Research into Environmentally Friendly Trawl Technology Continues

The Marine Institute’s Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Resources (CSAR) will receive Provincial Government funding to continue a five-year research project aimed at developing shrimp trawls that have less impact on seabeds. The Honourable Derrick Dalley, Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, announced this funding through the Fisheries Technology and New Opportunities Program (FTNOP) today as part of continued efforts to promote environmental sustainability in the provincial fishery.

“In keeping with our commitment to preserve and protect ocean environments while advancing our fishery, the Provincial Government will continue to support this research with an additional $50,000 investment this year,” said Minister Dalley. “Consumers throughout the world are becoming increasingly concerned about whether their seafood products are harvested in a sustainable manner. Our contribution to this research is another example of how this government is helping industry satisfy the demands of global consumers.”

This current funding is in addition to the $200,000 that has been contributed to this project through FTNOP in previous years. The team for this multi-year project has included gear designers and manufacturers, industrial engineers, fisheries researchers, fishing captains, and academics from Memorial University, the Marine Institute, and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Once complete, the project will have developed designs and computer simulations of environmentally friendly trawls, evaluated models in the flume tank at Marine Institute, and constructed and evaluated full-scale prototypes.

“In order to ensure a sustainable fishery, we must be good stewards of the environment and its natural resources,” said Dr. Paul Winger, Director, CSAR. “In our province there are hundreds of enterprises involved in the shrimp industry, and they stand to benefit greatly if we are successful in developing new technology that can harvest effectively while minimizing impacts on seabeds.”

Budget 2013: A Sound Plan, A Secure Future included a $2.2 million investment in FTNOP, a program that has promoted innovation in our billion dollar fishing and aquaculture industry by assisting more than 200 research and development projects since 2008.

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2013 06 27                            3:05 p.m.