Today Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Gail Shea announced that three Quebec businesses will receive a total of $66,000 in federal funding to help them strengthen their businesses. This investment is in addition to the $141,000 announced last year for two other Quebec aquaculture projects.
"When we invest in a stronger aquaculture sector, we are investing in more jobs and new business opportunities for communities throughout coastal Quebec," 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), which is investing $23.5 million over five years for the funding of innovative aquaculture projects that will contribute to the economic development of rural, coastal and First Nations communities.
The three projects selected have been submitted by the Societe de developpement de l'industrie maricole (SODIM):
- Iles-de-la-Madeleine: $22,000 for management of commercial-scale softshell clam grow-out operations.
- Iles-de-la-Madeleine: $8,000 for improving clam productivity through mechanization and automation of spat-sorting operations.
- Gaspe: $36,000 for technical-economic optimization of cooked mussel meat production processes.
The SODIM is a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to creating and developing profitable, competitive sea farming businesses in Quebec. SODIM and its regional partners will invest nearly $70,000 in these three projects.
