Wharfside
In this issue Sales and Market Update. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Night time harvesting left in the dark. . . . . . 2 Meet Bubba, a fish farmer’s best friend. . . . 3 “Wecome Benson!”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Tote-ally appreciated!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Planes, boats and automobiles: the challenges of winter audits in remote areas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Lauren scoops up award at global aquaculture gala. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Seafood for the Future recommends Marine Harvest Canada salmon. . . . . . . . . . . . 5 2013 to be a BIG year for Nick King. . . . . . . . 6 Ducks Unlimited. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Did you Know? Brontology is the study of thunder.
Trivia time! What are the names of Popeye’s four nephews? Answer on Page 4
Comments about this Newsletter? Please email comments, articles and ideas to Ian Roberts, Communications Manager at ian.roberts@marineharvest.com
Sales and Market Update It has been a very exciting first quarter for 2013. It was not only nice to see our salmon prices return back to profitable levels, but also that we are seeing Ken Taylor an increase Sales Director in consumer demand for the excellent salmon products we produce. Grocery stores across North America have been running salmon promotions for “The Season of Lent”, which this year started on Feb 13th and will end on Easter, March 31st. As you can see in the chart below, this increase in demand over the last 3 months has helped move the prices up substantially (+48%), from December 2012 to March 2013. The International Boston Seafood Show, the annual 3-day gathering of suppliers,
buyers, marketers, retailers, chefs and everyone in between, was held the second week of March. The attendees from MHC were Clare Backman, Dave Ashcroft and myself. It is always nice to visit with so many of our longtime partners/customers
Dave Ashcroft (middle) is joined by Curtis Pierre (left) and Tony D’Angelo of Maximum Seafoods
and build on our relationships. The main questions around farm-raised salmon was concerning price and supply for this current year; were prices going to continue to Continued on page 2
3.2
Price/lb Yearly Avg
($/lb)
April 2013
1.9 Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
(Month 2012-2013)
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Night time harvesting left in the dark By Kristian Fletcher, Assistant Farm Manager and BrainSafe Master Facilitator
In last month’s Wharfside, safety hazards or “MHC Red Zones” were highlighted as a priority for us to eliminate from our work sites. Well, I am pleased to announce that the biggest Red Zone we have in Klemtu has been put to rest! I would like to personally thank all the staff involved at the farms, processing plants, harvest teams and senior management in Campbell River for putting an end to night time harvesting in Klemtu. We now harvest at 10:00 am, when all staff have the safety and comfort of seeing what they are doing, and where they are walking on the polar circles. This is especially important when the circles are icy, and covered with snow. All the people I was fortunate enough to train with know how strongly I felt about this situation. I always made it a very big point in our BrainSafe training, and when we filled out the Red Zone list. I (along with Blaine, Glen & Joy) also remember assuring those we trained, that the amazing lists for Red, Green and Orange Zones
Island Joy harvest boat at Kitasoo Seafoods. Photo credit: Spencer Mason
that you came up with weren’t going to be swept under the table. Rather, they would be dealt with in a timely and professional manner. Considering the logistics, and the major changes needed to switch to daytime harvests only, I would say that we in Klemtu are 100% satisfied with how it worked out. As everyone knows, we do have a long road ahead of us for other major and minor issues. MHC asks that we continue to do what we can, where we can, when dealing with the remaining Red and Orange Zone lists we have. And of course, for everyone to continue with what they felt was a positive movement in our work environment derived from the Green Zones that everyone came up with. The “Weekly Shift Focus Planner” and the “Weekly Team Meeting” sheets we have from the BrainSafe
program are another great way to keep our minds focused on our safety at work. They only take a few minutes as a group to fill out, and they go great with the monthly safety meetings we already have. With the new and improved “Eye-Check” booklets, I am more than confident that we, as a team, will have fewer preventable injuries for 2013. Glen, we especially like the section for notes - great idea! Remember, it’s not about the reports or the paperwork that we try and stay safe. It is of course for “MyLife” and all that is important to us in our lives. Use your “EyeChecks” to spot and manage at least one hazard per day as a group in the mornings, and as many as you can find while on the job. Doing our 50% is what we do best at MHC, so let’s “Get er’ Done”!
Sales and Market Update Continued climb?; is supply going to improve? Please feel free to ask any of us for more details about the Boston Seafood Show when you see us around the office. As we look ahead through April and into May, we are expecting the market demand 2
to remain steady for salmon, with the warmer weather encouraging barbequing and with retailers setting up promotions for Mother’s Day, Victoria Day, and Memorial Day. When the wild salmon volumes increase in June and begin to hit the market, MarineHarvestCanada.com
our harvesting volumes will decrease as we move into the next generation cycle. Come late summer/early fall we will slowly increase our harvesting again as the wild salmon supply decreases.
Meet Bubba, a fish farmer’s best friend By Ian Roberts, Communications Manager
When Bubba greeted me at the dock at Glacial Creek farm site, I swear he’d thought we were long lost pals. I didn’t have the heart to tell him we’d never met before. But I soon realized that I wasn’t being treated as special - Bubba just loves life, and probably loves people even more. Bubba is, well, a pretty special part of the family at Marine Harvest Canada. And because he calls one of the most remote places in British Columbia home, many of his coworkers may never have a chance to meet him. He’s getting on in years now. Depending on who you talk to, Bubba is 12 or 14, or maybe 13. Bubba became a part of Marine Harvest when he was adopted by Mark Harris at United Hatchery near Fanny Bay. But it soon was apparent that his love for people was not just cute, it was an obsession. Bubba suffers from separation anxiety and when left alone…let’s just say he can quickly remodel the house. So, after just six months at United, he was welcomed at Glacial Creek site, where he has enjoyed the full time company of staff for the past 8 years. Aside from being a wonderful greeter, Bubba does have a real job. He is a devout
Bubba was determined to keep up with the group
protector of his human companions and has battle scars and bionic joints to prove it. A cougar and a bear have come face to face with Bubba and both challengers were quickly “asked” to leave. It’s a pretty proud moment in Bubba’s life, you can easily tell by the constant grin on his face. Bubba is in retirement now, but it’s hard to tell based on his determination to make the 500 metre, uphill trek with our tour group toward the water damn. The hike tired him and he was trying his best to hide it. Staff at Glacial Creek are concerned for Bubba now. His age is showing and they fear he may have one last battle with a much younger challenger or maybe require extra attention that they can’t give him while
“Bubba”
working all day. Should anything happen to him, he is far from medical help. So Bubba is looking for a retirement home to live out his remaining years. Perhaps with a fellow retiree who can give him all the attention and care he’ll need. As long as he’s got the company of a beloved human, that grin is sure to stay. Editor’s note: If you know someone who would like to give Bubba a nice home to retire, please contact Trevor Dawes at Marine Harvest Canada or Bubba directly at his Facebook page (Bubba Beardog) at https://www.facebook.com/bubba. beardog
“Welcome Benson!” Mike and Janelle Dobbs welcomed their second baby on Feb 16th, Benson Winter Dobbs. Weighing 8 lbs, baby and Mom are doing great. Coincidentally, Benson was
MarineHarvestCanada.com
born 5 years to the day that his brother, Brendan was born, and both weighed exactly 8lbs at birth. (Mike Dobbs is Site Manager at Midsummer Island)
3
Tote-ally appreciated! non-profit organizations and the people they serve.
Terry Fulton, Roger King (Marine Harvest), Cathy White, Charlotte (resident), Mike Hammond (Coastline Towing and Transport), Paul Kendrick (Marine Harvest) and his mom and resident Vivian. Submitted by Terry Fulton, Manager, Willow Point Supportive Living Society
It is wonderful how our local businesses are so generous and supportive of our local
Marine Harvest was pleased to donate 12 fish totes to the Willow Point Supportive Living Society in March. The totes will be used for gardening and provide an ideal height for residents to care for vegetables and flowers. Coastline Towing & Transport delivered the totes free of charge.
Our sincere THANK YOU to all of the Marine Harvest Staff and to Coastline Towing & Transport for making this opportunity a reality from the Board and Staff of Willow Point Supportive Living Society and the residents of Forde House.
The totes will never need replacing, contributing to the Forde House philosophy of being environmentally conscious while contributing to Campbell River’s Green City initiative by people raising their own garden food.
May 14th is your chance to be heard! Voting information can be found at http://www.elections.bc.ca/
Planes, boats and automobiles: the challenges of winter audits in remote areas
Photo credit: Sheep Passage Assistant Manager Keith Wood.
4
While rescheduling audit arrangements is a minor inconvenience, it highlights the extra effort and planning - scanning weather reports, making multiple phone calls and MarineHarvestCanada.com
emails - MHC site staff routinely make throughout the winter months. Thanks to Mahatta West, Sheep Passage and Doyle Island staff for accommodating changed audit dates and for making revised float plane and boat ride arrangements to their sites! These three audits are a part of the ongoing Marine Harvest Canada commitment to providing Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certified product to our customers. As always, staff did a terrific job showing off their sites and work. Two additional audit groups consisting of seven farm sites are planned this year.
Answer: Pipeye, Peepeye, Pupeye, and Poopeye (really, we’re not kidding!)
Sheep Passage Site Manager Fabian McCarty, Fish Technician Wesley Robinson (who did a great job explaining to the auditor how he uses fish behavior to determine how much to feed) and BAP Auditor Bryce Kozak at the farm which is the most northerly site in British Columbia.
Can you imagine driving 2.5 hours in the dark and bad winter conditions just to find out you may or may not be able to get to work that day? Or wanting to get home to see your child’s recital but realizing that the float plane won’t be able to pick you up from work? The Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) Salmon Farms Standard audits in late February provided a very small taste of the difficulties that our staff often have just trying to make it to and from work.
Lauren scoops up award at global aquaculture gala And Lauren won. “I’m so happy to receive this award and have the honour of representing my company Marine Harvest, my family in Klemtu and Canadian aquaculture,” said Lauren after the awards.
It was the furthest distance that young Lauren Edgar has ever ventured from her house in Sayward. But as it turns out, travelling to Bergen, Norway was very much worth it. Lauren had travelled to Bergen in early March because she was nominated for the “Community Ambassador” award at the 2013 IntraFish Aquaculture Awards. Fish farmers had gathered from around the world to celebrate aquaculture, network and reward ‘special’ people working in the industry.
Following in her father’s footsteps, Lauren began working for Marine Harvest Canada in 2007 at age 22. Over the years, and in addition to working hard as a salmon farm technician, she has leant her voice and image to salmon farming - a business that has helped her hometown of Klemtu move from an era of over-fishing and limited economic opportunity toward one of sustainable and diverse development. “I feel like I’m paying it back,” says Lauren. “If my voice can help educate the public about the benefits of farm-raised salmon, I’m more than happy to do it.” Her hometown of Klemtu, a remote coastal village in British Columbia with about 400 inhabitants, is only accessible by boat or plane.
The people of Klemtu are known as Kitasoo/ Xai’xais First Nation peoples, and have been salmon farming since the mid-1980s. The Nation asked to partner with Marine Harvest Canada in 1998, to ensure their salmon aquaculture business would be able to compete in a very competitive global market. Since salmon farming began, unemployment in the village has been reduced from 90 per cent to about 40 per cent. Today, about 60 Kitasoo/Xai’xais members farm, process and package 10 million pounds of Atlantic salmon yearly. To show her support of her chosen career, Lauren has appeared in numerous print ads, sustainability reports, educational videos and was featured in the BBC News produced segment titled “Working Lives”. Marine Harvest would like to congratulate Lauren on this very deserving award.
Seafood for the Future recommends Marine Harvest Canada salmon An influential seafood advisory program in California has confirmed its endorsement of Marine Harvest Canada as a responsible producer of farm-raised Atlantic salmon.
important for our customers to know that credible seafood sustainability programs are endorsing Marine Harvest farm-raised salmon.”
After a thorough review of Marine Harvest Canada (MHC) operations, Seafood for the Future (SFF), a non-profit seafood advisory program of the Aquarium of the Pacific, has released its evaluation that recommends MHC salmon as a responsible aquaculture partner.
Staff from the aquarium visited MHC operations in British Columbia in 2010 to learn first-hand how Marine Harvest salmon are raised at land and ocean based farms. Since that initial meeting, MHC had continued to share information about its business with a focus on continuous improvement.
“We are very pleased that Aquarium of the Pacific has thoroughly reviewed our operations,” says Clare Backman, Director of Sustainable Programs at MHC. “It’s
SFF has found that Marine Harvest is operating responsibly and continues to make measureable progress toward MarineHarvestCanada.com
reducing its impacts. This commitment to sustainable performance is validated in MHC’s certification by the Global Aquaculture Alliance’s Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP). BAP certification includes an oversight committee of several conservation based organizations including the Aquarium of the Pacific, Monterey Bay Aquarium, and Marine Conservation Society and is recognized in the report as “performing above the industry standard for environmental sustainability.” The SFF evaluation can be read here.
5
2013 to be a BIG year for Nick King you feel relaxed and right at home. To see the large dollar numbers coming up was really comforting and we are were so proud of Nick & the North Island to be able to contribute over $7000 on their behalf. The support we received during Nick’s Coin Drive was awesome and the response we received after the Telethon was incredible with many, many calls, emails, texts and comments on Facebook. Hopefully we can carry that enthusiasm as Nick prepares for Coin Drive 2013 due to kick off in August.
By Roger King, Marine Harvest Canada Logistics Coordinator and proud dad of Nick
Some might think it’s tough to take Nick everywhere our family goes due to his low functioning, but actually it’s the opposite. The Variety Show of Hearts Telethon our family attended in February is another example of all the places we have gone and the wonderful people we have met. We have been so blessed to be able to tag along with Nick & take in the fun filled events he participates in. The Variety Show of Hearts weekend was action packed, exciting, overwhelming, yet rejuvenating. Everyone there was there for the same
reason - to help kids with special needs and it was good to exchange stories, give/ receive support, get advice & make new friends in the company of other parents. The atmosphere at the Telethon was electric. Even though it was hustle bustle, the people were so friendly and the support was amazing. Roughly 2500 volunteers were needed to pull off the Telethon from the producers of Global TV to the Boy Scouts collecting garbage. Everyone had a part and each one was equally important. The cheque presentations were nerve wrecking at times but the organizers made
In March, Marine Harvest Canada was pleased to support the 75th Ducks Unlimited Diamond Signature
twitter.com/MHCanada 6
facebook.com/MHCanada MarineHarvestCanada.com
Nick and his fellow Coin Drivers will be honored at the April 8th Canucks game as they host the Phoenix Coyotes. This includes watching the game from the “Lui’s Crease” suite where we all we are treated like royalty. Nick will begin his 2013 Coin Drive with a kick off barbecue in August. MHC & Tyee Chevrolet will be teaming up with Variety to support Nick & the Coin Drive. More details to follow. After that, the program will be very similar to last year where Nick will have coin boxes all over town at local venders plus in addition to taking pledges from family, friends & businesses. We know it will be tough to top the success of 2012 but we did learn a lot last year and are determined to raise as much as possible for kids with special needs in BC.
fundraising event in Vancouver and the Campbell River Salmon Foundation fundraiser held in Campbell River.
bit.ly/MHCanada