Minister Shea Announces New Investment to Support Innovative Aquaculture Projects in B.C.

July 8, 2009

---

Campbell River, B.C. – Entrepreneurs involved in British Columbia’s aquaculture sector are receiving additional federal funding to help them innovate their operations, boost their productivity and improve their economic performance. Today Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Gail Shea announced that six B.C. businesses will receive more than $930,000 in federal funding to help them strengthen their businesses.

“When we invest in a stronger aquaculture sector, we are investing in more jobs and new business opportunities for communities throughout coastal B.C.,” said Minister Shea. “Our goal is to make the Canadian aquaculture industry stronger, more innovative and more environmentally sustainable in this increasingly competitive sector.”

The federal funding is being provided through the Aquaculture Innovation and Market Access Program (AIMAP). The Government of British Columbia, industry and universities are also contributing an additional $848,000 to these six projects.

Businesses receiving these investments include the B.C. Shellfish Growers Association, Odyssey Shellfish Ltd., Marine Harvest Canada, Walcan Seafoods Ltd., Deane V. Larson, and Agrimarine Industries Inc.

Specific projects being supported include testing net biofouling management technology, capturing and reusing fish effluent, introducing new mechanized clam harvest and automated oyster grading technology to B.C., testing ultraviolet light as a water discharge sterilizer; and adopting a parasite suppression technology for farmed salmon.

Under AIMAP, the Government of Canada is investing $23.5 million over five years to support the development of a vibrant and sustainable Canadian aquaculture industry that contributes to the economies of rural, coastal and First Nations communities. This is the second year of the five-year program.

For more information on Department of Fisheries and Oceans’s aquaculture program and the AIMAP application process, visit: www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/aquaculture/sustainable-durable/index-eng.htm. For information on the projects mentioned above, please view the media backgrounder on these initiatives.

Backgrounder:

• Aquaculture Innovation Projects in 2009

Fisheries and Oceans Minister Gail Shea announces funding to help make the Canadian aquaculture industry stronger, more competitive and more environmentally sustainable.

Left to Right: Parliamentary Secretary Randy Kamp, Deane Larson (Aquamex Net), Clare Backman (Marine Harvest Canada), Keith Reid ((Odyssey Shellfish Limited), Minister Gail Shea, Roberta Stevenson (BC Shellfish Growers Association), Larry Albright (AgriMarine Industries), Gerald Murphy (Walcan Seafoods), Luis Afonso (Centre for Aquatic Health Sciences), Steven Robinson (Agrimarine Industries).

- 30 -

For more information:

Michelle Imbeau
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Pacific Region 
W:  (604) 666-2872

Leri Davies
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Pacific Region
C:  (778) 228-8942

NR-PR-09-016e