Mowi Canada East is based in Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. It is part of the larger Mowi family, which is jointly responsible for producing 20% of the world’s market share of farmraised Atlantic salmon.​

During 2018, we purchased Northern Harvest with the goal of improving and expanding the hatchery in Stephenville and sea farms on the south coast of Newfoundland. In 2023, our 125 Newfoundland employees helped produce over 80 million meals of farmed Atlantic salmon for domestic and international markets.

Newfoundland is a great place to grow salmon and our business!

After spending a year in freshwater, Atlantic salmon naturally swim out to sea to feed and grow. Aquaculture replicates this process by transferring salmon from the hatchery to specially designed and engineered sea cages in the ocean.

Salmon at the sea farms are continuously monitored with underwater cameras by trained Mowi personnel to enable efficient feeding processes, detect potential escapees, and to ensure appropriate fish health management practices are used.

After less than two years at sea, the salmon are harvested and transferred to fish processing facilities where they are prepared for markets in Newfoundland and Labrador and around the world.

What new components does the Project include?​

• Advanced modular RAS smolt production facility
• Improved wastewater treatment building and deep-water outfall
• Additional wells (freshwater, saline) and water treatment building
• Upgraded fully-enclosed fish transfer system
• Enhanced egg incubation system
• Modern fish vaccination/grading system
• Additional 2.2 million smolt production per year

For more information,

we have prepared a video for you, featuring Mowi’s Natasha Gill, to learn more about our freshwater systems work and this Project.

Visit our website at

indianheadproject.ca

INDIAN HEAD HATCHERY

Why is Mowi planning this Project?​

Expansion of the existing Mowi facility in Stephenville will provide a modern, more sustainable Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS) for salmon smolt that:

• Uses less water​
• Minimizes wastewater​
• Improves fish welfare
• Reduces time farmed salmon spend at sea
• Enhances biosecurity
• Increases production capacity
• Provides business stability
• Increases local economic benefits

These proposed changes in Mowi’s operations have resulted in the provincial Department of Environment and Climate Change requiring an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Project. An important part of the EIS process is consulting with the public, Indigenous groups, and stakeholders.

Just like in nature, our Atlantic salmon live in freshwater for one year before transferring to the ocean. Commonly referred to as “hatcheries”, our freshwater facilities are actually state-of-the-art recirculating systems that reduce the amount of freshwater used and enable our experts to carefully control the environment in which our salmon grow.

Fertilized eggs from Atlantic salmon (Saint John River strain, New Brunswick) are incubated and fish are grown to about 15 g before they are transferred to larger tanks in the smolt buildings. As part of the proposed Project expansion, a post-smolt building will house larger salmon allowing the fish to grow to 250 g+ prior to transfer to sea. This will produce more robust salmon and reduce the amount of time salmon spend at sea.