Derrick Dalley, Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture announced $86,000 in funding, which will be used to coordinate marketing activity across the industry, expand participation at international tradeshows, and promote the quality and sustainability certifications that producers and processors have recently earned.
“As part of the Provincial Government’s ongoing support of the aquaculture industry, C$86,000 will be provided to help differentiate Newfoundland and Labrador mussels globally,” said Minister Dalley. “Consumers in markets throughout the world are demanding high quality seafood produced in an eco-friendly manner, and so there is potential for our mussels to attract greater international attention with a strong campaign.”
This marketing initiative is being organised through the Newfoundland Aquaculture Industry Association and has several components. A promotional coordinator will be hired to manage all aspects of the campaign for the industry. A design firm will create promotional materials, and online promotional elements including a website and presence in social media will be developed. In addition, the association and its producers will conduct mussel tastings, chef demonstrations, and other promotional activities at international seafood trade shows.
“Our mussels are organic, produced in a sustainable, environmentally-sound manner, and are fully traceable,” said Cyr Couturier, Executive Director of the Newfoundland Aquaculture Industry Association.
“They are of the best quality anywhere, and we intend to capitalize on that with this campaign. We appreciate the Provincial Government’s contribution to our marketing efforts, and its support of the certifications we pursued. Both initiatives will help us achieve greater sales worldwide to benefit our farmers, producers, and all the people they employ.”
The Provincial Government has invested almost $1 million in the mussel industry since 2006; an investment that helped the industry achieve its highest mussel production in 2012, and assisted the certification of Newfoundland Mussels to the Canadian Organic Aquaculture Standard - the first mussels in North America to meet this standard.
The Provincial Government’s overall investment in aquaculture has helped create employment for approximately 1,000 people, and helped double aquaculture production market value so that it now exceeds C$100 million annually.
Budget 2013: A Sound Plan, A Secure Future included a C$2.2 million investment in Fisheries Technology and New Opportunities Program, which has promoted innovation in our billion dollar fishing and aquaculture industry by assisting more than 200 research and development projects since 2008.
