Opportunities to Innovate for Oyster Growers in PEI

Quality Oyster Aquaculture Program aims to increase value and production

 

Shellfish is a significant and well-recognized component of PEI’s vibrant food industry. For oyster growers in PEI, new technology offers potential to build on their reputation for quality, and compete in export markets. That’s why the governments of Canada and Prince Edward Island are supporting programming at West Prince Ventures Ltd that gives businesses in rural PEI better access to innovative, modernized equipment and processes.

 

West Prince Ventures is implementing the Quality Oyster Aquaculture Program (QOAP) for 2018/19, providing an incentive for oyster aquaculture operations to expand production through the adoption of technologies used to produce cultivated oysters on private leases.

 

Bobby Morrissey, Member of Parliament for Egmont, on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), and the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, along with the Honourable Robert Henderson, Prince Edward Island Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture, today made the announcement.

 

ACOA, through its Business Development Program, is providing a non-repayable contribution of $350,000. Fisheries and Oceans Canada, along with the province of PEI, will cost-share a non-repayable contribution of $350,000 through the Atlantic Fisheries Fund (AFF). The provincial government will also add a grant of $95,000 through the PEI Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.

 

The AFF is a contribution program funded jointly by the federal and provincial governments to help generate opportunities and increase the market value for sustainably sourced, high-quality fish and seafood products from Atlantic Canada.

 

This investment builds on commitments made by the Government of Canada and the four Atlantic Provinces to drive economic growth in the region through the Atlantic Growth Strategy, which supports strategic investments in initiatives that build on the region’s competitive advantages, such as its thriving food industry, strong export potential, growing innovation network and skilled workforce.

Video: Ask A Farmer: How are broiler chickens raised in Canada?

As more and more Canadians become removed from farms and ranches, many people have questions about how animals are being raised on Canadian farms. Tiffany Martinka is active on social media and has made a point of sharing how their family farm takes care of their chickens. In this podcast, Tiffany explains the audited programs that all Canadian farmers must follow and describes how this system of raising chickens is unique in a global setting.

The main points of this podcast include:

What it is like on a broiler chicken farm and the process that chicken farmers go through.

The different programs that farmers must follow, and be audited on, to be licensed to sell broiler chicken in Canada.

The full circle of practices on Tiffany’s family farm, including growing their own feed for chickens, then recycling the manure back onto the fields to grow future crops.