More funding for shellfish research
To complement its research facility in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, the Centre for Shellfish Research (CSR) is developing a Shellfish Aquaculture Research and Training Farm in Deep Bay, B.C. According to the CSR, this field site will be used as a platform to field test CSR research results – as well as for training, technology development and public education. The federal government recently announced a $CAD 400,000 contribution towards the CSR’s research programs. The Deep Bay project goal is $CAD eight million. Earlier this year the Island Coastal Economic Trust announced a $CAD 1,000,000 funding commitment towards the project, which at that time had obtained other funding in the amount of $CAD 3,300,000.
“The Centre for Shellfish Research and the associated Deep Bay Field Station will become the foundation to grow a sustainable and profitable industry in B.C.”, states the CSR web site. “By clustering social, economic, environmental and scientific programming in one facility, we hope to create a centre of excellence and innovation that commands the attention of the world’s shellfish growers and consumers”. This Field Station is anticipated to complement the core CSR laboratory by taking its research into the real-world environment for proof-of-concept application and commercialization. For example, CSR is currently developing culture techniques for the Native cockle, an important species for First Nations.
“CSR is now committed to raising additional funding to build a multi-use facility to expand the Field Station’s programs and activities into industry training, community outreach, and tourism and marketing. This expanded mandate of the Field Station—beyond scientific research and technological innovation—will help to foster a fully integrated strategy to grow the industry from the farm to the fork. The activity in this new facility will fall under three new programs; Training, Community Outreach and Tourism and Marketing”. Growing global demand for sustainable seafood, increased environmental awareness and ever more tourists looking for experiential, life-enriching holidays augurs well for the future of B.C.’s shellfish industry. The Deep Bay Field Station will be the only facility of its kind in Canada that brings together scientific research, industry training, community outreach, and tourism and marketing in an integrated way. By housing these activities under one roof, CSR hopes to speed up the transfer of laboratory and field research into commercial innovations that will create a more sustainable shellfish industry and fulfill its mandate: “Creating Wealth from Knowledge.” Picture text: Artist’s sketch of planned facility
