Tag Archives: Ocean Choice International
Ocean Choice sells Nova Scotia offshore scallop quota
Ocean Choice International has sold its offshore Nova Scotia scallop quotas to three Nova Scotia companies with a long history harvesting sea scallops off the coast of Nova Scotia – Mersey Seafoods Limited, LaHave Seafoods Limited and Comeau’s Sea Foods Limited. ‘We are committed to sustainably growing our place in the fishery in Newfoundland and Labrador; and this decision supports our investment and growth in our business and the fishing industry here at home,’ said Ocean Choice CEO Martin Sullivan. As part of the agreement, Ocean Choice is also acquiring Newfoundland and Labrador offshore quota for Greenland halibut and northern cod from Mersey, and Greenland halibut, northern cod and redfish from LaHave, further strengthening the company’s Newfoundland- and Labrador-based business. more, >>click to read<< 10:21
Canadian scallop quota valued at $200M sells to 3 Nova Scotia companies
In a blockbuster seafood deal, St. John’s-based Ocean Choice International (OCI) has sold its Canadian offshore scallop quota, worth an estimated $200 million, to three Nova Scotia companies. Ocean Choice held 16.77 per cent of the offshore scallop quota, which is fished mostly on Georges Bank off southern Nova Scotia. A key driver in the sale was the sinking of the company’s factory trawler Atlantic Destiny on Georges Bank in March 2021. CEO Martin Sullivan says they opted not to replace it. “We were looking at our options and we talked to these three Nova Scotia companies that have been industry partners of ours for a long time.” more, >>click to read<< 08:08
NO TO 2.20: Harvesters Protest at ASP and OCI Offices
Harvesters expressed their frustration today by protesting outside of two locations in St. John’s after the Association of Seafood Producers (ASP) walked back on their counteroffer yesterday. The two sides converged outside of the Ocean Choice International (OCI) office in St. John’s, where harvesters were clear they won’t be fishing for 2.20 per pound. “ASP may have reneged on their offer, but our organization still carried out significant consultation with members on whether it would have been accepted. The writing is on the wall: harvesters aren’t fishing unless there’s movement on the minimum starting price. Photos, >click to read the press release< 13:44
Repeated Failures: DFO ship woes hampering East Coast science surveys
DFO has missed multiple surveys as it struggles to bring new offshore fishery science vessels into service, and aging ships near retirement. Sailing restrictions imposed early in the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to the problem, but so too have breakdowns on older ships and part replacements needed on the two new ships stationed on the East Coast. The science surveys are used to assess the health of major fish stocks and are critical in determining quotas for commercial fisheries worth hundreds of millions of dollars in Atlantic Canada. “There’s huge consequences. We want to know what’s going on. We need the data,” said Carey Bonnell, vice-president of sustainability and engagement at St. John’s-based Ocean Choice International, which is a seafood company. >click to read< 08:13
SEA-NL on foreign investment
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) says a provincial government review of foreign investment in the fish processing sector misses the boat entirely in terms of addressing the extent of foreign control and corporate concentration. “The report certainly has nice pictures,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s Executive Director. “Beyond that the takeaway about foreign control and corporate concentration in the fishing industry is that Minister Derrick Bragg missed his calling as a window-dresser.” The report of foreign investment in the processing sector comes more than two years after the province approved Royal Greenland’s takeover of Quinlan Brothers and St. Anthony Seafoods in September 2020 upon recommendation of the Fish Processing Licensing Board earlier that month. >click to read< 10:11
‘Definitely the most difficult rescue I have been on’ recalls a rescuer of F/V Atlantic Destiny crew
Daniel Domonkos will always remember the moment he and his SAR tech crew first laid eyes on the ill-fated F/V Atlantic Destiny a year ago. Seeing the stricken vessel being tossed around in the waves “like a little toy,” the flight engineer immediately wondered, “How are we supposed to get anyone off that boat?” And not just one person, but 31 of them. It was a miraculous scene that later played out at the Yarmouth International Airport as crew members of the Atlantic Destiny and their rescuers stepped out of helicopters to safety, the warmth of those moments only interrupted by the bone-chilling bitter cold. Photos, Video, >click to read< 08:08
New Factory Trawlers for the Canadian North
Last year saw the delivery of Ocean Choice International’s Calvert and an order placed for a new Polar Code standard trawler for Clearwater Seafoods and Ocean Prawns in Denmark, currently under construction at Tersan. Now an agreement has been struck with Qikiqtaaluk Fisheries Corporation for the design of a new trawler to replace the company’s existing Saputi, which dates back to 1987. >click to read< 09:29
Access: Fight over emerging redfish fishery amps up as offshore sector bites back
In a highly managed media event staged at Memorial University’s Signal Hill campus, officials from the Atlantic Groundfish Council, which represents more than 100 offshore groundfish licence holders in Atlantic Canada, and Ocean Choice International, fought back against what they say is an attack that threatens the livelihood of people linked to the offshore sector. “It’s time this attack stops. It’s negative. It’s divisive and it’s not good for the province,” said Martin Sullivan, CEO and co-owner of Ocean Choice International,,, >click to read< 07:51
F.V. Atlantic Destiny sank late Wednesday morning – 31 crew members rescued by Canadian and USCG helicopters
The Atlantic Destiny ran into trouble after a fire broke out around 8 p.m. Tuesday, possibly in the engine room, The fire knocked out the vessel’s power and then the ship started taking on water. The captain and three crew members remained on board initially, while the other 27 were lifted off the ship one-by-one. “This was one of the craziest rescues that I’ve been a part of, for the situation and how many hoisted we had to do and how 
challenging it was trying to calm the aircraft to go get the survivors picked up,” said Phillip Morales, USCG. >click to read< 13:43
Video, U.S., Canadian, Coast Guards, Royal Canadian Air Force, rescue 31 fishermen from sinking vessel– >click to watch <
Transportation Safety Board: Factory freezer trawler fire met with uncoordinated response
A fire on board OCI’s factory-freezer trawler Newfoundland Lynx in January started in the vessel’s sauna and, while the fire was contained, it was met with an uncoordinated response by the crew due to a lack of fire drills that involved “realistic scenarios,” states a Transportation Safety Board (TSB) report released this week. The report also notes that some of the firefighting equipment on board was in a deteriorated condition and that there wasn’t enough of some key parts of the firefighting equipment. It advised in the report that, “It is important that crews perform fire drills on a regular basis to confirm that firefighting equipment is in working order, and to reinforce their knowledge of how to use the equipment and of assigned emergency duties. It is also important that these drills include varied and realistic scenarios so that crews are prepared to respond effectively to emergencies.” >click to read< 08:21
OCI celebrates arrival of new factory freezer trawler
Marie Sullivan has a very important job to do on Monday, June 8. The 94-year-old will smash a champagne bottle against the steel hull of the MV Calvert to officially christen the new addition to Ocean Choice International’s (OCI) fishing fleet. The ceremony at the waterfront in St. John’s will be a celebration for the Sullivan family and the company owned by her sons, Blaine and Martin. The name of the new ship pays homage to the small fishing community on the Southern Shore where the Sullivan family got their start in the fishing business. The new vessel sailed into St. John’s harbour on Thursday, completing her first ocean voyage, a 4,200-nautical-mile journey from her birthing place in the Middle East. Video, >click to read< 10:42
Opening of N.L. crab fishery will inject new money into provincial economy
After nearly a month of delays prompted by COVID-19 fears and a wrangle over prices, crab fisherman from Newfoundland and Labrador are ready to put pots in the water. The crab fishing season stats midnight, Monday, May 11, putting thousands of skippers and crew members back to work. While there is still some angst — with fish harvesters seeking a federal aid package to help them through what they say is an extra challenging year — the start of this fishery is a relief for many, like the people who work on the processing lines at places like the Ocean Choice International (OCI) plant in Bonavista. The main market for this shellfish is the United States, with about half of the Atlantic Canada catch ending up in restaurants, casinos and cruise ships. With those industries shut down, the only market left is the grocery store, where crab is often sold as a promotional sale item. As a result, fishers in N.L. will get $2.90 a pound, a drop from last year’s average price of $5.14. However, fishers are also getting a little more crab to catch. >click to read< 08:02
FFAW, processors remain at odds on opening Newfoundland and Labrador crab season
It remains to be seen whether harvesters in the province will eventually start fishing for crab and offloading it at plants for processing. According to the Fish, Food and Allied Workers (FFAW-Unifor), two vessels from outside the province were turned away in Port Aux Basques and denied the opportunity to offload crab as of Monday morning, and three transport trucks carrying crab harvested outside the province were being blocked from making deliveries to fish plants, two in South Brook and one at Goobies. “The fishery was postponed three times on health and safety issues,” Pretty said. “During that time, the bargaining for the price of crab should have progressed, but instead of progressing,,, >click to read< 19:46
Crab trucks roll toward Triton after confrontation in South Brook – Crab fishery delayed until at least May 11
By noon on Tuesday, the trucks began to roll toward the fish plant, but were being slowed by protesters. RCMP were on hand ticketing the drivers who were interfering with their progress. >click to read< 16:56
Crab fishery delayed until at least May 11, following days of protests – After two days of protests by fish harvesters, the snow crab fishery in Newfoundland and Labrador has been delayed until at least May 11. DFO issued a media release at 5 p.m. Tuesday saying the exact start of the season has not yet been determined. That delay comes after several days of protests in several different locations in the province. The protests started late Sunday in Port aux Basques when the Fish, Food & Allied Workers union, which represents fish harvesters, learned snow crab was being brought in from outside the province to be processed. Late Tuesday afternoon, two transport trucks were able to offload crab,, >click to read< 17:03
OCI granted injunction as fishermen block out-of-province crab
The Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador has granted Ocean Choice International an injunction ending the Fish, Food & Allied Workers union’s blockade on the highway near South Brook. The injunction prohibits FFAW members from blocking the route to OCI’s processing plant in Triton or interfering with customers or contractors entering the property. It’s the latest development in an argument between the union and Association of Seafood Producers over whether the fishery should be up and running during the COVID-19 pandemic. Union members blocked two fishing vessels from the Magdalen Islands from offloading crab in Port aux Basques on Sunday evening. >click to read< Protesters Who Blocked Out-of-Province Crab Shipment Facing Court Injunction, tweets, >click to read< 18:04
Crew safe after fire onboard Ocean Choice vessel
A fire broke out and was contained onboard a fishing vessel Wednesday afternoon, with all crew safe and accounted for, according to Canadian seafood company Ocean Choice International. OCI said in a statement Wednesday evening it had been working to get the crew of the Newfoundland Lynx back to shore. >click to read< 08:22
Five processors have monopoly on inshore fishery: FFAW-Unifor
Fish harvesters gathered in St. John’s Tuesday to speak out against what their union describes as the cartel-like behaviour of the province’s fish processing companies. FFAW-Unifor union says that, as a result of what it claims are co-ordinated efforts by some of the largest companies, who refused to buy species such as northern cod and squid for several weeks this season, harvesters are calling on the provincial government to issue new processing licences and develop a strategy to attract more competition and investment within the industry. >click to read< 12:56
Ocean Choice International will not be prosecuted for illegal fishing charge
In court, OCI’s lawyer argued a technicality and on Thursday, Judge James Walsh dismissed a charge of illegal fishing against the company. The charge arose from an allegation that OCI fished for Greenland halibut in the so-called Northern Newfoundland Slope Conservation area between Feb. 4-10, 2018. In a September 2018 press release, OCI said court documents from both sides — the company and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans — verified the captain wasn’t aware of the newly designated conservation area off the northeast coast of the island. >click to read< 18:47
Ocean Choice International says DFO delayed informing the captain he was in newly-protected area
Ocean Choice International (OCI) is accused of fishing in a conservation area during a closed time — an allegation that the company says it takes “very seriously.” According to court documents, OCI and a numbered company linked to OCI were both charged with a breach of the Fisheries Act in June. The charge stems from an incident that allegedly took place between Feb. 4-10, 2018. OCI is accused of fishing for Greenland halibut in an area off the coast of the island, which DFO calls the “Northeast Newfoundland Slope Conservation Area,” during a closed time. >click to read<14:59
Sea Cucumber: Ocean Choice International in St. Lawrence highlighted during Innovation Day
It’s not the kind of cucumber you’d put in a green salad. But the slimy-looking sea creature is the type of thing that finds its way to the Asian dinner plate; sold at pricey restaurant as a delicacy, the dried product is often rehydrated to be used in rice salads and/or soups. Production of sea cucumber has allowed the plant to extend its production season. And that’s meant jobs for over 100 people at the Ocean Choice International (OCI) plant in St. Lawrence. Production of sea cucumber has allowed the plant to extend its production season.,, “The inshore vessels have gotten so much better, the product quality that has been coming from the inshore sector over the last two decades is improved immensely, snow crab, shrimp, sea cucumbers,”Blaine Sullivan says. “When I started in the business Canada, and Newfoundland, was not renowned for quality (in seafood) but it is today. There’s been a big change and that’s something this industry should be proud of, and should talk more about.” >click to read<19:13
For the Love of Cod – the fight over fish stocks may well spell the end of cod fishers—or cod
A hard exhale escapes Sherrylynn Rowe before she can help herself. “It was so disappointing,” she says. A Canadian federal government report, released in March 2018, showed that the number of northern cod of spawning age in the Canadian North Atlantic was down 30 percent from just last year. It was a devastating turn. Northern cod had been fished to near extinction in the early 1990s and it had started to look like they were finally beginning to rebound. But now the population—which had been expected to increase again this year—was shrinking fast, brought on by an unexpectedly high rate of natural deaths. >click to read<07:53
Catastrophic engine failure on scallop trawler due to broken equipment, human error, says TSB
A combination of maintenance gaps, a broken emergency stop mechanism and the actions of an inexperienced crew member were to blame for the catastrophic engine failure aboard scallop dragger Atlantic Destiny last year, a Transportation Safety Board investigation has found. On March 14, Atlantic Destiny lost main engine power about 370 kilometres south of Yarmmouth, N.S. Thirty-one people were on board the factory freezer trawler, which is based in Riverport, N.S. Atlantic Destiny is part of the fleet owned by Ocean Choice International of Newfoundland and Labrador. >click to read< 13:02
Civil war rifles recovered by Canadian fishermen
The future for a crate of rifled muskets that have spent the past 150 years underwater is starting to look bright after years of conservation work. The archaeology department at Memorial University in St. John’s Newfoundland has been working since 2011 to save a crate of 20 Pattern 1853 Enfield rifled muskets that were delivered to Canada via fishing trawler after an extended period on the bottom of the Atlantic. Great photo’s, click here to read the story 21:59
Record high prices, strong demand for Canadian snow crab bodes well for Alaska
The top executives of Royal Greenland and Ocean Choice International (OCI) noted demand has remained strong for Canadian snow crab in 2017, despite record-high prices caused by reduced supply from the Newfoundland and Labrador fishery. In April, Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) cut the 2017/2018 total allowable catch (TAC) for the Newfoundland and Labrador fishery 22% year-on-year — to 35,419 metric tons — causing prices to increase to record levels of over $8 per pound (for 5-8 ounce size crab) during the season, sources said. The Newfoundland season started on April 6 and finished between May and August, depending on the area. click here to read the story 18:38
One plant is processing more shrimp thanks to the elimination of tariffs under European free trade deal
The new free trade deal with Europe has only been in effect for a few days but one seafood processor in Newfoundland and Labrador says it’s already meant more work. Ocean Choice International has extended work at the Port au Choix plant.,, On Sept. 21 the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, or CETA, came into effect. It dropped tariffs on 96 per cent of the Canadian seafood sold into Europe.,, As part of the tradeoff for the elimination of tariffs, Newfoundland and Labrador agreed to drop minimum processing requirements. They required fish caught off the province to be processed there. click here to read the story 12:54
FISH-NL recommends DFO immediately suspend extra cod to south coast inshore harvesters
“The priority must be to ensure all inshore harvesters have the opportunity to at least catch their basic IQs (Individual Quotas),” says Ryan Cleary, President of FISH-NL. It’s rumoured that more than 60 per cent of the 6,500-tonne cod quota that’s been set this year off the south coast (fishing zone 3Ps) has already been taken. A DFO official said late Wednesday afternoon the Department has noticed an increase in landings, and is “monitoring” the situation. While south coast harvesters are assigned IQs, they’re also allowed to catch even more cod — this year it’s up to one full extra IQ, which local harvesters refer to as a “bump”. Rumour also has it that Ocean Choice International is currently gearing up its offshore vessels to catch south coast cod this fall. click here to read the story 23:43
Robots used to cut crab may actually help keep processing jobs in Newfoundland and Labrador
The world’s first full-on crab plant robot sits inside a tall, plastic chamber roughly the size of a shipping container. A conveyer belt carries the splayed crab into the chamber, where a robotic scoops them up and places them on one of two plastic saddles. And then the blade descends. The legs tumble into a grey plastic tub below, sorted, sectioned and ready to go. The machine was unveiled this spring, developed by Canadian Centre for Fisheries Innovation, in partnership with Ocean Choice International and the Marine Institute. Its functions are simple — cut the crab in half, or remove its legs — but its impact could be enormous. Its designers are also hoping it will solve a few workforce problems in fish plants caused by changing demographics in rural Newfoundland. click here to read the story 08:52
FFAW- Premier’s approval of OCI exemptions signs away millions in rural economic development
ST. JOHN’S, June 21, 2017 – FFAW-Unifor is shocked and deeply disappointed in the provincial government’s decision to issue further exemptions to Ocean Choice International (OCI), allowing the company to ship yellowtail, redfish, and American plaice to low wage countries for processing rather than process it locally to employ people in this province. “This decision is a slap in the face to plant workers and rural communities,” said Keith Sullivan, President of FFAW-Unifor. “Issuing these exemptions is a betrayal of the people of rural Newfoundland and Labrador, and is harmful to the overall economy of the province. Our province should be focused on maximizing employment and adding value to our natural resources as a means of building the economy; not padding the bottom-line of OCI.” click here to read the press release 14:17
Shelving shrimp: Inside Katsheshuk II, OCI’s $8-million bet on groundfish
For years the Katsheshuk II hauled in shrimp off the shores of Newfoundland. The ship caught, processed and froze the shrimp to be sent to customers. But shrimp stocks have shrunk, leaving Ocean Choice International with too many boats for too small a quota, so the company is spending $8 million to convert the ship. “The shellfish resources are declining but in general, some exceptions, groundfish is increasing,” says Blaine Sullivan, the chief operating officer for OCI. The Katsheshuk II is being overhauled so it can start fishing for groundfish. The industry is hoping for the eventual return of cod, but in the near future it will be other species. click here to read the story 13:57
Is John Risely out to gut Ocean Choice International like a fish? By Ryan Cleary
Nova Scotian John Risley who led a hostile takeover of Fishery Products International in 2001 that led to the company’s demise and the loss of hundreds of rural jobs — appears to be attempting another such takeover. This time of Newfoundland and Labrador-based Ocean Choice International — which bills itself as Canada’s “largest wild fish quota holder,” including highly lucrative snow crab, shrimp, scallops, cod, and turbot. If Risley succeeds he could potentially do to OCI what he did to FPI — gut it like a fish. I say that Risley is no friend of Newfoundland and Labrador, and if he gets his hands on OCI’s quotas the Grand Banks will be sold off to the highest bidder.Ryan Cleary is a former Newfoundland and Labrador MP, long-time journalist, and leader of FISH-NL, a group attempting to represent the province’s fish harvesters in a break-away union from the FFAW. Read the full piece, click here 22:21
