“Icewater Seafoods operates a top quality plant, which explains why this facility has been able to succeed through challenges and position itself to take advantage of future opportunities in the groundfish sector,” said Minister Dalley.
“The Provincial Government is committed to promoting growth in the sector, and has secured quotas from the Federal Government, engaged in ongoing research, and partnered with industry players like Icewater to foster that growth.”
Icewater Seafoods in Arnold’s Cove is a state-of-the-art groundfish processing plant that employs up to 130 people at peak operation. The Provincial Government helped the company pursue greater efficiency at the facility with funding for a heat pump system that recovers waste heat from its refrigeration system.
“This plant has shown great resilience through the years in the face of challenges in the industry, and I commend the management and staff for all their hard work,” said Mr Peach. “I am proud of this government’s continued efforts to support the development of our groundfish resources, and remain optimistic about growth in the coming years.”
The Provincial Government has engaged in significant research over the last several years to protect the interests of the industry and the ocean environments in which it operates. Newfoundland and Labrador is the only province in Canada that is solely funding its own offshore fisheries research, which is carried out through the Centre for Fisheries Ecosystem Research and other partnerships.
“We appreciate the Provincial Government’s continued support of the groundfish sector, which generates meaningful employment in Arnold’s Cove, and may one day do so in other communities,” said Alberto Wareham, President of Icewater Seafoods.
“There remains huge opportunities for groundfish sales in Europe and elsewhere, and we hope to further capitalize on that in the coming years.”
Since 2010, the Provincial Government has committed more than $12 million toward fisheries science, much of which has been allocated to cod studies that monitor changes in the resource, as well as its environment.
