Fish farmers committed to protecting the marine environment

Since 2001, Grieg Seafood BC Ltd. has raised Atlantic, Chinook and Coho salmon at locations on the east and west coasts of Vancouver Island, and near to Sechelt, north of Vancouver. Its total employment is around 120 persons including its head office in Campbell River, hatchery operations at Gold River, and 15 farm sites dotting coastal inlets. 

BC's aquaculture industry contributes 6,000 jobs to the regional economy and is valued at $800 million annually. "Grieg Seafood is committed to protecting the marine environment where our salmon farms are located, an environment that is so important to aboriginal communities for food gathering, canoe journeys and other cultural practices," says Managing Director Stewart Hawthorn.

Hawthorn, who joined Grieg Seafood in 2010 and relocated with his family from New Zealand, managed similar aquaculture operations and established productive relationships with Maori groups in support of their own economic activities. "Grieg has agreements with several First Nations around north Vancouver Island and the coast. “My discussions with chiefs and councils have included how we can develop aquaculture training programs which lead to employment at our farm sites and at our hatchery at Gold River.”

“For some, our support contributes to a community's economic plans to manage their own shellfish aquaculture operations. Grieg's long-term success is tied to working with our First Nation partners, and toward their efforts to develop skills and capacity amongst their own people, particularly young families."

The industry believes that partnerships with First Nations can respond to the need for jobs in more remote communities. Many of these jobs are on the fish farms, and also in the support industries such as trucking and processing. "We recognize the public interest in aquaculture and in managing our farming practices well," continued Hawthorn. 

"And that is why we invite our Aboriginal partners to meet with us, learn about our business, and tour our farms to see first-hand how we take care to raise our fish. We also acknowledge that our partners are stewards of the waters where we operate." Hawthorn states, "Grieg Seafood believes in continuous improvement." "Our relationships with First Nations has benefited us in so many ways, including how we plan for our business, and how our aboriginal partners can share in our success too."

Anti-aquaculture campaigners with the Living Oceans Society are simply wrong in their recent criticism of our Plover Point farm site application,” says Grant Warkentin, Communications Officer, Mainstream Canada. “They are missing the key point that our new site is a better environmental choice than the old one it will replace. Our old Cormorant site is in a location which is not optimal for growing fish to harvest size and is used for smolt entry only. “ (Once the smolts in Cormorant reach a suitable size, they must be transferred to other sites.)

The Plover Point site, located in Ahousaht First Nation territory, was identified as a suitable replacement site in the protocol agreement between Ahousaht and Mainstream Canada because it is located in deeper water and in a better location with less risk of environmental impacts. It is appropriate for growing fish from smolt size to harvest size, “and will allow us to increase fallow times at other sites in the region, lowering our overall environmental impact while still maintaining our current level of production.”

The Plover Point site we have applied for will, if approved, replace Mainstream’s Cormorant site in their production plans. “The Cormorant site will be transferred to the Ahousaht First Nation, as per our protocol agreement with the Ahousaht government, for the Ahousaht to use for their own purposes.”

 

Nunavut Connections, Inuit-owned transportation services for the Arctic

“Business will run essentially from Churchill where we have an office. We transport anything that comes by rail and ship to communities in the Kvaliut region,” explains Elizabeth Copland, Nunavut Connections President, "communities including my own, Arviat (pop. 2,800), second largest Nunavut community. Shipping is of vehicles, groceries, building materials, and other goods and equipment,” delivering to companies like the Northern Store, or Arviat’s local Coop, and the Independent Eskimo Point Lumber store.

Nunavut is building capacity for new industry and the communities decided to get engaged in the process, “We hope to build a training program and expand operations. We want to grow the company and improve end-services with a fuel tank farm, port maintenance and railway and marine services, and eventually construction services. We have a big port that has been used for a number of years.”

The Churchill harbour facilities employ office workers and 12 stevedores that work cranes and heavy equipment. They are all from Churchill. “I have family there, so I am in Churchill on a number of occasions through the year. We could be soon developing programs to recruit and train. Things are going real well since the launch of the new enterprise. ” Meanwhile, she lives in Arviat, “Our temperatures are pretty much the same with Northern Manitoba the only difference is we do not have any trees.

July 2011 was the first sailing of a ship served by Nunavut Connections with the opening of the sea-lanes, and the shipping into these areas will run till October, weather permitting. Copland notes that, “In the north mining is booming and other companies and groups want to take part or get involved. Our shareholders decided to form a company to get a piece of the economic development action.”

She adds, “We are very familiar with Churchill,” Arviat lying due north on the shore of Hudson’s Bay, “and Nunavut needs these opportunities for the young people, jobs involving skills and service to their own communities.” 

Nunavut Connections brings together a broad base of shareholders from across the Baffin and Kivalliq regions. "We believe this is the opportune time for us to partner with a well-established company such as OmniTRAX Canada," said Simon Merkosak of Pond Inlet, a shareholder in the venture. "Nunavut needs these type of ventures to benefit not only the people of Nunavut but also our young Nunavut government."

Eitan Dehtiar of OmniTRAX Canada explains, “Several Kivalliq and Baffin business people approached us with a way to work together in the north about six months ago and the planning came together to build employment, ownership, and improved reliability of service,” giving Nunavut region communities better control over expedition of goods.

The new business initiative provides a better ability for economic developers to manoeuvre around political situations, as well as giving the region an entrepreneurial leg-up on business conducted by southern companies presently directing operations in the north. “This scenario is different in meeting service levels required, and we launched with twelve stevedore jobs in Churchill, when, in mid-May 2011, we took on local staff.”

Part of the plan is to expand employment and employ-ability of personnel around the sea-lift capability and further developing year-long project support infrastructure in Churchill planning cycles. “We are pleased with the launch cycle that occurred this spring and summer, and I estimate that things are going fairly well. Our launch was well-received and by the end of October 2011 we will see the progress that was made,” says Dehtiar.

“The major effort this year has been to introduce the shareholders behind Nunavut Connections as a company that will move goods and services in the Kivalliq and Baffin region, showing continued support for the growth of these remote communities. The economic potential in the north is becoming very significant,” impossible to ignore.

The new company improves service levels and creates more financial viability to investors in other areas of economic development, such as mining. “We will have a much better sense by end of year of how the company will deploy in future during the short shipping season. The first ship sailed to various communities,” visited by marine carriers.

The goal is to expand, “ideally, across the board, for we want Churchill to remain a competitive port from a price perspective and a Nunavut business services perspective, and the focus is a considerable expansion of service levels in material shipping,” which requires, furthermore, an evaluation of infrastructure as part of the plan. “Churchill has existing facilities, the province of Manitoba is supportive, and we the province has have a Memorandum of Understanding with Nunavut.”

This development is perceived as a boost to Province of Manitoba’s capacity for economic development in the north. “We see James Bay area and the eastern shores of Hudson’s Bay as a potential part of the expansion and definitely part of this model of business activity.” Planning continues around the seasonality of the port. “In addition, we will supply air support to communities and make this a year-round part of operations.”