134 N.L. Projects Funded Through the AFF
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador recently announced $26 million in funding to the provincial harvesting, processing and aquaculture sectors through the Atlantic Fisheries Fund (AFF).
The funding was aimed at supporting 134 projects that focused on modernizing technologies to improve quality of landings and increase productivity and sustainability in the fish and seafood sector of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Specifically, investments are being ...
Back to Basics
Researchers Prepare for More Ocean Activity in Placentia Bay
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) has a unique opportunity to survey the marine environment to see what it looks like before human interaction and marine traffic increase in the Placentia Bay area.
Kate Dalley is a biologist, who was raised in Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador, by two biologists. “There was never any question that this was what I was going to do. My studies are in ecology, which is understanding ...
Under the Surface: Ocean Noise and its Effect on Marine Life
Dr. Jack Lawson was about 10 years old when he watched Jacques Cousteau television documentaries and decided he wanted to work with marine mammals.
“Ever since I was a kid, I used to watch Jacques Cousteau on TV. He would often show something on some diving adventure, and I developed an interest in whales from that.”
While Lawson was finishing his undergraduate degree in Alberta, the head of the department, who knew Jack was going to Arizona to undertake a Ph.D. studying scorpions, ...
Consistency is Key in Measuring Fish Abundance
Have you ever wondered how fish populations are measured?
With countless factors impacting abundance, such as changing ocean and ecosystem conditions, predator-prey relationships, mortality and recruitment rates, fishing pressure and the interconnected nature of the ecosystem — figuring out how a species is fairing is a complicated task.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) conducts annual at-sea surveys to collect data that are later analyzed in its labs to ultimately answer the question ...
A Changing Tide for the Golden Cod of Gilbert Bay
Scientists Proposing New Initiatives to Help Save the Unique Fish
Dr. Corey Morris would rather spend his vacations on the coast of Labrador than Florida.
For 21 years, Morris has been to Gilbert Bay three times a year for weeks at a time, working on conserving the famous Gilbert Bay cod, known for its golden colour.
Geographically, the area around Gilbert Bay is a coastal fiord in Southern Labrador, isolated from the coast by a bunch of islands. It covers 60 square kilometers. ...
Dr. Robert Gregory: Casting a Net
Dr. Robert Gregory is a research scientist with Fisheries and Oceans Canada and also an adjunct professor at Memorial University.
One could say that he has been schooling young cod and students since 1994.
Let’s talk young fish first. “The program I’ve developed over the years involves analysing young cod and coastal ecosystems in Newfoundland and Labrador,” said Gregory.
Gregory studies the early-life stages of cod. He focuses on the nearshore where waters are 10 metres deep ...
Minister Announces Changes to the Fisheries Act
On February 6, Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard announced amendments to the Fisheries Act that would restore lost protections and incorporate modern safeguards to protect our fish and their habitat for generations to come.
LeBlanc said the Government of Canada is putting in place better rules to protect the environment.
“To preserve, protect and help restore our environment we need a Fisheries Act that Canadians can trust. Today, I am pleased ...
Over and Under
Sarah Walsh, from Mount Pearl, Newfoundland, has always been on a wet and slippery slope.
Her summers were spent in Port Blandford where she says, “My parents always had us out on the water. Every weekend we were either out fishing or going to the beaches. I can’t remember when we never had a speed boat, canoe or a pleasure craft. I think that’s where it kind of started.”
She says as a child she always wanted to be a marine biologist, but somewhere along the way, “When I went ...
Auditing Vital Fish Stocks to Ensure They Will Be There
As the auditor general of Canada’s Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, I have the privilege and responsibility of overseeing audits that examine some of Canada’s most fragile and valuable resources.
The audits inform Parliamentarians and Canadians about how government departments and Crown corporations manage these resources.
Recently, a team of environmental auditors from the office of the auditor general of Canada focused on one of Canada’s oldest and most ...
Fisheries and Oceans Canada to Hire 135 Scientists
Hunter Tootoo, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, accompanied by Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science, today discussed exciting and innovative career opportunities in marine sciences with high school and university students at the Canadian Museum of Nature.
As part of an interactive event during Science Odyssey week, the Ministers talked with scientists and students about what the Government of Canada’s new investments in ocean and freshwater science will mean to ...
