Fisheries and Aquaculture
March 2, 2009Government of
Canada and Province of Newfoundland and Labrador
Join with Cooke Aquaculture to Invest in a Cod Demonstration Farm
on Newfoundland�s South Coast
Senator Fabian Manning, Government of Canada and the
Honourable Tom Hedderson, Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, along
with Mike Cooke, Chief Operating Officer ,
Cooke Aquaculture, today
announced a $8.5 million project to develop a cod aquaculture
demonstration farm in Newfoundland and Labrador.
"I am pleased to be in Newfoundland and Labrador today
on behalf of the Government of Canada to announce the federal
government�s contribution to this valuable project," said Senator
Manning. "This project continues to place the province as a leader in
the diversification of the Canadian aquaculture industry. And, when we
invest in our aquaculture industry, we are investing in improved
conservation, sustainable jobs and opportunity for the people of
Newfoundland and Labrador for years to come."
The Government of Canada is committing $1.5 million to
the project: the Department of Fisheries and Oceans is contributing $1
million under the Aquaculture Innovation and Market Access Program (AIMAP)
and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) is investing
$500,000. ACOA�s investment of $500,000 is being provided through the
Business Development Program (BDP), which is designed to help clients
set up, expand or modernize their business. In Budget 2008, the
provincial Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture allocated $2 million
over four years to assist with the development of a cod demonstration
farm.
A federal, provincial and industry committee worked
together for over a year to carry out extensive analysis on cod
demonstration farms. They reviewed existing literature, visited cod
demonstration sites in Norway and engaged scientific and financial
advisors. The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador then conducted a
request for proposals process seeking an industry partner, resulting in
Cooke Aquaculture being chosen as the successful applicant.
"Our government is pleased to be able to contribute to
this extremely important aquaculture project to both the province and
the country," said the Honourable Tom Hedderson. "Truly this is a
cutting edge project that will assist our aquaculture industry in moving
to the next level with cod aquaculture. We look forward to working with
our partners in the industry to make this happen, as we recognize that
aquaculture growth and development is extremely important to rural areas
of the province. We are very pleased with the growth that we have seen
in the provincial industry in the last three years and we look forward
to further growth through cod aquaculture."
The main purpose of this project is to develop a
commercial scale cod farm in the Coast of Bays region with a
hatchery/nursery in Belleoram. It has been successfully demonstrated
that cod can be grown from egg to market size in the waters of
Newfoundland, and this larger scale operation will demonstrate the
viability and feasibility of a commercial cod farm.
Cooke Aquaculture plans to stock 200,000 - 250,000
juveniles in year one and 400,000 cod annually for year two and three.
The first year-class of fish will be harvested in year four. It is
anticipated that further year-classes of cod will be stocked in
subsequent years as the business continues to grow.
"Our company has already made a significant investment
in the development of cod aquaculture in Atlantic Canada," said CEO Mike
Cooke. "Our Alternate Species team has acquired considerable expertise
and experience in this relatively new endeavor and our sales team has
created a real interest in high quality fresh farmed cod in the
marketplace. We are extremely pleased to be able to partner with both
levels of government on this demonstration farm and look forward to
working with them in bringing the region�s cod farming sector to full
commercialization."
In addition to successfully bringing commercial
quantities of cod to market, this project will also provide an
opportunity to train students and workers in the area of cod farming, as
well as providing an opportunity for further research and development to
occur.
Seventeen new jobs will result from the cod
demonstration project, in addition to a number of other employment
opportunities in the processing, production and other supply and service
sectors.
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Media contacts:
Ann Matejicka
Director of Communications
Minister�s Office
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
613-992-3474 |
Bob Fagan
Regional Director of
Communications
Newfoundland and Labrador
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
709-772-7622 |
Lori Lee Oates
Director
of Communications
Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture
Government of Newfoundland and Labrador
709-729-3733,
690-8403
oatesll@gov.nl.ca |
Ross Butler
VP Operations
Cooke Aquaculture
506-456-6600 |
BACKGROUNDER
Cod Demonstration Farm Project
The Newfoundland and Labrador Commercial Atlantic Cod
Farm Demonstration Project will develop a commercial-scale cod farm in
Newfoundland and Labrador. This project will use "best approach"
techniques and equipment to successfully grow cod from fry through to
market size, and show the technical and economic feasibility of cod
farming in Newfoundland and Labrador.
This project will help to diversify the aquaculture
sector in Newfoundland and Labrador, and also create sustainable jobs,
growth and opportunity for rural communities and the people of the
province. Seventeen new farm jobs will be created as part of this
project, in addition to an undetermined number of jobs in processing and
production, along with additional employment in other areas of the
supply and service sector.
The sites for the demonstration farm will be in the
Hermitage Bay area on the south coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. The
former scallop hatchery at Belleoram will be refurbished and equipped to
serve as a nursery.
A total of 200,000 - 250,000 cod will be stocked in
the first year and an estimated 400,000 annually for years two and
three. Juveniles will be supplied by Memorial University of
Newfoundland�s Ocean Sciences Centre and the University of New
Brunswick�s hatchery facility in Shippegan, New Brunswick. The eggs will
be sourced from the two elite broodstocks developed in the respective
provinces by the Genome Atlantic broodstock program.
The demonstration farm will be a multi-year
undertaking, recognizing that harvesting and marketing of the first-year
class of fish will not occur until year four.
On March 2, 2009, the Government of Canada and the
Government of Newfoundland and Labrador announced a $8.5 million project
to develop a cod aquaculture demonstration farm on Newfoundland�s South
Coast. Fisheries and Oceans Canada will invest $1 million from the
Aquaculture Innovation Program (AIMAP); and the Atlantic Canada
Opportunities Agency (ACOA) is investing $500,000 from its Business
Development Program (BDP). The Province of Newfoundland and Labrador has
committed $2 million over four years.
Cooke Aquaculture, an independent family-owned
aquaculture company based in Blacks Harbour, New Brunswick, employs
1,500 people in Atlantic Canada and Maine. It generates more than $270
million in annual sales while delivering a wide variety of high quality
farmed seafood products to the Canadian and United States marketplace.
Recognizing the tremendous potential for aquaculture in Newfoundland and
Labrador, Cooke established its first salmon farms in the Fortune Bay
area in 2006.
2009 03 02 1:20 p.m.
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