Federal and N.B. governments invest in equipment in aquaculture processing

ST. GEORGE — The Government of Canada and the Province of New Brunswick announced funding support to True North Salmon Limited Partnership and Cooke Aquaculture Inc. through the Atlantic Fisheries Fund (AFF).

The AFF funding — a repayable contribution of over $6.7 million towards total project costs of over $15.6 million — will be used for the purchase of high-tech equipment for True North Salmon’s processing plant in St. George, NB. The new equipment will improve value added processing and enable individual product portioning.

True North is part of the Cooke Aquaculture group of companies. The equipment addition is part of a significant plant expansion that will double the size of the processing plant, allowing True North Salmon to better respond to market demands and labour shortages, while at the same time improving the overall productivity of the company.

This funding aims to enable Cooke Aquaculture to consolidate its local salmon processing capacity, with a product mix that is more flexible and better adapted to consumer needs.

The contribution is from the $400 million Atlantic Fisheries Fund (AFF), funded by the federal and provincial governments. The AFF focuses on increasing opportunities and market value for sustainably sourced, high-quality fish and seafood products from Atlantic Canada.

“This new and improved equipment will allow True North Salmon to continue delivering high-quality salmon products that Cooke Aquaculture is known for while ensuring good jobs remain in our coastal communities. The seafood industry is the heartbeat of the Atlantic Canadian economy and expansions like this one are essential to Canada’s ongoing success as a world-leader in delivering fresh and high quality seafood products,” said Diane Lebouthilier, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard.