Mowi Canada East is greatly expanding its salmon hatchery in Stephenville, Newfoundland and Labrador, and provided responses to comments and concerns by the public both in-person and online.
The planned expansion includes a recirculating aquaculture system (RAS), where water is circulated through a number of filters and disinfection processes to maintain clean water in the fish tanks to avoid constantly circulating new water. Approximately 95 per cent of the water in the aquaculture system is reportedly cleaned and reused.
This system, according to Mowi, will eliminate the need to transport fish to the facility by truck, reduce time spent in sea-based pens for older salmon smolts and improve juvenile salmon survival while reducing stress on the fish in the facility.
A new wastewater treatment facility, wells, egg incubation system, vaccination and grading systems and fish transfer system are also part of the expansion.
Along with the infrastructure expansion, Mowi will be hiring 30 additional staff, 10 of which will be onsite at the Stephenville hatchery, to account for the added capacity of the hatchery. Hiring preference will be given to eligible locals.
As part of the expansion process, Mowi held both an online and in-person question period to address questions and concerns from the public.
Among the public’s first questions were regarding the timeline of the expansion project, which has been underway since 2019.
Aaron Bennet, Mowi’s Director of Development and Environmental Compliance, said that the project has been stalled until an environmental preview report can be submitted to the province.
“We are currently completing the environmental preview report and plan to submit it in the summer period of 2023,” said Bennet. “If the project is released from further environmental review in the fall of 2023, the construction will begin immediately on fish culture buildings three and four. Weather permitting, this construction will be complete in December 2024.”
Mowi sources its water from an aquifer that has been providing water to the hatchery since 2011, but some local residents are concerned about overusing the local aquifer. According to the Mowi team, the use of the aquifer is stringently regulated by the province to assure that the water source is properly conserved.
“Several surveys of the aquifer were done that included modelling the use over 10 years to see how quickly the water level in the aquifer can come back after water is used,” said Bennet. “These surveys show there is ample water for the hatchery and for other users.”
Another concern raised called back to an event in 2022, where Mowi was forced to cull 2.26 million fish due to a detection of infectious salmon anemia. Concerned parties questioned the company about whether they could assure that an outbreak on that scale wouldn’t happen again, and whether the facility’s salmon are still under quarantine. A separate matter raised was the ability of diseases to escape the hatchery and affect the wild fish populace.
“We are working to make sure this doesn’t happen again. The hatchery is still under quarantine, but we are expecting the quarantine to be lifted once the results of the most recent swab tests are complete,” said Bennet.
“All this culture water leaving the hatchery is screened to ensure no fish leave the hatchery. Particles like fish feces and scales down to very small sizes around 32 microns are removed. All water is UV disinfected to remove all pathogens before being discharged.”
In closing, Mowi expressed its commitment to the province for the future of its business model.
“Mowi is very committed to its farming business in Newfoundland and the people we employ throughout the supply chain,” said Bennet. “That is why we are looking to expand operations at our Indian Head hatchery to create an independent business unit in Newfoundland to provide year-round jobs throughout the supply chain and to supply strong market demand both in Canada and internationally.
Further information sessions will be held by Mowi in consultation with Indigenous groups, Stephenville’s Chamber of Commerce and town council as well as the College of the North Atlantic’s Stephenville Campus. More information can be found at indianheadproject.ca.
