The following statement was issued today by Trevor Taylor, as alternate Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture. It was also read in the House of Assembly:

I rise today to inform the House of a unique initiative of fisheries and aquaculture ministers from Eastern Canada in promoting the region�s aquaculture industry in the nation�s capital earlier this month.

As the first alternate minister for fisheries and aquaculture, I joined with ministers from Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick in the Aquaculture Promotion Initiative on November 14,15 and 16. The initiative was designed to educate MPs and Senators about the importance of the aquaculture industry to rural and coastal communities. We met with the Atlantic caucus of the Conservative, Liberal and NDP parties, and co-hosted a reception of Canadian aquaculture products on Parliament Hill. Representatives from Quebec and British Columbia also participated in this initiative.

These meetings resulted in our federal representatives getting a greater level of knowledge and understanding about the industry, its potential and the need for the development of national policy and programs for the industry. We took the initiative to engage our federal representatives and present them with an informative overview of the industry. Our federal representatives have a role to play in helping facilitate a cooperative approach with the federal and provincial governments. They now have the information they need to assist the provinces in engaging the federal government.

As provincial ministers, we called on our federal representatives to get to know the industry and to help dispel the myths that threaten its continued growth. We believe aquaculture represents a tremendous opportunity in stabilizing and growing our rural economies.

The provinces have created a model for interprovincial cooperation with a message that cannot be ignored. Rural and coastal areas across the country are facing the same issues as it relates to the loss of traditional resource industries. Aquaculture is an industry that can only exist in rural and coastal communities.

Aquaculture has tremendous potential in this province. Total production is expected to increase by 27 per cent this year over 2004. We are producing 4,100 metric tones of salmonids this year and 3,000 metric tones of mussels. We have some of the only remaining sites suitable for development in Eastern Canada and we are attracting the interest of outside investors. As well, we were very encouraged in August when one of the province�s leading traditional seafood companies, the Barry Group, took over the former North Atlantic Seafood Corporation from the receivers.

The top seafood processing plant in Newfoundland and Labrador produces fresh, farmed salmon year-round. Cod is the next major farm species worldwide and we have the technology, expertise and the right biophysical conditions to take advantage of this opportunity. With less than 10 per cent of aquaculture space currently being utilized, we are committed to developing this industry for the benefit of our rural communities.

2005 11 28                                  2:00 p.m.