The Honourable Gail Shea, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), joined by Neil LeClair, P.E.I. Minister of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Rural Development, today has declared $160,000 in funding under DFO’s Aquaculture Innovation and Market Access Program (AIMAP) for the Halibut P.E.I. project. Halibut P.E.I. will carry out a feasibility project in Prince Edward Island, over eight months to determine the advantages of establishing land-based halibut aquaculture grow-out operations using existing facilities and salt water wells.
Minister Shea informed that the Government of Canada is committed to enhancing the global competitiveness, productivity and environmental performance of Canada’s aquaculture industry through AIMAP, which will provide $23.5 million to Canada’s aquaculture industry over the next five years. Shea also added that investing in the Halibut P.E.I. project means supporting a vibrant producer sector that contributes to the economies of rural, coastal and First Nations communities.
Neil LeClair, P.E.I. Minister of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Rural Development, has expressed that it is god to be a part with Fisheries and Oceans Canada and J. Dunphy Inc. in funding for a project to study the potential of land-based halibut aquaculture culture in Prince Edward Island. The Halibut PEI project will be carried out at the Morning Star Fisheries plant in Victoria, P.E.I. Jim Dunphy, President of J. Dunphy Inc., the project proponent, opined that this eight-month feasibility project will show that commercial land-based aquaculture halibut grow-out operations can be established in several locations around P.E.I. that have access to salt water wells.
