Parent company pleased with possibilities on the horizon
By Corey LeBlanc
CANSO: Operations are well underway at one of Guysborough County’s key employers, with Canso Seafoods Ltd. reporting a strong and early start to its 2025 processing season.
“It is going really well – we got an early start [this year],” said Allan MacLean, Senior Operations Manager for Louisbourg Seafoods Ltd., the parent company of Canso Seafoods.
Located on Water Street, the Canso plant is currently providing seasonal employment to 57 workers, who have been putting in four to six days per week since the season launched in mid-March.
Typically, the work season runs from April through late July or early August, but this year’s earlier-than-usual start was driven by an extended processing period for snow crab.
“We decided to capitalize on that opportunity,” MacLean explained.
In a mid-May interview, MacLean noted that by this point in the season, the plant is usually focused on lobster shipments from Prince Edward Island. However, he said the facility is now only days away from receiving lobster from Lobster Fishing Area (LFA) 27, located on the eastern side of Cape Breton Island.
According to MacLean, staff have adapted seamlessly to the adjusted schedule.
“They are wonderful,” he said of the Canso workforce. “We have some people who have been with us for a long, long time. They are very dedicated.”
The plant’s employees are currently using lobster and snow crab processing equipment that was purchased in 2020.
Since acquiring the facility from National Seafood Products in 2008, Louisbourg Seafoods Ltd. has remained committed to the Canso operation, investing more than $3 million in recent years as part of an ongoing modernization strategy.
“We are always exploring possibilities, looking at a lot of options,” said MacLean, noting that company representatives have attended several trade shows in an effort to diversify processing operations and extend the work season.
These efforts include exploring underutilized licenses for other species and expanding into new markets. With recent trade uncertainty – including tariffs from the United States and China – the company has increased its focus on European and Southeast Asian markets, such as the Philippines.
MacLean described these emerging opportunities as “very positive” and said they are aimed at extending employment in Canso by several additional months.
“It is going to be a good year [in Canso],” he said, highlighting the value of the early start to the 2025 season.
MacLean also emphasized the company’s continued optimism for the future of the Canso facility.
“We are really, really positive,” he said.
To learn more about Canso Seafoods Ltd. and its parent company, visit louisbourgseafoods.ca.