 3 site / year class
separation system necessary to meet Biosecurity and fallowing
requirements.
Cooke is the largest North American farmer of
cod with a current investment of $5 million into its cod program
and is an industrial partner in the Cod Genome project. The
Company harvested its first commercial crop of farmed cod in the
spring of 2006 and currently has 750,000 cod growing in New
Brunswick farms. It hopes to maximize the unlimited potential of
the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador for the full
commercialization of cod aquaculture in North America.
Global Trends:
The aquaculture industry in Atlantic Canada and
Newfoundland and Labrador is positioned to take advantage of several
long-term trends:
The growth of the Asian economy and the
resultant world-wide increase in the demand for protein and the
shift in the allocation of proteins.
The aging North American population and the
demand for more healthy food products. Increased salmon
consumption has the opportunity to decrease long term health
care costs.
The desire for enhanced environmental
management and sustainability. Aquaculture is one of the most
environmentally sustainable forms of industrial food production.
The interest in moving the farming of
alternate species such as cod from the R&D level to full
commercialization.
2006 10 27 9:20 a.m.
