The Government of Canada and the Province of New Brunswick announced a repayable contribution of just over $1 million for Miscou Fish Products Inc. and the Canadian Crab Packers Associates Limited for new equipment and technologies to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their processing operations. The contribution derives from the $400 million Atlantic Fisheries Fund (AFF), focused on growing opportunities and increasing market value for sustainably sourced, high-quality fish and seafood products from Atlantic Canada.
On 25th May 25 last year a fire devastated the seafood processing facilities of Miscou Fish Products, located on Miscou Island in northern New Brunswick. A decision was made to rebuild the plant and acquire state-of-the-art processing equipment and implement innovative processes to bring the company at the forefront of quality standards and automation to meet market demand for seafood products.
‘This project will bring back jobs that were lost due to the fire and contribute to the economic development of the area. This is good news for the people of Miscou and surrounding areas,’ said New Brunswick’s Minister of Agriculture, Mines and Rural Affairs Wilfred Roussel as the announcement was made.
This project includes the acquisition of this equipment to develop a truly innovative plant in this remote community. This project will create jobs that were lost due to the fire and contribute to the economic development of the area.
Miscou Fish Products Inc. and Canadian Crab Packers Associated Limited (Canapak) are owned by Hiroshi Inoue.
‘We are pleased to announce this funding for Miscou Fish Products and the Canadian Crab Packers Associates Limited today. It will help to create jobs in our area and to create economic growth in the future. That is what our government promised early on, and we are proud to deliver on that promise,’ commented Serge Cormier, MP for Acadie-Bathurst.
The AFF will invest in projects over the next seven years. The commercial fisheries and aquaculture industry, Indigenous groups, universities and academia and industry associations and organisations, including research institutions, may apply.
Eligible projects must focus on:
• Innovation – to support research and development of new innovations that contribute to sustainability of the fish and seafood sector, and to create partnerships and networks that aim to promote and encourage innovations in the sector
• Infrastructure – to adapt new technologies, processes, or equipment to improve the effectiveness and sustainability of the fish and seafood sector
• Science Partnerships – fisheries and aquaculture industry based partnerships with academia and institutions to enhance knowledge and understanding of the impacts of changing oceanographic conditions and sustainable harvesting technology
