New milestone at Port Hardy’s processing plant

In this issueNew milestone at Port Hardy’s processing plant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Career nights for First Nation partners . . . 2

Keta’s home at the hatchery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Best community minded business . . . . . . . 4

Who is on production’s joint health and safety committee? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

MHC kicks in for second season . . . . . . . . . 5

T’is the tourist season . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Charitable BBQs underway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

A celebration for Marine Harvesters . . . . . 6

Please email comments, articles and ideas to Ian Roberts,

Director of Public Affairs, at ian.roberts@marineharvest.com

Comments about this Newsletter?

Did you Know?A Scottish stick used for stirring

porridge is called a spurtle.

Trivia time! What are the three best-selling

studio albums of all time? Answer on Page 4

Wharfside June 2016

Marine Harvest Canada’s salmon processing plant in Port Hardy (PHPP) has much to celebrate, and this now includes the lowest cost producer for all Marine Harvest’s processing plants worldwide in the first quarter of 2016. Staff gathered for lunch along with Marine Harvest Canada’s senior management team on May 24 to celebrate this achievement.

Built in 1994, the facility (originally called Alpha Processing) was purposely built to process salmon year-round and soon became Port Hardy’s largest private employer. A fire destroyed the building in

February 2003, but was soon rebuilt and back in business.

Vincent Erenst, Managing Director, addressed the lunch crowd with an appreciation of the hard work and innovation that has built PHPP into one of the leading fish processing plants in North America.

Speaking of milestones, three of the plant’s original hires attended the lunch celebration. Darcy Day, Judy Andrews, and John Robichaud began working on the first day of operation: November 17, 1994.

MHC has formal agreements with eleven First Nations that include commitments to training and creating economic opportunities. Throughout 2016 MHC is holding career information receptions for our First Nation partners. These receptions, called Think of the Possibilities, have been designed to showcase the diverse careers available within aquaculture as well as the pathways into full time, permanent employment with MHC.

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Career nights for First Nation partners

(l-r) Nadine Gibbs, Steven Scarf, Kevin Everson, Tawni Wilkins, Charlene Everson and Shylo Loock attended the reception in Comox.

(l-r) Cory Cliffe, Travis Norris-Le Page, Brian Assu, and Shylo Loock discuss career possibilities in Campbell River.

At Big Tree Creek hatchery on Vancouver Island, there lives a dog called Keta who has worked for Marine Harvest Canada for longer than many of her two-legged colleagues.

She was brought to Big Tree Creek from another hatchery by former manager Barbara Addison. Her job is pretty simple: keep predators away from the fish and raise the alarm if there are trespassers or any unusual activity on the site.

Keta is a mixed breed who has never had puppies. She spends a lot of time around salmon and as a result gets quite excited when dogs visit the hatchery. Another pleasure has been the arrival of construction crews who are building the new recirculating aquaculture systems being installed by Marine Harvest.

“She knows all the break times of the different crews. She’s made friends with the construction workers and she’s regularly getting fed bagels and sausages,” hatchery manager Chris McNeill says.

Her diet is specially-formulated dry food recommended by a local vet. She isn’t fed fish feed pellets nor does she rely on food scraps from the workers. Even with all these options for food, and regular vet checkups, she has had trouble in the past keeping on weight.

“We’ve been worried about her over the years, she’s a naturally lean dog who works hard and it shows. In terms of health and safety we take care of everything for her, Keta has the same medical and dental care as the rest of us.”

The work she does is invaluable, according to Chris. “We’ve never had predator issues in our tanks and you can credit that to Keta. We’ve seen her chase bears off the site.”

Her work hours are flexible. She is free to dig beds all over the grounds or retire to her dog house beside the staff accommodation. There is a winter bed for her in the boot room on the coldest nights of the year.

While Keta is communally-cared for, she has a few special people in her life. Big Tree technicians Christine O’Connor and Ken Save are virtually her parents, while Port McNeill truck driver Doug Schofield is her

favourite visitor. Doug makes two peanut butter and jam sandwiches in the morning, one for him and one for Keta. Consequently she goes crazy when his big red truck arrives.

Aged 13, Keta is getting close to retirement. Chris says she’s on blood pressure pills and permanently on light duties. She has no shortage of offers for homes to spend her end-of-life. Though after more than a decade of guarding salmon, she won’t be leaving Big Tree Creek until absolutely necessary.

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Keta’s home at the hatchery

Answer: Thriller, Michael Jackson; Rumours, Fleetwood Mac; Back in Black, ACDC

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By Joy Stowe, Freshwater Support

The April edition of Wharfside contained an article introducing the Joint Health & Safety Committee for Production ( JHSC – Production). The committee is made up of employee and management representatives from Freshwater and Saltwater production areas. The inaugural meeting was September and monthly meetings are attended in person or by conference call.

The JHSC - Production provides an open forum for safety concerns or

great ideas from any production area to be brought forward, discussed and communicated. All Marine Harvest workers can participate in ensuring our safety culture remains strong by communicating their ideas or concerns to any of these committee members: Brad Hallam, Curtis Resler, Dave Guhl, Riley McFadyen, Chris McNeill, Cory Wiebe, Shaun Hennessey, Andrew Lang, Kristian Fletcher and myself, Joy Stowe.

Some of the subjects covered in meetings have been crew house inspections,

employee training, footwear, contractor issues. The committee deals with concerns that affect all areas of the company. The full minutes of the meetings are available to Marine Harvest Canada employees in the health and safety section of the company’s intranet.

Who is on production’s joint health and safety committee?

Congratulations to all our staff for being voted “Best Community Minded Business” by readers of the Campbell River Mirror!

Best community minded business

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Marine Harvest Canada has committed funding to the Upper Island Riptide junior soccer program’s second season.

In 2015, the partnership between Marine Harvest and the Riptide allowed player and coach development to continue in the North Island by means of a highly qualified technical team of Shel Brodsgaard and Ken Garraway.  

Marine Harvest is excited to be part of a soccer program that offers local kids a real opportunity to excel in the sport, and to become great ambassadors for soccer and the North Island communities. Perhaps most importantly, this core funding helps make elite and affordable training available to North Island families regardless of income.

A big thank you is due to staff from the farms, hatcheries and the plant for hosting the many visitors who come to view aquaculture operations. Last month, tour groups included students from Mulgrave School in West Vancouver, volunteers from Goldstream hatchery near Victoria, and ecology teachers from B.C. post-secondary institutions. It’s an important part of public outreach for Marine Harvest Canada, and we couldn’t do it without the welcome shown by site employees.

MHC kicks in for second season

T’is the tourist season

MHC sales manager Dave Ashcroft (left) hands the donation to Riptide committee member Sean Arbour

B.C. post-secondary teachers toured MHC in May

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bit.ly/MHCanadatwitter.com/MHCanada facebook.com/MHCanada

The annual employee recognition event takes place on Friday 10th June from 11am to 4pm at the Thunderbird Hall in Campbell River. All employees are welcome to play truant from their

workplace for a day of fun and games organized by the Human Resources team. For a chance to win a Go Pro camera employees should submit a photo that illustrates “What you love about

your job” to tina.gonsky@marineharvest.com by Friday 3 June. The winner will be announced on the day.

A celebration for Marine Harvesters

Charity Date Location Serving Time

Campbell River Head Injury Support Society Celebration Station - Bike to Work Week

1-Jun-16 Campbell River - Spirit Square Dinner

Port Hardy Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Centre World Oceans Day

8-Jun-16 Port Hardy - Chamber of Commerce (7250 Market Street)

Lunch

Campbell River Hospice Society Race the River - Dragon Boat Festival

25-Jun-16 Campbell River - Dick Murphy Park, Tyee Spit

Lunch

BC Professional FireFighters - Burn Fund Canada Day Celebration

1-Jul-16 Campbell River - Robert Ostler Park Lunch

Broughton Curling Club Port McNeill Logger Sports 2-Jul-16 Port McNeill - Broughton Blvd Waterfront Lunch

Chefs Cori and Pierre have taken the MHC barbecue trailer to seven events before the official start of summer, feeding hundreds of people fresh farm-raised B.C. salmon. The new teriyaki salmon noodle salad has been a hit for those seeking more gluten friendly food, while the traditional burger is a reliable best-seller. So far funds have been raised for a ski club, swimming club, a soccer program, two schools, a gymnastics tournament, and two healthcare charities.

MHC employees who would like to volunteer at a charitable BBQ should contact Cori Wheeler at cwheeler73@hotmail.com.

Go online to see the full schedule: http://www.marineharvest.ca/people/supporting-the-community/bbq-application-form/

Charitable BBQs underway

Up and coming BBQs

Mt Washington Ski Club athlete Natalia Bellefleur helps assemble teriyaki noodle salads for the Snow to Surf in Comox