The Government of Canada and the Province of New Brunswick announced funding support to True North Seafood and Cooke Aquaculture Inc. through the Atlantic Fisheries Fund (AFF). The repayable contribution is over CAD 6.7 million (EUR 4.5 million / USD 4.9 million) for total project costs of over CAD 15.6 million (EUR 10.6 million / USD 11.4 million), and will be used to purchase high-tech equipment for the salmon processing plant of True North Seafood, part of the Cooke Aquaculture group of companies in St. George, NB, which will improve value-added processing and enable individual product portioning.
"With this program support in our processing value chain, our St. George salmon plant will become a state-of the-art facility which strengthens our ability to produce retail-ready seafood in a safe and sustainable manner," said Glenn Cooke, CEO, Cooke Aquaculture Inc. "This expansion project is the cornerstone of our company’s overall investment plans in Atlantic Canada and the new advanced equipment is designed to keep our operation streamlined," he added.
True North Salmon's major processing plant expansion project will see the plant double in size, enabling it to better respond to market demands and labor shortages, while improving the company's overall productivity. The ultimate goal of the BPP funding is to enable Cooke Aquaculture to consolidate its local salmon processing capacity, with a more flexible product range that is better adapted to consumer needs.
As mentioned, the CAD 6.7 million (EUR 4.5 million / USD 4.9 million) contribution comes from the Atlantic Fisheries Fund. Introduced in 2017, the AFF is focused on increasing opportunities and market value for Atlantic Canada's high-quality, sustainably sourced fish and seafood products, and will continue to do so until the end of its 7-year life span. Endowed with a total of CAD 400 million (EUR 274 million / USD 294.6 million), it is co-funded by the governments of Canada and the Atlantic provinces.
Of the total amount of the Atlantic Fisheries Fund, the federal government provides 70% of the funding, while the Atlantic provinces provide 30%. For this reason, both the federal and New Brunswick fisheries officials have also joined in the assessment of this project, which will be a milestone for True North Seafood and Cooke Aquaculture Inc.
"This new and improved equipment will allow True North Salmon to continue delivering high-quality salmon products that Cooke Aquaculture is known for while ensuring good jobs remain in our coastal communities," said Diane Lebouthilier, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard. "The seafood industry is the heartbeat of the Atlantic Canadian economy and expansions like this one are essential to Canada’s ongoing success as a world-leader in delivering fresh and high-quality seafood products," she pointed out.
For her part, Margaret Johnson, Minister of Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries for the Province of New Brunswick, also spoke along the same lines. "We are happy to support the expansion and the well-paying jobs it supports," she said. "Aquaculture in New Brunswick is a success story known around the world. The True North expansion is an exciting project for the provincial aquaculture industry and I look forward to seeing how successful it will be."