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Newfoundland fisheries minister reacts to Grieg job losses

Newfoundland’s Minister of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture Elvis Loveless expressed disappointment over reports that Grieg Seafood will be cutting as many as 200 jobs at its land-based aquaculture facility in Marystown.

A total of 193 jobs will be cut between this month and December, Loveless said in an interview with VOCM.com. 

The provincial fisheries chief, however, said that despite the job cuts, plans are still in place for Grieg to hit certain milestones connected to its Newfoundland operations.

Last week, the Norwegian company announced that it was postponing parts of its Newfoundland projects “due to market uncertainty and lower visibility” caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

“Following market turbulence and demand shift from hotels, restaurants, and catering (horeca) to retail due to Covid-19, market prices in the quarter were down compared with Q3 2019,” the company said in its third-quarter financial report.

Grieg NL Nurseries Ltd. is the land-based operation of the company in the Marine Park on Kaetlyn Osmond Dr. in Marystown, NL.

Grieg will grow sterile Atlantic salmon for the North American and global markets in the facility.

Earlier, Grieg issued a press release that said it is halting the construction of a post-smolt unit that will house hatched fish before being transferred to ocean cages.

The company said that as many as 200 jobs could be lost. The pace of investments will also be slowed down and some land-based facility construction will be stopped.