Grieg's preparing for first N.L. salmon harvest, but its processing plan is causing waves

A rapidly growing player in the Newfoundland and Labrador aquaculture industry plans to harvest its first market-sized fish from Placentia Bay this fall, launching what company officials hope will be a profitable and environmentally sound business that will create hundreds of long-term jobs.

"We have proven that Placentia Bay is not only viable, it's actually a very preferable place to do fish farming," Perry Power, a spokesman for Grieg Seafood Newfoundland, told CBC News this week.

"The fish have performed extremely well. We're very pleased with their rate of growth and their healthand we look forward to expanding our operations as planned in Placentia Bay."

But Grieg's new plan for processing that salmon is drawing criticism.

Grieg Seafood Newfoundland has announced that 5,000 tonnes of farmed salmon will be harvested this fall from sea cages off Marasheen Island, near Southern Harbour. The cages were populated with fish that were grown to roughly 250 grams at the company's new hatchery in Marystownand will weigh as much as five kilograms at harvest time.

The fish are not able to reproduce, said Power, which addresses a major concern about escapees breeding with wild salmon.

Grieg hopes to eventually produceup to 33,000 tonnes of fish annually, from up to 11 sites throughout Placentia Bay, which would more than double salmonproduction in the province from 2021 levels.

Quinlan Brothers wins processing contract

But instead of processing its fishat the Ocean Choice International seafood plant in St. Lawrence on the Burin Peninsula,which Grieg officials had signalled for years would be the plan, the fish will be transported north for processing at the Quinlan Brothers plant in Bay de Verde.

The move has been criticized by OCI officials and the leadership of the union FFAW-Unifor that represents workers at the St. Lawrence plant.

In a statement, OCI president Blaine Sullivansaid he's disappointed, and that the decision is "disheartening for our employees as well as the community of St. Lawrence, as it is for us as well."

OCI, however, continues to be a partner with Grieg in the overall project and "we look forward to continuing (that) well into the future," said Sullivan.

Despite the processing snub, Sullivan predicts a bright future for the St. Lawrence plant.

"The decision by Grieg does not change this," he said.

FFAW-Unifor president Greg Pretty accused Grieg of "contract flipping"and choosing "cheap labour" at a non-unionized plant in Bay de Verde. Quinlan Brothers rely heavily on temporary foreign workers, with some 125 workers from Thailand expected this season.

"We are trying to build a meaningful industry on the Burin Peninsula, and Grieg chose to roll back the clock on labour relations," Pretty said in a statement.

"Ourmembers of the OCI plant in St. Lawrence were given a commitment of quality employment and opportunity, and it's another show of blatant disregard for our workers, the region, and our industry."

A business decision, says Grieg

Power defended the agreement with Quinlan, however, saying the available space in Bay de Verde, the willingness by the Quinlans to invest in modern processing equipmentand the company's reputation in the seafood processing sectorwere factors in the decision. Aformal processing agreement was never in place with OCI, he added.

"We certainly understand and take into account the disappointment in St. Lawrence and the disappointment with the workforce. But this was a a business decision," Power said.

Quinlan Brothers is a dominant player in the snow crab industry, which is the province's most valuable fishery, and operates a massive crab processing factory in Bay de Verde. The plant, which is currently idle because of a dispute over crab prices, was constructed following a devastating fire seven years ago. Alarge section nearly 4,000 square metres of the building was left unoccupied for future use.

When Grieg officialswent looking for a company to process its fish, it found a willing partner in the Quinlan Brothers and its president, Robin Quinlan.

The Quinlans have signed a service contract that will see the company invest roughly $15 million to ready the building and purchase and install a new salmon-processing line to handle Grieg's processing needs. The initial contract is for three years, with an option for extensions.

The plant is expected to be ready for when the first salmon come out of the water in October, with processing to continue until mid-winter with up to 50 workers per shift.

Such a pattern is expected to continue and intensifyeach year as new sea cagesites are established throughout Placentia Bayand production levels keep growing. It will eventually mean almost year-round production at Bay de Verde as the facility turns out processed crab from one section and salmon from another.

Power said the ramp-up will be slow and steady.

"We want to ensure there's value for both our company, our shareholders and of course the people of Newfoundland and Labrador."

• Almost 200 jobs lost as Grieg NL halts construction project until salmon market rebounds

The fish will undergo the most basic of processing head on, gutted before being shipped off to markets primarily in the United States for further processing.

But Grieg is promising to expand to value added processing such as filletswhen annual production levels reach a more viable level.

"We're holding fast to our to our commitment to provide secondary processing," said Power.

The Norwegian based company hasso far invested more than $150 million into its Newfoundland operations, with $5 million of that as a loan from the provincial government.

Meanwhile, Grieghopes to resume construction in Marystown of a 17,500-square-metre post-smoltfacility in a few years, said Power.

The building was shelved a few years ago when markets took a steep tumble because of the pandemic. The post-smolt facility will allow the company to grow the fish larger on landand reduce the amount of time they spend in sea cages.

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