By Clayton Hunt
(The Coaster).- Cooke Aquaculture Inc. recently received $35,000 from the Newfoundland and Labrador provincial government to help the company send workers from Harbour Breton to New Brunswick for processing training.

The company was one of 10 proponents from across the province involved in the fishery and aquaculture that's benefiting from more than $263,000 in investments under the provincial government's Fisheries Technol-ogy and New Opportunities Program.

The Cooke funding is aimed specifically at training assistance for the Harbour Breton processing facility. The money will be used to help the company send workers to New Brunswick for processing training and for the individuals to return to the province to conduct a training program for all workers at the Harbour Breton facility. Nell Halse, the director of communications with Cooke Aquaculture, said the company realized when officials made a deal with the community and the union to become involved with a work-share program that more workers would have to be trained, which would be an extra cost to the company.

"The provincial government, at that time, said that they would use the Fisheries Technology and New Opportunities Program to assist us in bearing some of that training cost. The government money, however, will only cover about one-third of what it will actually cost the company to train more people in the specific skills required for our operation at the Harbour Breton plant in processing salmon," Mrs. Halse said. "In addition to bringing people to New Brunswick for training, it will also be used to help us send New Brunswick personnel to Harbour Breton."

Cooke's involvement in Gaultois

Mrs. Halse noted that the company already has 12 residents of Gaultois employed in its grow-out sites near the community and that a few more people could be employed in the future.

She noted that Cooke Aquaculture will use some storage sheds as dry feed storage sites in the community. A Newfoundland vessel from Arnold's Cove will deliver feed to Gaultois where it will be off-loaded into the storage areas. The feed will then be returned to the wharf when it is needed at the grow-out sites. This deal is going ahead, according to Mrs. Halse, who also said that the company is looking at the possibility of having a moist feed manufacturing site in Gaultois.

"We already have a moist feed plant in new Brunswick but as this type of feed has a short shelf life, and is more perishable than dry feed, we cannot deliver the product to Newfoundland from New Brunswick. This is not a done deal for the community, but the company is working at the logistics of this idea," Mrs. Halse said. "This plant will be very important for us as moist feed is used mainly in our first-year production and smolt sites as these salmon adjust to the moist feeding fairly readily. Some of these sites are located near Gaultois so a moist feed plant there will be a benefit to the community and to the company."

She added that a moist feed plant would employ three to four people in the community.

Source: http://www.thecoaster.ca