Marine Harvest Canada downsizing due to salmon import pressure

Half of the 60 layoffs Marine Harvest Canada (MHC) announced in December are now final, and the others will happen sometime in 2012.

Contrary to news reports, there are no other layoffs planned beyond these, Marine Harvest Canada Sustainability Projects Director David Clare Backman told IntraFish.

The downsize was implemented to reduce costs, compensating for a significant drop in farmed salmon prices since June 2011.

From its Canada location, where MHC harvests 45,000 metric tons of Atlantic salmon per year, the company is feeling the pressure from its competitors abroad.