The authority is ready to back a C$16-million project by Gray Aqua Group Limited of New Brunswick for a four-site salmon aquaculture operation in the Bay d’Espoir region with C$7.8 million. The province said that it will provide a loan guarantee of C$6.8 million under the Aquaculture Working Capital Loan Guarantee Initiative and an equity investment of C$1 million under the Aquaculture Capital Equity Investment Programme.
The Honourable Trevor Taylor, Acting Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, made the announcement. According to Taylor this new development will add significantly to the current growth of the provincial aquaculture industry, particularly on the south coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. He said that it will dramatically increase the production of salmon in our province and create meaningful employment opportunities and economic spin-off benefits for the entire region.
Tim Gray, Chairman and President of Gray Aqua Group Limited, informed that the new operation provides for 35 permanent jobs and 40-person years in processing employment. The Gray family is looking forward with excitement to working with the province, Landsbanki, ACOA and with the Conne River Band to expand its own business into a vertically integrated company.
The Provincial Government introduced the Aquaculture Working Capital Loan Guarantee Initiative in 2004 to facilitate access to working capital for qualified companies to fund their fish farming operations. Taylor told that the seafood industry in Newfoundland and Labrador continues to be a top priority for government and we continue to do what we can to ensure it remains an integral part of the province’s rural economy.
