A statement from Cold Ocean Salmon Inc., owned by New Brunswick-based Cooke Aquaculture Inc., says approximately 77,000 of 550,000 salmon died in two cages at the cage site near Manual Arm.

The structure was purchased by the city in 2008 for $500,000 as part of the Peel Plaza development before sitting empty until declared surplus and slated for demolition in 2017.

Business owners across the province are expressing concern over proposed increases to WorkSafe NB premiums that could go up by as much as 51 per cent.