Fisheries and Aquaculture
December 17, 2010
Development Project for Flying Fish
Roe Assists Grand Bank Processing Facility
Clearwater Seafoods is examining
options for making flying fish roe part of its product line at
its processing facility in Grand Bank. The Provincial Government
is providing the company with approximately $27,000 to assist
with product development through the Fisheries Technology and
New Opportunities Program. The funding will support research,
recipe development, sample production and sample testing. Once
the product is developed to a commercial level, Clearwater
Seafoods will be the only Canadian company providing it to North
American buyers. The total project costs are estimated to be
$91,000, with Clearwater Seafoods contributing the remainder of
the funding.
"This project is designed to make the
Grand Bank operation more viable," said the Honourable Clyde
Jackman, Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture. "It builds on
the competitive advantage of the Grand Bank facility which is
already a producer of capelin roe. The project has the potential
to open up a new market and attract new business from all over
the world. Adding flying fish roe to the Clearwater product line
can help to improve employment in the fishing industry over the
long term and enable Clearwater to improve the viability of the
Grand Bank facility."
The production of fish roe is similar
to the production of capelin roe. Capelin roe is already a
successful high-quality Newfoundland and Labrador product.
Flying fish roe can be produced in a similar way, using the same
equipment that is currently used to produce capelin roe. In
addition, demand traditionally increases for flying fish roe
when capelin roe is not available.
"We at Clearwater are committed to
producing the best product possible and exploring new options,"
said Eric Roe, Chief Operations Officer, Clearwater Seafoods.
"This fish roe project is just one example. Without the funding
from the program, a project like this would not be possible. It
has the potential to grow and create an entirely new market for
us. In 2008, we added capelin roe to our product line at the
Grand Bank plant and we are currently the only processor in
Canada producing capelin row. Now we could potentially be the
only processor of flying fish roe as well."
Before moving forward with this
project, Clearwater Seafoods carried out market analyses work.
This included a market evaluation to determine the size of
domestic and global markets for the product. The company has
also been researching raw material availability to determine the
current global supply of flying fish roe, the stability and
viability of the resource, key producing countries and vendors
that might be interested in supplying raw material.
"I am pleased that Clearwater Seafoods
has received this funding," said the Honourable Darin King,
Minister of Education and MHA for Grand Bank. "Effective product
and market development is instrumental and a key component to
the growth of this particular fishery. If proven successful, it
will certainly increase demand for the product and have a
positive effect on the local industry from processing to product
distribution."
The Fisheries Technology and New
Opportunities Program is an important component of the Fishing
Industry Renewal Strategy. Since its launch, the program has
invested approximately $5.6 million in industry-driven projects.
A total of 118 projects have been funded since the program was
created. Investment in the program has leveraged an additional
$16.3 million from the industry and its partners. These
initiatives have generated a total of $21.4 million for fishing
industry research and development in the province.
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Media contacts:
Lori Lee Oates
Director of Communications
Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture
709-729-3733, 690-8403
oatesll@gov.nl.ca
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Eric Roe
Chief Operating Officer
Clearwater Seafood Limited
eroe@clearwater.ca |
Derick W. Reid
Executive Assistant
to the Honourable Darin King
MHA Grand Bank
709-729-1658
DerickReid@gov.nl.ca
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2010 12 17
9:50 a.m.
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