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PLANS to increase trade in seafood between Grimsby and one of the most important fishing centres on Canada's East Coast are being drawn up.
North East Lincolnshire Council, which includes the fishing port of Grimsby, wants to setup a friendship agreement with Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia. Cape Breton is a major producer of seafood, especially lobster and local fishing leaders believe this could greatly benefit Grimsby's seafood producing sites. The move follows a local Chamber of Commerce visit to Cape Breton three months ago and which fishing links were discussed.
The Canadians responded by sending over a fishing group for the final stage of the Clipper Round The World Yacht race in Hull last weekend. The visit also led to an initial £1-million seafood deal, but it is felt that this is just the beginning. Only recently Canada said it wanted to expand its fish exports in Britain and Europe and Grimsby is seen as the gateway for doing just that because of its strong fish base.
Wynne Griffiths, chairman of the Humber Seafood Institute said recent that he believed there were real opportunities for the Humber and Cape Breton: “The seafood processing industry on the Humber is totally dependent on imported raw materials,he said. "At the moment we’re bringing in around 70 species from over 30 countries. It’s a global industry so we have to go out and source that product globally."
North East Lincolnshire Council leader Andrew De Freitas said it was very much business orientated and not a twinning agreement. "We have a great deal in common and it mostly revolves around fish and seafood. There are possibilities for developing our wind turbines industries as well, but fish is the key.
Should fisheries be closed during breeding time to allow stocks to reach more sustainable levels?
