New Brunswick Aquaculture Technology Gains Commercial Traction with World's Largest Salmon Producer
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 8th, 2026
ST. ANDREWS, N.B. - The New Brunswick Innovation Foundation (NBIF) is leading a funding round in East Coast Innovation Inc. (ECI), supporting the commercialization and growth of a New Brunswick company whose technology is improving fish well-being and operational efficiency for salmon producers around the world.
NBIF has committed $350,000 as lead investor in the company's first institutional financing round, alongside TLT Ventures, and existing shareholders.
Founded in 2020, East Coast Innovation has spent more than six years developing SmoothMove™, an innovative system designed to improve welfare and quality outcomes during the loading of fish in the US$21.4-billion global salmon farming industry. Traditional transfer methods rely on drawing fish into fish transfer systems through a funnel on the end of a fish suction hose. The status quo lacks the critical features needed to provide operators with visibility above and below the water while allowing them to control the rate at which fish enter the system during the loading process. The SmoothMove addresses these issues and helps protect fish health by keeping the population calm, making the loading process less stressful on the animals, farmers and operators. ECI’s technology reduces the population’s exposure to risk during the loading process.
The technology has already achieved a significant commercial milestone. Following successful pilot projects, ECI has signed its first commercial agreement for the SmoothMove currently in operation onboard the Norwegian harvest vessel, Tauranga, which is owned and operated by Napier AS. The Tauranga conducts harvest operations for the global salmon farming leader Mowi. This critical milestone validates years of product development and positions ECI for international growth.
"New Brunswick has a strong foundation in aquaculture, making it an ideal place to build technologies that can solve challenges for producers around the world," said Jeff White, CEO of NBIF. "East Coast Innovation is combining local expertise with scalable technology to strengthen a strategically important sector while building a company with global growth potential. That's exactly the kind of opportunity NBIF was created to support. We help ambitious New Brunswick companies scale, attract investment, and generate long-term economic impact."
The funding will support continued commercialization, business development and operational growth as the company expands its customer base across the global aquaculture industry.
"This investment marks an important milestone for East Coast Innovation," said Joel Halse, CEO of East Coast Innovations. "Developing new technology for a global industry takes time, persistence and strong partners. Having NBIF lead this round gives us the resources to accelerate commercialization and bring SmoothMove to more salmon producers looking to improve fish welfare, operational performance, sustainability and profitability. Protecting fish welfare within our farming systems is both ethical and also good business."
TLT Ventures says the company has demonstrated both technical innovation and commercial potential.
"East Coast Innovation has engineered a practical, highly scalable solution to one of the costliest operational bottlenecks facing the global aquaculture industry," said Michael Brown, Managing Director at TLT Ventures. "Aquaculture technology is an emerging domain where Atlantic Canada holds a genuine, underappreciated technical advantage. The unique combination of localized operational expertise, an ideal marine environment, and deep industry density creates the exact conditions required to build global category leaders right from our own borders. We are proud to anchor this round alongside NBIF to accelerate ECI's international commercial deployment."
The investment reflects NBIF's mandate on backing New Brunswick companies developing globally competitive technologies in priority sectors, while helping founders attract additional capital and scale their businesses.
– 30 –
MEDIA INQUIRIES
Nicole Vair
Director, Communications, NBIF
T: 506-910-1756
E: Nicole.Vair@nbif.ca