The Ministry of Agriculture and Lands has approved a new fin-fish aquaculture licence for Campbell River-based Grieg Seafood to allow for an additional fish farm site in Nootka Sound.
The licence applies to a site on the southwest shore of Gore Island in King Passage.
Grieg, a subsidiary of Norway-headquartered Grieg Group, operates six fish farm sites in Nootka Sound that employ roughly 45 people from communities in the area. In 2006, Grieg Seafood BC harvested roughly 7,600 tonnes of farmed Atlantic salmon.
In January, Grieg acquired Target Marine Group's salmon farming sites on the Sunshine Coast and its processing facility in Egmont, B.C. Target was the largest producer of farmed coho salmon in North America.
Since 1995, farmed salmon has been B.C.'s largest agricultural export with more than $450 million worth of farmed salmon sold to fish markets, grocery stores and restaurants in Canada, the U.S. and Japan.