Tag Archives: Clearwater Seafoods
Lobster Fishing Area 41 – Clearwater Seafoods’ offshore lobster monopoly
Wedgeport lobster fisherman Lucien LeBlanc has watched the big blue Clearwater Seafoods trawler Randell Dominaux hauling lobster traps 80 kilometres off the southern tip of Nova Scotia — and looked on with envy. “If a genie popped up and I could get one wish, I’d like to have a zone all to myself. Not just to myself — I’d love to have it for LFA [lobster fishing area] 34. They have a large zone and they only use a miniscule amount of it,” LeBlanc said. The Clearwater trawler is working its side of what’s known as Lobster Fishing Area 41 — a vast area reserved exclusively for Clearwater in a lobster fishery unique in Canada. >click to read<09:10
New criticism surrounds federal decision to break Arctic surf clam monopoly
One month after the federal fisheries minister announced a new licence for an important clam fishery would be awarded to a partnership of Indigenous groups from across Atlantic Canada, the government is facing fresh criticism over how it awarded the licence, and for the Liberals’ perceived ties to the winning bidder. The decision to award one-quarter of the Arctic surf clam quota to a partnership that included Indigenous communities was intended to further reconciliation by helping First Nations gain a foothold in a lucrative market and to break the monopoly on Arctic surf clams that has been held by Halifax-based Clearwater Seafoods. >click to read<10:10
Clearwater Seafoods to pursue legal options after surf clam licence goes to First Nations group
Clearwater Seafoods says it will be pursuing legal options after its monopoly on Arctic surf clams came to an end Wednesday when a new licence for the species was issued to the Five Nations Clam Company. The company called the licence award a “failure in public policy and abuse of power by the Minister.”,,LeBlanc’s announcement that a new entrant was coming for Arctic surf clams was a controversial one in Newfoundland and Labrador, particularly in Grand Bank, where Mayor Rex Matthews was vocal in his opposition. >click to read< 11:16
St. Anthony Seafoods becomes seven-month operation for first time in its history, Employees are worried
For the first time since the plant went into operation in 1999, St. Anthony Seafoods will not be running year-round. With uncommon layoffs and rumours about even more future cuts to shrimp quotas, plant worker Trudy Byrne says it’s a particularly stressful time. “This year even our engineers got laid off. We went from a year-round facility to a seven-month facility,” she said. Byrne has worked for the plant since its dawning days and says there is worry across the board about the future of both the shrimp fishery and the shrimp plant. >click to read< 18:19
Bidders hungry for part of Arctic surf clam fishery after decades-long monopoly
The competition for newly available Arctic surf clam quota off Cape Breton has three times more applicants than previously reported, which is a sign of the interest in a fishery that has been controlled by a single company for decades. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans says it is evaluating nine proposals vying for 8,924 tonnes of surf clams in 2018. Until this year, the surf clam fishery was held entirely by Clearwater Seafoods,,, >click here to read<10:37
Clearwater Seafoods fighting counterfeit North Korean clams
Clearwater Seafoods of Halifax has been fighting a secret battle with North Korea. Ian Smith, CEO of Clearwater, says his company has spent millions of dollars building up consumer demand for Arctic surf clams in Asia and the North Koreans are using devious methods to infiltrate the Chinese market for surf clams. “In the China market there’s a very large North Korean Arctic surf clam fishery,” Smith said on Friday in Halifax during a tour of the latest addition to Clearwater’s clam fishing fleet, the Anne Risley. click here to read the story 14:42
Clearwater Seafoods Welcomes the Anne Risley to its Canadian Clam Fleet
Clearwater Seafoods welcomes the Anne Risley into its fleet of clam vessels this morning during an official ceremony at Pier 21 in Halifax. This vessel further strengthens Clearwater’s commitment to delivering the highest quality, frozen-at-sea, wild-caught Arctic surf clams to its customers around the world. “The Anne Risley represents a $70 million investment to replace an existing 31 year-old clam vessel with a state-of-the-art factory ship that will deliver significant productivity and efficiency improvements to Clearwater’s clam fleet,” said Ian Smith, CEO, Clearwater Seafoods. Video, click here to read the story 10:47
Why backers say Ocean Supercluster will sail off with innovation bucks
It’s deadline day for Atlantic Canada’s lone bid in the federal government competition for $950 million in innovation funding. Some of the biggest players in the region’s ocean economy have joined forces to come up with the Ocean Supercluster proposal, which aims to find solutions to problems extracting resources from the ocean.,,, Four core investors are committing $15 million each as part of the Ocean Supercluster: Emera, Clearwater Seafoods, Petroleum Research Newfoundland and Labrador — which is made up of the five oil companies operating offshore Newfoundland and Labrador — and Cuna del Mar, an open ocean aquaculture promoter. click here to read the story 08:59
Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq vie for licence in lucrative Arctic surf clam fishery
Thirteen Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq bands have announced they are partnering with Clearwater Seafoods to seek a licence in the lucrative Arctic surf clam fishery, following a recent call by Ottawa for new entrants in a sector currently fished by Clearwater alone. The announcement of the “operational partnership” was made Thursday by Chief Terrance Paul, co-chair of the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq Chiefs. click here to read the story 13:39
Atlantic and Quebec Indigenous Groups and Ocean Choice International Partner in Bid for Arctic Surf Clam Quota – About the Partners – click here to read the OCI press release
Clearwater Seafoods Sees ‘Long-Term Opportunity’ in China
Over the past 40-plus years, Clearwater Seafoods has established itself as North America’s largest vertically integrated harvester, processor and distributor of premium shellfish. The company now sells 80 million pounds annually to more than 40 countries. But something happened in 2015 that prompted a major shift in its selling strategy. Nova Scotia-based Clearwater, which brands its product as wild-caught, premium seafood that is managed from ocean to plate, launched the Belle Carnell, a new fishing vessel that almost doubled the intake of one of its top products, the Arctic surf clam. click here to read the story 13:32
Clearwater Seafoods buys Scottish crabber as part of bid to expand in Europe
Seafood giant Clearwater Seafoods is beefing up its presence in Europe by buying a crab fishing boat and licence and is casting its eye on other potential acquisitions. The Bedford-based company picked up the Heather K., a Scottish crabber, in July for an undisclosed amount. “It was nominal (amount) relative to our total capital expenditures,” Ian Smith, chief executive officer of Clearwater Seafoods, said Thursday during the company’s second-quarter earnings call. “What is important about that is that it was the beginning of our vertical integration in Scotland.” In late 2015, Clearwater Seafoods bought all of the shares of Scotland’s MacDuff Shellfish Group Ltd. for £94.4 million.(photo, shipspotter.com) click here to read the story 11:59
Clearwater to build $54m clam factory vessel, but there could be some monopoly complications!
Clearwater Seafoods has announced plans to invest roughly CAD 70 million ($54m) in a new “state-of-the-art” factory vessel for its Canadian clam fleet. This investment follows the launch of the Belle Carnell in July 2015, which successfully allowed Clearwater to increase its catch of Arctic surf clams, cockle clams and propeller clams. The combined investments complete Clearwater’s plan to sustainably harvest 100% of its Canadian surf clam quota, employing the most advanced and proprietary clam technology in the world, it said. Read the story here Surf clam fight heats up with Clearwater boat buy – Presently, Clearwater is the only harvester of Arctic surf clam in Canada, and although it holds all of the current licences, it has not had the capacity to fish the entire 38,756-tonne quota. But Clearwater may not hold onto its monopoly for long. Following two days of science consultations in June, the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans is in the process of making a decision on whether or not to increase the quota and open up the fishery to new entrants. Read the story here 20:47
Scallop fishermen protest at Clearwater plant in Grand Bank for Access to Traditional Grounds
Wayne Meade, one of the organizers of the protest, said fishermen in the area are fed up and want answers from their union – Fish, Food and Allied Workers (FFAW-Unifor) – and the federal government about access to nearby fishing grounds. The harvesters believe they should be able to once again fish the southern and middle scallop beds on St. Pierre Bank, Meade said. “We had a licence to fish anywhere on St. Pierre Bank for 25, 30 year. Overnight that was took from us in 2006 and give to Clearwater and the offshore boats – the companies,” Meade said. Meade said inshore fishermen were then limited to the northwest part of the bank, which had already been largely raked clean by factory trawlers. Read the rest here 07:18
Clearwater Seafoods to buy U.K.’s largest producer of wild shellfish in $195m deal
Clearwater Seafoods Inc. has a $195-million deal to acquire the United Kingdom’s largest producer of wild shellfish. Bedford-based Clearwater announced the deal with Scotland’s Macduff Shellfish Group Ltd. on Friday. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the month. The purchase price is C$187 million, including a cash payment of $71 million. The Nova Scotia company is also assuming amost $8 million in seasonal working capital debt. Read the rest here 09:36
Clamming up! – Clearwater Seafoods invited media aboard the Belle Carnell Friday
Clearwater Seafoods Welcomes the Belle Carnell to their Fleet
“The Belle Carnell represents the single-largest vessel investment in Clearwater’s history and is a testament to our dedication to the fishery, the region and sustainable seafood excellence,” said Ian Smith, CEO, Clearwater Seafoods. “The Belle Carnell is the most technologically advanced shellfish harvester in the world and we are extremely pleased to be adding her to our fleet,” The clams harvested by the Belle Carnell and her crew will be automatically shucked and individually quick frozen within an hour of catch,,, Read the rest here 14:35
Clearwater Seafoods Launches New Argentine Scallop Harvesting Vessel
