Multi-trophic farm research in New Brunswick
Shawn Robinson, research scientist with the Department of Fisheries Biological Station in St. Andrews, told the New Brunswick newspaper Telegraph-Journal he is leading the world's research in this kind of multi-trophic aquaculture.
Robinson is attempting to recreate an environment where scallops, mussels, starfish, salmon and other sea-life coexist and feed off each other.
According to the Telegraph-Journal, Robinson and others have developed a system of putting strings of mussels very close to the salmon cages to feed from the salmon waste and filter the water around the cage. A second line of defense is set up with a kind of seaweed called Kelp that feeds off of and filters the leftovers that the mussels did not get to.
Also privately owned Cooke Aquaculture is testing sites with multi-trophic farming. For now it is in the Bay of Fundy, but the company is also planning similar projects in Newfoundland, Maine and Nova Scotia.
In addition to the multi-culture project Robinson is in charge of, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is using the opportunity to test the mussels on a frequent basis if they have been affected by paralytic shellfish poisoning (red tide) to find out if they are safe to eat. This could lead to an international standard to test the shellfish.
Robinson told the newspaper that it is not only mussels and seaweed that are candidates for multi-trophic aquaculture. They are also looking at the possibility of harvesting starfish and sea scallops.
