The Governments of Canada and the Province of Nova Scotia have agreed to finance projects in the fish and seafood sector.
As part of the initiative, the governments will be investing in 14 businesses and help them to incorporate new technology.
They will also help these businesses to develop new partnerships and improve their effectiveness and sustainability in the fish and seafood sectors.
Nova Scotia Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Keith Colwell said: “Our fish and seafood sector provides quality jobs for Nova Scotians and economic opportunities in our coastal communities.
“With our partners in the Atlantic Fisheries Fund, we are helping the sector to develop a culture of innovation that will lead to increased productivity, competitiveness, quality and sustainability.”
The C$1m ($753,050) provided under the Atlantic Fisheries Fund will be offered to North Nova Seafoods for purchasing new equipment and to further improve seafood testing methods for ensuring high-quality, safe products for export.
J. K. Marine Services and Victoria Co-operative Fisheries will also benefit from the funding. They will use the funds for upgrading their existing in-house paper data entry system into one integrated entry system.
Funding will also be provided to the Herring Science Council for conducting an extensive tagging study of major spawning populations in the Bay of Fundy to support efforts to rebuild the stock.
Canada Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard Jonathan Wilkinson said: “The adoption of new technology in the Atlantic Canada fish and seafood sector is becoming increasingly important to ensure the sustainability of our enterprises and to maintain our products’ strong position in the global marketplace, while also creating opportunities for partnership and research.
“This funding will support the overall competitiveness of this sector that is so important to Canadians in small coastal and Indigenous communities.”
