Fisheries and Aquaculture
December 15, 2014
Enhancing the Approach Used to Support Aquaculture
Minister Responds to Auditor General’s Recommendations for Aquaculture Programs
The Honourable Vaughn Granter, Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, acknowledged recommendations in the Auditor General’s annual report today regarding programming that supports provincial aquaculture. Minister Granter noted that with support of these programs, aquaculture activity has grown over the last ten years so that it now supports more than 1000 jobs within the province.
“Attracting private investment in the provincial aquaculture industry is a key priority for this government, and we are pleased to have created programming that has helped the industry grow to become a recognized world player, and a driver of Newfoundland and Labrador’s economy. The Auditor General’s recommendations regarding how funding agreements are monitored are being adopted, and recommendations regarding the administration of funding programs and pilot projects will help make our programs stronger for the future.”
- The Honourable Vaughn Granter, Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture
The provincial aquaculture industry has increased its overall production and value substantially over the last decade. As a result of provincial investments and support provided to the industry, annual aquaculture production expanded from 3900 metric tonnes valued at approximately $17 million in 2003, to a record setting 26,551 metric tonnes valued at $197 million in 2013. This growth represents an increase of 580 per cent in terms of volume produced, and an increase of almost 1100 per cent in the value generated by provincially farmed seafood. More information about the history of Provincial Government investment in the aquaculture sector can be found in the backgrounder below.
QUICK FACTS
- The Honourable Vaughn Granter, Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, acknowledged the recommendations listed in the Auditor General’s annual report today and noted the recommendations are being adopted.
- Recently released Statistics Canada data revealed the Newfoundland and Labrador aquaculture industry accounted for approximately 15.5 per cent of total Canadian aquaculture production and approximately 20 per cent of total Canadian value in 2013, ranking the province second in the country for production and value.
- Most of the jobs supported by aquaculture activity are located in rural areas of the province.
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Media contact:
Jason Card
Director of Communications
Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture
709-729-3733, 699-0470
jasoncard@gov.nl.ca
BACKGROUNDER
History of Provincial Government Investment in the Aquaculture Sector
Approximately ten years ago, demand grew dramatically for farmed salmon worldwide. Recognizing the opportunity, the Provincial Government began a targeted investment prospecting program to seek out and inform the world’s leading aquaculture companies of the vast potential for commercial aquaculture development in this province. The benefits of attracting investment from established producers included:
- Gaining operational expertise and leadership in the areas of fish farming, processing, and marketing;
- Accessing capital needed to achieve economies of scale and reduce costs of production; and
- Achieving commercial stability and profitability for the industry, which in turn would develop increased interest and investment in rural areas.
It was clear that enticing world class players to invest in aquaculture development in Newfoundland and Labrador would require programming to address the financial risk associated with building commercial developments in an unproven “green field” region. As a result, the Provincial Government created two programs to attract developers – the Aquaculture Working Capital Loan Guarantee Program, and the Aquaculture Capital Equity Program.
The Aquaculture Working Capital Loan Guarantee Program was established in 2004 to improve access to working capital for qualifying businesses. This program has been accessed by two companies since 2004, with the Provincial Government providing $14 million through guarantees to financial institutions. All guarantees have been retired.
n March 2006, government established the Aquaculture Capital Equity Program (ACEP), which provides matching funds for private sector investment in order to establish and expand aquaculture operations in the province. The program has been tremendously successful in leveraging funds, as the province’s investment of $24 million through ACEP encouraged industry to invest in excess of $400 million in development.
As a result of these programs, provincial aquaculture has grown from being an industry that generated $17 million in production value in 2003, to being an industry that generated $197 million in production value in 2013, and now supports more than 1000 jobs.
2014 12 15 4:10 p.m.