MARYSTOWN, N.L. — A federal Liberal Party promise to shut down open pen salmon farming in British Columbia by the year 2025 will not have any impact on the industry in this province, Premier Dwight Ball told The Southern Gazette Thursday
“Not for Newfoundland and Labrador, it's a different jurisdiction, there’s different regulations,” said Ball.
"It's not the case here in Newfoundland and Labrador, there's a joint jurisdiction so any decisions on the future of aquaculture will include both the provincial government and federal government.”
Ball added the provincial government can see the potential for employment in the aquaculture industry.
“In particular in the rural areas creating thousands of jobs for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians — we still see great potential in our province for the growth of the aquaculture industry.”
Premier Ball was in Marystown attending an event celebrating the sale of the Kiewit owned shipyard facility to Paul Antle of Marbase.
Marbase is a partnership between Antle, a former Liberal candidate in multiple elections and owner of the St. John’s Dockyard, and Norwegian aquaculture businessman Bjorn Apeland.
During the event held at the Marystown Hotel and Convention Centre, Antle said a first piece of business for Marbase is the development of a cleaner fish hatchery at the Marystown site.
“We want to establish the first commercial lump fish hatchery in Marystown and we will build it on the Marystown shipyard footprint, that’s our first project.”
Lump fish is used in aquaculture as a natural preventative measure against sea lice.
“We’re trying to put the hatchery in as quickly as we possibly can,” Antle explained. “It’s a land-based hatchery — we’re hoping to deliver our first lump fish to the industry by 2021."
