The government of Canada is investing CAD 38 million (USD 27 million, EUR 25 million) into the seafood sector in the province of New Brunswick through the Atlantic Fisheries Fund (AFF).
“Investments through the Atlantic Fisheries Fund help our coastal communities thrive in the fishing and seafood sector,” Minister of Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard Diane Lebouthillier said in a statement. “We are proud to contribute to innovative and new technologies to help make the sector more sustainable, efficient, and ensure that our seafood is of the highest quality for the global seafood market.”
The AFF was established in 2017 to invest CAD 400 million (USD 283 million, EUR 268 million) into the fish and seafood sector in Canada’s Atlantic provinces over a seven-year period, allocating the funding to projects focused on innovation, infrastructure, or science partnerships. According to the DFO, this latest investment “will help harvesters and processors modernize and test new equipment as well as improve productivity, and increase ecologically friendly practices in the New Brunswick fish and seafood sector.”
The latest CAD 38 million in funding will be spread across 72 individual projects, including 31 processing projects, 21 aquaculture projects, 16 harvesting projects, and four multisector projects. The single largest investment is CAD 9.1 million (USD 6.4 million, EUR 6 million) for The New Brunswick Association of Community Business Development Corporation’s (CBDC) Seafood Technology Adoption Program, which helps seafood companies in the province adopt new technologies. The program reimburses companies on 75 percent of the eligible costs after completing a project.
"Our fisheries and aquaculture sectors are a CAD 1.7 billion (USD 1.2 billion, EUR 1.1 billion) industry that supports the economy and sustains New Brunswick's rural, coastal and Indigenous communities,” New Brunswick Minister of Agriculture, Aquaculture, and Fisheries Pat Finnigan said in a statement. “The Atlantic Fisheries Fund enables fish harvesters and processors to modernize their operations, adopt innovative practices, and improve productivity. We are strongly committed to supporting the resilience and long-term viability of these sectors.”
The AFF will continue to invest in projects through 31 March 2026, when all projects receiving AFF funding must be completed by.
Earlier in November, the Canadian government announced CAD 7.7 million (USD 5.5 million, EUR 5.2 million) in AFF investments in the province of Prince Edward Island. In 2023, the government announced CAD 25 million (USD 18.2 million, EUR 16.6 million) in AFF investments in Newfoundland.
