Bideford hatchery wins Aboriginal business award

The Bideford Shellfish Hatchery in Ellerslie, P.E.I., has won an Ulnooweg Entrepreneur Award for Aboriginal Government Enterprise of the Year.

The awards are handed out every two years to recognize the "heart, perseverance and success of Atlantic Canadian entrepreneurs."

"It's a great recognition for all the hard work that we put into the hatchery over the last couple years," said Mike Randall, executive director of Lennox Island Development Corp.

The Aboriginal-owned and operated oyster hatchery received almost $250,000 for renovations in 2016 from the federal and provincial governments as well as funding fromAboriginal Business and Entrepreneurship Development and Aboriginal Aquaculture in Canada Initiative.

It has since branched out to include quahogs.

Growing pains

Randall said there were some growing pains last year but the company has brought in some new technology to deal with some of the issues.

"We're dealing with nature. It's not a product that we can just go out in the water and get and bring back and turn around and sell. It's something that we have to create from scratch," he said.

The hatchery employs seven people, Randall said.

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With files from Laura Chapin