— April 26, 2016 —
Nova Scotia’s salmon farming industry generates about $80 million in economic activity and employs 670 people in direct and supply and service jobs, largely in coastal communities.
Today’s approvals will add 27 jobs and support Cooke Aquaculture’s investment and expansion plans for Nova Scotia. The company has already committed to growing its farming business, expanding its feed mill in Truro, building a hatchery in the Digby area and building a processing plant in the Shelburne area – all of which will create hundreds of additional jobs in coastal and rural Nova Scotia.
The salmon farming sector applauds Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter’s strategic and responsible, science-based approach to developing his province’s sustainable farming sector for the benefit of all
Nova Scotians. We just have to look to New Brunswick and Newfoundland to see the kind of results that strategic planning in aquaculture can bring. Salmon farming has created 1,870 jobs in Charlotte County, NB alone. An area once considered one of the poorest areas of the province is now one of the most dynamic. Newfoundland has seen the value of its industry rise by 50 per cent in one year from $60 million in 2009 to $90 million in 2010.
Our salmon farmers are committed to building a world-class, responsible and sustainable aquaculture industry. They know that aquaculture, the traditional fishery and tourism together can provide a diversified economic base for coastal communities and they are committed to working collaboratively with all stakeholders to grow this sector as set out in Nova Scotia’s Aquaculture Strategy.