The China-based company First Catch Fisheries Company will be building the facility this spring.
The company purchased 2.5 acres of land at the industrial park in the municipality last September.
The company had hoped to have the facility built sooner but has been busy shipping lobster from Halifax this lobster fishing season.
In an interview last week, company vice-president Tony Shi said they just sent two 100-tonne shipments of lobster on a charter flight to China and will ship another on Jan. 21.
Turning his sights to the plant to be constructed in the Municipality of Shelburne, he said construction should start in March or April.
“Construction will be finished in four or five months,” said Shi. “Processing won’t start for 10 months to a year.”
At first the company will focus on shipping lobsters to China while holding tanks are built. They will eventually process cooked lobster.
To do this they will need a workforce for the facility.
“We plan to hire locally 30 or 40 people with as many as 100 depending on the season,” said Shi.
When Shi toured Nova Scotia prior to purchasing the land in the Shelburne municipality’s industrial park, he said they stopped at many places throughout the province looking for the perfect spot before settling on Shelburne County.
“It is very beautiful there,” said Shi. “The location was perfect, the water so clean and fresh.”
He said there is a huge market among their customers for lobsters caught in the Atlantic Ocean.
“Nova Scotia is the best hard-shell lobster,” he said.
Shi said 70 per cent of the product is sold before it even gets on the plane. He said they are able to get anywhere from $16 to $18 a pound.
The China-based company First Catch Fisheries Company will be building the facility this spring.
The company purchased 2.5 acres of land at the industrial park in the municipality last September.
The company had hoped to have the facility built sooner but has been busy shipping lobster from Halifax this lobster fishing season.
In an interview last week, company vice-president Tony Shi said they just sent two 100-tonne shipments of lobster on a charter flight to China and will ship another on Jan. 21.
Turning his sights to the plant to be constructed in the Municipality of Shelburne, he said construction should start in March or April.
“Construction will be finished in four or five months,” said Shi. “Processing won’t start for 10 months to a year.”
At first the company will focus on shipping lobsters to China while holding tanks are built. They will eventually process cooked lobster.
To do this they will need a workforce for the facility.
“We plan to hire locally 30 or 40 people with as many as 100 depending on the season,” said Shi.
When Shi toured Nova Scotia prior to purchasing the land in the Shelburne municipality’s industrial park, he said they stopped at many places throughout the province looking for the perfect spot before settling on Shelburne County.
“It is very beautiful there,” said Shi. “The location was perfect, the water so clean and fresh.”
He said there is a huge market among their customers for lobsters caught in the Atlantic Ocean.
“Nova Scotia is the best hard-shell lobster,” he said.
Shi said 70 per cent of the product is sold before it even gets on the plane. He said they are able to get anywhere from $16 to $18 a pound.
