The Canadian government has renewed the Quebec Fisheries Fund with a budget of CAD 50 million (USD 35.5 million, EUR 31.2 million) over the next five years.
Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and Canada Minister of Fisheries Joanne Thompson, along with Quebec Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food Donald Martel, announced the renewal, which they said will help the industry to innovate and reach new markets to ensure it remains competitive. Canada has announced other funding for Quebec in the past, and this latest instance will be funded 60 percent by the government of Canada and 40 percent by the government of Quebec.
"Renewing the Quebec Fisheries Fund gives people in the sector the tools to grow and reach new markets,” Thompson said. “It helps businesses sell their products in more places, and it backs the new ideas and stronger infrastructure that get them there. By bringing harvesters and scientists together, the fund also helps those same businesses adapt and find new opportunities. That adds up to a stronger future for the people who harvest and process in Quebec and for the communities that depend on the fishery."
The Quebec Fisheries Fund was first launched in 2019 and contributed CAD 42.8 million (USD 30.4 million, EUR 26.7 million) over five years. In that time, it funded 198 different projects in the province.
DFO said the new funding will go to a range of products designed to boost the productivity and competitiveness of the province’s seafood sector, with a focus on developing new markets for Quebec’s products.
“At a time when reaching new markets and reducing reliance on any single one matters more than ever, this support helps the sector plan for a prosperous and sustainable future for the fishery,” DFO said.
The department said it will focus on four main pillars when deciding on which projects will be granted funding: innovation, infrastructure, scientific partnerships, and market development and diversification.
“The industry had been waiting for the renewal of the Quebec Fisheries Fund, and I am very pleased that our government is responding to this call,” Martel said. “Fisheries and aquaculture play a vital role in the economy and development of our coastal regions. This agreement will provide businesses with the predictability they need to carry out their projects, improve their productivity, and develop new markets.”
Thompson has repeatedly emphasized the importance of Canada’s seafood industry to the economy and, during this year's Seafood Expo North America in March, held a press conference to announce it was committed to renewing the fisheries fund.
“We know it drives economic prosperity, it spurs on innovation, and it promotes sustainability across the fish and seafood sector,” she said during the press conference.
Thompson told SeafoodSource during the event that another aspect of the renewal is modernizing it to remain updated with industry and supply chain shifts.
“It was geared for that time, and we know things have shifted,” Thompson said. “This round of funding, we really wanted to look at it through partnerships, and I’m pleased to say that my counterparts in Quebec and Atlantic Canada really embraced that idea.”
