Emergency Response: The Governments of Canada and Quebec Join Forces to Help Quebec Fish Farmers

The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, André Lamontagne, the Minister of Forests, Wildlife and Parks, Pierre Dufour, as well as the federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, are announcing that the Government of Canada and the Government of Quebec will join forces to financially support Quebec fish farmers in the exceptional context created by COVID-19.

 

Quebec fish farmers are an important cog in the wheel of food production. The closure of restaurants and the cessation of fishing activities have had a major impact on Quebec's fish farming industry. This situation has led to a drop in the volume of fish purchased from fish farmers and generated a surplus of inventory. The financial contribution from the Quebec government and the federal government is in the order of $408,000 and $612,000 respectively. This financial support will therefore make it possible to minimize the fish mortalities related to these surpluses and to limit financial losses by supporting the stocking of public water bodies.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.