Storm Fiona hammers Canadian east coast seafood sector, Ottawa promises aid
THE seafood sector along Canada’s east coast was battered by storm Fiona at the end of September.The damage is likely to run into millions of dollars and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has committed to CAN $300m (£197m) in emergency funding.
Such events are rare in this part of Canada and Fiona was one of the most powerful storms for many years.
The storm hit provinces such as Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and
Prince Edward Island. It tore up buildings and left much of the region without power.
Along with the damage to homes, Fiona tore into fish farms, fishing harbours and seafood processing sites. But reports suggest that the region’s lobster industry in some areas may have been the hardest hit.
However, because the level of lobster fishing is lower in the autumn the damage may not be as severe as it could have been.The industry is likely to ask for an extension to the fishing season to make up for some of the losses.
Osborne Burke, general manager of the Victoria Coop Fisheries in Neil’s Harbour, Nova Scotia, told CBC news that the plant suffered “horrendous” damage, and several 40-foot sea containers full of frozen fish were “thrown around like dominoes”.
The extent of the damage to salmon farms is still being assessed but major names such as Grieg and Mowi have facilities in that area.
The Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance (CAIA) estimates are that the farmed shellfish sector alone on Prince Edward Island has suffered at least CAN $50m (£33m) in damages. Almost all these marine farmers are small and medium-sized businesses, the CAIA says, who cannot access private insurance for crop loss and disasters, while land farmers have access to government cost-sharing programs to support them.
Timothy Kennedy, CAIa President & CEO, said:“Food security and inflation are the top concerns of Canadians, and we have a massive opportunity to grow healthy, sustainable seafood in Canada through aquaculture. However, our sector growth has flatlined for two decades, in large part because of a lack of will at the federal level. An event like Fiona sets us back, but also brings to attention the lack of consistent, national programs for seafood farmers to succeed.
“We appreciate the Prime Minister’s commitment of $300m for Fiona recovery, but the federal government must build the proper system of longterm supports to grow the seafood farming sector in Canada.”