A new funding program has been launched by the province to support research and development in the aquaculture industry.

The new Multi-Species Research and Development Fund was announced by Minister Elvis Loveless during the Cold Harvest 2023 conference in St. John’s yesterday.

The money will go toward research and development of aquaculture species that are not currently commercialized.

Loveless says marine plants are an example of what could be looked at through the program, noting that they have seen growth in some species over a short period of time such as oysters.

He says in 2019 they were having similar conversations about oysters, and since that time they have had four big developments on that front.