The Canadian government has announced funding support worth CAD$8.1 million for projects in the New Brunswick area aimed at implementing sustainable growing methods, new automation technologies and applied research in the fishing and aquaculture industry.
The funding will help 21 projects including CAD$2 million for a new marine laboratory, funding for the delivery of the Oyster Farm Development Programme, a new oyster hatchery operation and support for L’Étang du Ruisseau Bar Limitée which specialises in the culture of the American oyster.
Seventeen other businesses will also adopt innovative technology to count and grade oysters automatically, and store oysters.
The contribution comes from the $400 million Atlantic Fisheries Fund, jointly funded by the federal and provincial governments, and focuses on increasing opportunities and market value for sustainably sourced, high-quality fish and seafood products from Atlantic Canada.
“The lobster fishery and shellfish aquaculture industries are major generators of economic activity in rural and coastal communities in the Atlantic Region," said The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard.
"We are proud to fund these innovative projects, creating jobs, and providing the needed support to assist these companies to remain productive in markets close to home and abroad," he added.
The Atlantic Fisheries Fund provides investment for commercial fisheries and the aquaculture industry, indigenous groups, academia and industry associations and organisations. The programme will run for the next seven years and eligible projects should focus on innovation, infrastructure and science partnerships.
