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By Pedro Augusto<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Atlantic Ocean has become more than just a maritime route\u2014it is now emerging as a strategic bridge between northeastern Brazil and Canada. An initiative led by the Chamber of Commerce Brazil-Canada (CCBC) is bringing together the state of Cear\u00e1 and the Canadian province of Nova Scotia around an ambitious Blue Economy agenda, a concept encompassing ocean-related activities, marine innovation, fisheries, aquaculture, logistics, and sustainability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The initiative promoted by the CCBC aims to connect Brazilian and Canadian fisheries businesses, government authorities from both countries, and leading institutions in Nova Scotia, including Dalhousie University<\/strong> (Halifax, Canada\u2019s leading university in marine research); the Bedford Institute of Oceanography<\/strong> (Dartmouth, Canada\u2019s largest federal ocean research center, focused on fisheries management and marine biodiversity); and COVE (Centre for Ocean Ventures & Entrepreneurship)<\/strong>, an ocean technology hub located at the Port of Halifax, home to more than 60 companies and startups. The goal is to establish a bilateral Blue Economy corridor that combines production capacity, technology, scientific exchange, and investment to generate high-value business opportunities in both countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The initiative gains momentum at a time when bilateral seafood trade between Brazil and Canada is experiencing consistent growth, with figures highlighting the relationship\u2019s expansion potential. Between January and May 2026, Brazilian seafood exports to the Canadian market totaled US$1.82 million. Cear\u00e1 accounted for US$217,400 of that amount, representing 11.9% of all Brazilian seafood exports to Canada during the period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These figures reinforce the state’s importance in the trade relationship between the two countries. Between 2023 and 2025, Cear\u00e1\u2019s seafood exports to Canada surged from US$525,000 to US$2.05 million, a 291% increase in just two years. Over the same period, Brazil\u2019s overall seafood exports to Canada grew from approximately US$2.7 million to US$7.3 million, an increase of 167%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This prominence helps explain why Cear\u00e1 has entered the international Blue Economy spotlight. In 2024, the state generated US$93.8 million in fisheries exports and accounted for approximately 25% of all seafood exported by Brazil. Cear\u00e1 also leads the country in marine aquaculture production and was responsible for more than half of the Northeast region\u2019s output.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCear\u00e1 has historically been closely associated with social and economic development linked to ocean-based activities. When we identified Canada as a strategic market, we realized there was a very clear complementarity between the two ecosystems,\u201d says Igor Gon\u00e7alves<\/strong>, creator of the initiative and coordinator of the Cear\u00e1 Chapter, one of the Chamber\u2019s regional hubs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to him, the decision to prioritize the Blue Economy as the cornerstone of the partnership was driven by its potential to generate more immediate commercial results than sectors dependent on long-term infrastructure investments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe believe the Blue Economy can be the most effective tool for immediate engagement because it is based on commercial relationships with significant complementary potential,\u201d Gon\u00e7alves says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The partnership between Brazil and Canada extends beyond fish and shellfish exports. Nova Scotia is recognized as one of the world\u2019s leading hubs for ocean technology and marine innovation, creating opportunities for scientific exchange and the joint development of solutions for the fisheries value chain. The CCBC\u2019s strategy has been to build this bridge through industry associations and institutional partners capable of expanding the initiative\u2019s reach and connecting stakeholders within a single ecosystem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOur initial focus has been working with industry associations and institutions because they are able to broaden the reach of this agenda and connect businesses, universities, and governments within the same ecosystem,\u201d says Gon\u00e7alves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Among the organizations already engaged in discussions are government-related agencies in Nova Scotia, including Invest Nova Scotia<\/strong>, Invest Halifax<\/strong>, and Nova Scotia Intergovernmental Affairs<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The trade relationship presents a rare scenario of complementarity between the two markets. On the Brazilian side, Canada seeks tropical species and premium, high-value products such as frozen red snapper, tuna, lobster, and tilapia fillets. Cear\u00e1\u2019s leading export to the Canadian market is currently frozen red snapper (Lutjanus purpureus<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Brazil, in turn, has strong demand for cold-water fish and premium seafood products produced in Canada. Today, approximately 90% of Brazilian imports of Canadian seafood consist of frozen scallops, a segment in which Nova Scotia ranks among the world\u2019s leading producers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is also significant potential to expand trade flows with products such as cod, cold-water lobster, and salmon. However, the partnership between Cear\u00e1 and Nova Scotia goes beyond traditional trade. The agenda under development also includes opportunities to add value throughout the production chain through seafood processing, technology exchange, and bilateral investment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Hilton Nascimento<\/strong>, President of the Chamber of Commerce Brazil-Canada (CCBC), the complementarity between the two markets creates favorable conditions for joint projects capable of increasing business scale and sector competitiveness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe are not talking solely about exporting seafood for final consumption. There is room to add value, process products, and create new business opportunities for companies in both countries.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The possibility of establishing seafood processing facilities in Canada, including with the participation of Brazilian companies, is viewed as one of the most promising opportunities. In addition to serving the local market, these facilities could utilize raw materials from both countries and expand access to international markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe are connecting two regions with a strong maritime vocation. Cear\u00e1 brings production capacity, while Nova Scotia contributes technology, research, and innovation. This combination can generate highly significant results for the Blue Economy,\u201d Nascimento says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Initiative led by the Chamber of Commerce Brazil-Canada (CCBC) places the northeastern Brazilian state at the center of a bilateral seafood trade route; discussions involve business leaders, researchers, and government authorities<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":79020,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"1080","footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[125,229,1965,2212,584,246,2189,2213],"class_list":["post-79076","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-canada-en","tag-ccbc-en","tag-ccbc-50-anos-en","tag-ceara-2-en","tag-comex-en","tag-foods","tag-negocios-2-en","tag-pesca-en"],"cp_meta_data":{"_wpml_word_count":["{\"total\":1036,\"to_translate\":{\"fr\":1036,\"pt-br\":1036}}"],"_wp_old_date":["2026-05-26"],"_et_pb_use_builder":["off"],"_et_pb_old_content":[""],"_et_gb_content_width":["1080"],"footnotes":[""],"_et_monarch_override":[""],"sb_djhf_disable":["0"],"_et_post_bg_color":["#ffffff"],"_et_post_bg_layout":["light"],"_et_pb_show_title":["on"],"_et_pb_post_hide_nav":["default"],"_et_pb_page_layout":["et_no_sidebar"],"_et_pb_side_nav":["off"],"_wpml_media_duplicate":["1"],"_wpml_media_featured":["1"],"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":["53"],"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":["Reforma Tribut\u00e1ria"],"_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":["Evento do Chapter MG reuniu empresas de minera\u00e7\u00e3o e do agroneg\u00f3cio para avaliar impactos nos neg\u00f3cios com o novo sistema em discuss\u00e3o no Congresso"],"_yoast_wpseo_linkdex":["56"],"_yoast_wpseo_content_score":["30"],"_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":["5"],"_et_builder_dynamic_assets_loading_attr_threshold":["2"],"_wpml_location_migration_done":["1"],"_wpcp_page_specific_scripts":[""],"_thumbnail_id":["79020"],"_edit_lock":["1782742960:55"],"_edit_last":["55"],"_encloseme":["1"]},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ccbc.org.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79076","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ccbc.org.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ccbc.org.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ccbc.org.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/55"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ccbc.org.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79076"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.ccbc.org.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79076\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":79114,"href":"https:\/\/www.ccbc.org.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79076\/revisions\/79114"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ccbc.org.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79020"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ccbc.org.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79076"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ccbc.org.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79076"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ccbc.org.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79076"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}An Atlantic corridor for seafood, innovation, and ocean technology<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Commercial complementarity creates a strategic opportunity<\/h2>\n\n\n\n