After a year and a half, Marbase, the company owned by Norwegian aquaculture expert Bjorn Apeland and Newfoundland-based private-equity firm Pluto Investments, closed a $1 million (€918,000) deal to purchase Peter Kiewet and Sons shipyard in Newfoundland and Labrador, with plans to turn it into an aquaculture center, reports CBC.

"Almost by default Marystown will become the center of aquaculture for Newfoundland and Labrador, and maybe the center of aquaculture for Canada," Mayor of Marystown Sam Synard said.

The new owners plan to build a full-scale service center, including a lumpfish hatchery, to help salmon farmers deal with sea lice infestations in their salmon cages.

The facility will be fully operational in two years and will create 150 to 300 new jobs offering a range of services including net cleaning, cage construction, waste management, feed systems, boat repairs and robotics.

The government is injecting a hefty amount of investment to clean up the contaminants that date back to the days when the yard was government-owned.

The deal comes soon after Grieg Seafood's announcement to build a $250 million hatchery in Marystown.

Grieg NL project manager Thomas Grieg previously told IntraFish the company is in the midst of constructing three buildings for the region, with plans for a massive hatchery to be finished by the end of this year.

Justin Trudeau's Liberal party in Canada announced its full campaign platform on Monday, which includes plans to transition from open net pen salmon farming in coastal waters to closed containment systems by 2025.

Unsurprisingly, throughout the last several years Canada's east coast has been seeing major salmon companies set up in the area including Grieg, Mowi, and now potentially Cermaq, dubbing the area as the final frontier of possible expansion for salmon's net pen farming industry.