The Atlantic Coldwater Shrimp Conference held this week in St. John�s has been a great success, which bodes well for the provincial shrimp fishery into the future. The Provincial Government made a contribution of $26,000 toward the development and organization of this event.

The conference took place from January 29-30 and was attended by over 250 delegates from across the globe, with representation from the United Kingdom, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Greenland, Russia and the United States. It explored both market challenges and new opportunities within the coldwater shrimp sector. The major theme was finding new approaches to address these global realities while simultaneously strengthening existing markets.

The Honourable Tom Rideout, Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, who addressed the conference on Tuesday, says the Provincial Government�s contribution to the event is another example of its commitment to the Newfoundland and Labrador coldwater shrimp fishery.

"This was a great opportunity for our own industry to obtain information about global supply, projected market trends and new market opportunities throughout the world," said Minister Rideout. "Our government was pleased to provide this support and we are extremely pleased with the success of the conference. The coldwater shrimp sector has indeed become a very prominent and lucrative fishery for Newfoundland and Labrador. However, now is the time to ensure that this resource is marketed effectively, in light of the massive quantities of shrimp that have arrived on the global marketplace."

In 2007, over 115,000 tonnes of shrimp was landed in Newfoundland and Labrador at a value of $155 million. Provincial shrimp landings have doubled since 1997. During the same time, the global supply of shrimp has doubled from three million to six million metric tonnes, due to massive increases in the production of warmwater shrimp worldwide. Consequently, all producers throughout the world are fighting to retain their individual shares of the marketplace.

"In order for us to be successful, we need to identify and break into emerging market opportunities throughout the world," said Minister Rideout. "We need to seize the opportunities, such as those that exist in Russia and China. To accomplish this, we must communicate to global seafood markets the superior quality of our coldwater shrimp product. North Atlantic coldwater shrimp is the best tasting shrimp in the world and we must show that to the world. That is one of the reasons our government has increased our support for global marketing initiatives and increased participation in trade shows throughout the world."

Under Fishing Industry Renewal, $3 million in provincial funding has been allocated to enhance market research and promotion efforts. This includes examining the creation of a Newfoundland and Labrador Seafood Marketing Council. In the past two budgets, the Provincial Government has also allocated $265,000 to support new initiatives to address seafood trade and market barriers, and $100,000 to enhance the province�s seafood products through increased participation in international trade exhibitions.

"The shrimp fishery is certainly market driven," said Minister Rideout. "Our province is competing against global seafood markets in terms of supply, pricing, economics and exchange rates. These are factors that we cannot change and over which we have no control. However, we must control what we can control. That is why our government will continue to make marketing of our province�s seafood products a priority."

-30-

Media contact:

Lori Lee Oates
Director of Communications
Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture
709-729-3733, 690-8403
oatesll@gov.nl.ca

2008 01 31                                                  9:50 a.m.