Wharfside
August 2014
In this issue Doctor Islets awarded the 2014 Sterling Cup. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Marine Harvest’s Sterling salmon on the menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Hygiene Supervisor at Processing Plant appreciates stable employment. . . . . . . . . . . . 3 VIP tour. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 A sad reminder of why we wear PFDs. . . . . . 4
Doctor Islets awarded the 2014 Sterling Cup The crew from Doctor Islets site achieved the lowest economical feed conversion ratio for the 2012 year class. The final EFCR for its recently harvested crop was 1.168 (BFCR was 1.126). Congratulations to all the staff who affected the result: George Nichols, Gord Bach, Len Wells, Dave Emmerson, Teddy Scheck, and
Tom Teschuk, as well as the smolt source, Ocean Falls. The crew now gets to pick a location anywhere in North America to go and celebrate. Congratulations to the Doctor Islets crew, and enjoy a very well deserved vacation!
Jacob’s Big Adventure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Batters Up!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Tour de Klemtu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Rescue at sea. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Raise a Whale Project. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Join us this summer at our salmon barbeque for charity!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Did you Know? Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King became the first “Canadian citizen” in 1947.
Trivia time! A single piece of paper can be folded no more than how many times? Answer on Page 4
Comments about this Newsletter? Please email comments, articles and ideas to Ian Roberts, Communications Manager at ian.roberts@marineharvest.com
(l-r) Tom Teschuck, George Nichols, Gord Bach, Dave Emmerson (missing from photo: Teddy Scheck and Len Wells)
Marine Harvest’s Sterling salmon on the menu
Chef Josh Gale introduces the menu to guests at Longtail Kitchen
Chef Josh Gale (from CTV’s Masterchef Canada) was proud to feature Marine Harvest Canada’s Sterling salmon at a recent “pop up restaurant”. A pop up restaurant is a special event that takes over an existing restaurant for an evening and prepares custom meals for guests. Josh’s event took place on June 10 at the Longtail Kitchen in New Westminster, B.C. Guests enjoyed a four course tasting menu with wine pairing and one of the main courses included a poached filet of salmon.
Poached Sterling salmon
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MarineHarvestCanada.com
“Thanks again for choosing to participate in our event,” says Josh. “It made a huge difference towards the success of the evening and that salmon was delicious!”
Hygiene Supervisor at Processing Plant appreciates stable employment tasked with the crucial responsibility of ensuring all cleaning protocols for the processing equipment are followed daily. Almost a year ago, Gavin moved up to his current position. He now supervises a crew of eight cleaners and a lead hand.
Gavin Richards, Hygiene Supervisor By Gina Forsyth
Gavin Richards is looking towards his future with an appreciation of the stable and well paying position he’s found at the Port Hardy Processing Plant (PHPP) as Hygiene Supervisor. He joined Marine Harvest in 2008 as a processor on the afternoon shift and switched roles as a member of the hygiene crew, which is
“After I graduated from high school, I worked full-time as a grill cook at A and W. It was constantly busy, particularly during the summer,” Gavin said. A contact in the aquaculture industry suggested he apply at the processing plant. He did, and six years later, Gavin has found his niche. “Working with the hygiene crew is a great fit for me because you have to consistently pay attention to detail and I’ve always been a meticulous worker”. “I like being part of an industry that’s proactive and where challenges are dealt
with right away”. At the PHPP, “no one’s got an ego,” he said. I like the open door policy of being able to talk to anyone, anytime,” Gavin added. Born and raised in the ocean-side community of Parksville on Vancouver Island, Gavin is the oldest of three kids. His brother, sister and parents remain in his hometown. Gavin currently lives in Port McNeill, ½ an hour south of Port Hardy. On his days off, Gavin enjoys not only working out at the gym – “I’m there most days doing weight training” – but reading as well. “I like biographies because I learn about real people,” adding that he particularly enjoys reading about musician’s lives. This interest fits in well with Gavin’s musical tastes. “I listen to AC/DC and Journey and like other bands too.”
VIP tour The Honourable Keith Colwell (Nova Scotia’s Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture) and delegates enjoyed a tour of Marine Harvest operations last month. The two-day visit included a recirculating aquaculture system, a sea farm, and Port Hardy’s processing plant. Graeme Bull (MHC); Clare Backman (MHC); Dean Guest (MHC); Honourable Keith Colwell, Minister of the Nova Scotia Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture; Ruth Salmon, Executive Director of Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance; Dr. Roland Cusack; Brian Rogers, Deputy Minister of NS Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture MarineHarvestCanada.com
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A sad reminder of why we wear PFDs By Kristian Fletcher, Brainsafe Master Facilitator
With the peak of summer weather upon us, many are enjoying various outdoor activities. While we are fixing our outboards and canoes and figuring out which lakes we are going to camp at there’s a few things we should all remember to do. But if we can remember just one thing, it is to make safety a priority.
Marine Harvest’s Jacob Koomen recently participated in Norway’s Nordsjørittet cycle race with other Marine Harvest colleagues from around the world. Jacob’s passion for cycling and his commitment to raising thousands of dollars for cancer research at many races is something we all celebrate at Marine Harvest. “I had a great time in June in Norway with my fellow Norwegian colleagues; 100 cyclists from Marine Harvest joined over 12,000 others in Norway’s second largest race. In my age group (65 over) I ended up 59 out of 121 with a time of 4 hours and 14.15 minutes and was beaten by another Marine Harvest racer by just two seconds! The 91 km race took us along a beautiful sea side course with small bridges where you had to get off the bike and walk. The socializing afterwards was great and at the Marine Harvest wrap up banquet I was proud to express my positive feelings towards the race as the only Canadian!” 4
After dinner we were getting ready for bed and all of a sudden we could hear a helicopter just across the village. From about 10pm until 1:30am we watched as a helicopter searched in front of Kelsey Bay, and around the mouth of the Salmon River. Above them was a plane dropping incredibly bright parachute flares that seemed to burn forever, and mid channel there were boats searching back and forth. It was pretty obvious we were witnessing a search and rescue (SAR) operation. Like we all do, we watched and kept muttering the words “I sure hope everyone’s okay.” After hours of searching, they flew off into the night. We hoped all was good, but it wasn’t.
near Brasseau Bay and had someone call 911. The other man was never found after an exhaustive search. One of the Sayward RCMP Officers was quoted saying “the fact that the deck hand was wearing a life-jacket likely saved his life.” This unfortunate loss of life serves as a reminder to all of us. Life jackets aren’t just there so we are following procedures at work, or being overly safe. Remember, we are all expected to wear our floatation devices out at the sea sites, above the tanks at hatcheries, and on all work vessels. Let us not forget to wear them when we are out enjoying the summer. Watching the SAR operation was a gigantic eye opener about the importance of a personal floatation device to my fiancé and me. Always wear a PFD when you are above water. They can be the difference between having a good time, and something terribly tragic happening.
It turns out a fishing boat had overturned and both crew members were tossed from the vessel. One man made it back to shore
MarineHarvestCanada.com
Answer: Seven (try it!)
Jacob’s Big Adventure
Back on June 12th, I had just gotten out of camp. It was like any normal day. We landed at the Campbell River airport after a nice flight, I was back in cell service with my weekly “shopping list” uploaded on my mobile. I did my shopping, and headed north to Sayward.
Wearing a PFD can save your life
Lexi Michaels was so happy to receive her new bike!
Stray Katz took home the honours for A Division. Front row (l-r): Jeanine Sumner, Kirstie Bradshaw, Stephanie Dawson, Chelsea Gordon; Back row (l-r) Jason Saunders, Brian Texmo, Ryan Handley, Jake Colbourne, Shelby Cockell, Brayden Demoe, Jordan Campbell
Batters Up!
Josephine Duncan was a very proud winner of one of the bicycles.
The 18th Annual B.C. Aquaculture SloPitch Tournament, held in July, was fun for all…and quite successful for all three Marine Harvest sponsored teams. Division A winners were Stray Katz, Division B winners were Upchucks, and Division B
runner ups were Something Fishy. Check out some great photos of the tournament at http://www.farmfreshsalmon.org/havingfun-18th-annual-bc-aquaculture-slopitchtournament.
Tour de Klemtu “Thank you very much for Marine Harvest’s generous donation of the two bicycles which were used as participant prizes for the Walk for Wellness Walk & Luncheon that was held on June 14 in Klemtu. It is hopeful that the recipients will spend a lot more time enjoying the beautiful outdoors riding their bicycles!” – Edna Mason, Event Coordinator, Klemtu
Rescue at sea When staff in the Quatsino area saw an emergency flare go off in the distance of Quatsino Sound on July 3, they immediately jumped into action. They found a boat taking on water after hitting a log and quickly towed “Captain Ron” back to safety in Coal Harbour. Nicely done team! MarineHarvestCanada.com
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Raise a Whale Project While Marine Harvest supports a variety of community and charitable events, the sponsorship of a thoracic vertebra was definitely a first. Three years ago, a young beached grey whale was buried with the intent of future exhumation and skeleton display at Vancouver Island University’s Deep Bay Field Station. Former VIU student and Marine Harvester Michelle Bluhm was one of the first to help sponsor the project and had recently assisted a team of experts in the exhumation of the bones. Michelle was so excited about the opportunity that she asked if Marine Harvest might wish to become involved. YES!
Join us this summer at our salmon barbeque for charity!
Denise and Michelle (right) helping to “Raise a Whale”
More information about the “Raise a Whale” project and some amazing photos
Charity
Date
Location
Serving Time
Orca Fest
16-Aug-14
Pt McNeill - town centre
11 am - 1:30 pm
Vancouver Island Mountain Sports Society
23-Aug-14
Courtenay - Mt Wash, Nordic Site
4 pm - 6 pm
Volunteer Campbell River
6-Sep-14
CR - Spirit Square
11:30 am - 2 pm
SPCA - Paws for a Cause
7-Sep-14
CR - Nunns Creek Park
11 am - 12:30 pm
Greenways Land Trust
20-Sep-14
CR - Spirit Square
11 am - 1 pm
twitter.com/MHCanada
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can be found at http://viudeepbay.com/ tag/viuwhale/
facebook.com/MHCanada
MarineHarvestCanada.com
bit.ly/MHCanada