Senator Fabian Manning, Government of Canada and the Honourable Tom Hedderson, Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, along with Mike Cooke, Chief Operating Officer, Cooke Aquaculture, have announced a $8.5 million project to develop a cod aquaculture demonstration farm in Newfoundland and Labrador. Senator Manning told that this project continues to place the province as a leader in the diversification of the Canadian aquaculture industry.
It is informed that the Government of Canada is committing $1.5 million to the project: the Department of Fisheries and Oceans is contributing $1 million under the Aquaculture Innovation and Market Access Program (AIMAP) and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) is investing $500,000. ACOA’s investment of $500,000 is being provided through the Business Development Program (BDP), which is designed to help clients set up, expand or modernize their business.
The Honourable Tom Hedderson opined that his government is pleased to be able to contribute to this extremely important aquaculture project to both the province and the country. He added that this is a cutting edge project that will assist nation’s aquaculture industry in moving to the next level with cod aquaculture.
It is noticed that the main aim of this project is to develop a commercial scale cod farm in the Coast of Bays region with a hatchery/nursery in Belleoram. CEO Mike Cooke explained that Cooke Aquaculture has already made a significant investment in the development of cod aquaculture in Atlantic Canada. He told that it is god to be a partner with both levels of government on this demonstration farm and look forward to working with them in bringing the region’s cod farming sector to full commercialization.
