Atlantic Canadian companies looking to hook new seafood markets in Europe

A delegation from Atlantic Canada is looking for new seafood markets in Europe in light of the U.S. tariffs.

Representatives from 14 Atlantic Canadian seafood companies are on a trip to Italy, France and the United Kingdom to try and find new markets in the face of pending United States tariffs.

“We are here on a trade mission,” said Nova Scotia Fisheries Minister Kent Smith, who spoke with CTV Atlantic from Rome on Tuesday.

With Nova Scotia’s seafood export market valued at $2.5 billion per year, and about half of that normally going to the U.S., Smith said it’s crucial to look for other options.

“We’re seeing new companies coming to us that haven’t come to us before, they’re asking for help and advice on how to look for new markets,” he said.

Victoria Co-operative Fisheries Limited, located north of cape Smokey in New Haven, N.S., is also part of the trade mission. Based on previous experience, they are optimistic about the appetite for East Coast seafood abroad.

“We’ve had opportunities to sell additional product, last year, for example, on snow crab to Southeast Asia,” said general manager Osborne Burke. “But we declined that opportunity because we were trying to supply our friends and customers in the US of A.”

Herb Nash, a fishermen’s representative in the Glace Bay area, also likes the idea of trying new markets overseas.

“It would be easier to deal with them than it is to deal with Trump right now,” he said.

Other major exporters are making plans, too.

At Port Hawkesbury Paper, the U.S. market is by far their biggest. Mill management has been talking with concerned customers and looking with what they call “great scrutiny” at their cost base.

“In that sense, it’s healthy for the business, but we’ll be pushing the limits if the day ever does come where a tariff is imposed,” said mill co-manager Mike Hartery. “I don’t think anyone is naive enough to think it will go away, that threat, so we will continue to lobby hard.”

While a major shift in seafood market diversification will take time, Smith said discussions in Europe are off to a good start.

“What I hear from these companies that have made connections is that typically within 12 months, if someone’s going to buy, they’re going to buy,” he said.

The trade mission in Europe wraps up next week. Smith said the attention will then turn to a pair of international trade shows in Boston and Barcelona in March and May.