The Canadian government has set up a CA$62.5 million package to support the fish and seafood processing sector through the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Canadian Seafood Stabilisation Fund will help ensure the resilience of the food system and provide tangible assistance to address the financial strain and instability that the industry is facing.
“The women and men in our fish and seafood sector have been feeding this country for generation,” said the Hon. Bernadette Jordan, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard. “Through the new Canadian Seafood Stabilisation Fund, our government is investing directly into this sector, ensuring the industry has the support it needs to adapt to current realities brought on by COVID-19. Bolstering our processing sector is vital to supporting fish harvesters and feeding Canadians.”
The fund will enable businesses to access short-term financing to pay for maintenance and inventory costs, add storage capacity for unsold product, comply with new health and safety measures for workers, support new manufacturing/automated technologies to improve productivity and quality of finished seafood products and adapt products to respond to changing requirements and new market demands.
The Canadian Seafood Stabilisation Fund will be delivered through the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions and Western Economic Diversification Canada.
