Fisheries and Aquaculture
April 3, 2014

Growth in Sealing Activity Supports Long-Term Prosperity

Carino Processing Limited Repays Loan and Secures Private Financing

Speaking to the strength of the growing provincial sealing industry, Carino Processing Limited has once again fully repaid a Provincial Government loan to support inventory financing within one year, and has now secured private investment that will finance future purchases from seal harvesters. The Honourable Keith Hutchings, Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, congratulated the company for its success, and for its efforts to further advance the provincial sealing industry as a strong global competitor.

“The sealing industry is culturally and economically significant to many rural areas in this province. It is conducted in a humane, highly professional, and carefully monitored manner, it is sustainable, and as Carino’s investors can attest, the wide array of seal products produced by the industry are in demand throughout Canada and around the world.  I congratulate Carino Processing Limited for debunking the rhetoric of anti-sealing advocates who say the sealing industry is not economically viable, and I look forward to seeing the company generate even more economic activity in rural areas in the future.”
- The Honourable Keith Hutchings, Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture

The Provincial Government had provided loans of up to $3.6 million to support inventory financing in 2012 and 2013, and in both cases these loans were repaid with interest before the beginning of the next sealing season.

“On behalf of Carino Processing Limited, I want to thank the Provincial Government for its ongoing support of the sealing industry. Through continuous partnership and strategic investments, the Provincial Government has helped the sealing industry grow and mature in the same way it has helped other industries with great economic potential grow and mature in Newfoundland and Labrador, and Carino is now in a position to take the industry to new levels of success.”
- Dion Dakins, Chief Executive Officer, Carino Processing Limited

In addition to providing loans for inventory financing, the Provincial Government has also assisted the sealing industry over the last several years with funding for sealer training seminars, product development projects, and marketing initiatives.

QUICK FACTS

• Carino Processing Limited has secured private investment to finance future purchases of seal products from harvesters, and has fully repaid the loan provided by the Provincial Government last year.
• In 2013 the landed value of the seal harvest was almost $2.7 million.
• A total of 88,644 seals were landed in 2013 compared to the 67,567 seals landed in 2012, which represents an increase of more than 30 per cent in the number of seals harvested.

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2014 04 03                                        2:45 p.m.