Canadian government invests in aquaculture

Canada's Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Gail Shea last week announced CA$4.7 million (US$4.5 million) in funding this year will be made available to the country's aquaculture industry to help create jobs and stimulate growth in rural communities.

Projects support by funding through the Aquaculture Innovation and Market Access Program (AIMAP) include a project in Newfoundland and Labrador -- Newfoundland Aqua Services Ltd. received CA$400,000 (US$385,000) for the development and evaluation of a land-based net washing technology.

Projects funded through AIMAP aim to offer growth opportunities for Canadian aquaculture operations. In addition to the funding announced on Friday, two previous rounds of AIMAP funding totaling CA$9.4 million have been made available over the past two years to fund innovative aquaculture projects.