March 19, 2007

Native company hopes to expand joint venture with Marine Harvest

The Kitasoo First Nation, a native American group in Canada, is hoping it can expand its joint aquaculture venture with Marine Harvest Canada after a successful run last year.

The company hopes to expand its venture by two more sites. Last year, the joint venture processed about one million Atlantic salmon from two farm sites in 2006.

Percy Starr, a member of the band council, said the venture is a success story that the company wants to build on.

Unfortunately, the glacial approval process would hinder the venture. Approval was so slow in the past it interfered with plans for stocking and processing, he said.

Unless the applications are approved by mid-March there would be no production. The loss of these processing jobs would affect the community, he noted.

However, members of the special committee on sustainable aquaculture have said no approvals would be handed out to any aquaculture sites until a report is issued sometime before May 31.