Government of Canada and Province of British Columbia support 14 fish and seafood innovation projects

Aug 23, 2022

VANCOUVER, BC, Today's environmental challenges mean that innovation and science are critical elements in helping to rebuild a healthy ocean ecosystem. Maintaining a sustainable and economically strong fish and seafood sector is a priority for both the Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia.

Today, the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard, the Honourable Joyce Murray, and the BC Minister for Land, Water, and Resource Stewardship, and Minister responsible for Fisheries, the Honourable Josie Osborne, announced $9.9 million in funding for 14 projects under the British Columbia Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund (BCSRIF).

Today's investment supports a range of projects that aim to improve the performance and sustainability of the province's fisheries sector through collaborative trials of selective fishing methods; improved technology to ensure accurate recreational fishing catch data; activities to increase the economic viability of kelp culture, while improving marine habitat for salmon; and efforts to assess and eradicate aquatic invasive species.

Some of the projects announced today include:

Tsawwassen First Nation is designing and operating a tidal waters' salmon trap close to their traditional fishing site, near the mouth of the Fraser River. Project objectives include identifying and assessing a suitable trap site, building, operating, and maintaining the trap, and monitoring the sustainability of this gear type via a selective fishing study.
The Coastal Restoration Society is trapping, controlling and monitoring European green crab in an attempt to mitigate and remediate the damage that these aquatic invasive species pose to shared environmental, economic and cultural resources in the Pacific Region.
The A-Tlegay Fisheries Society is constructing four kelp permaculture sites located within Johnstone Strait/Northern Strait of Georgia to improve the quality of important marine habitat for salmon and to determine the commercial potential for kelp permaculture in the region.

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Video: Swine Industry Advances: Biodigesters Lower Emissions and Increase Profits

Analysis of greenhouse gas (GHG emissions) in the Canadian swine sector found that CH4 emissions from manure were the largest contributor to the overall emissions, followed by emissions from energy use and crop production.

This innovative project, "Improving Swine Manure-Digestate Management Practices Towards Carbon Neutrality With Net Zero Emission Concepts," from Dr. Rajinikanth Rajagopal, under Swine Cluster 4, seeks to develop strategies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.

While the management of manure can be very demanding and expensive for swine operations, it can also be viewed as an opportunity for GHG mitigation, as manure storage is an emission source built and managed by swine producers. Moreover, the majority of CH4 emissions from manure occur during a short period of time in the summer, which can potentially be mitigated with targeted intervention.

In tandem with understanding baseline emissions, Dr. Rajagopal's work focuses on evaluating emission mitigation options. Manure additives have the potential of reducing manure methane emissions. Additives can be deployed relatively quickly, enabling near-term emission reductions while biodigesters are being built. Furthermore, additives can be a long-term solution at farms where biogas is not feasible (e.g., when it’s too far from a central digester). Similarly, after biodigestion, additives can also be used to further reduce emissions from storage to minimize the carbon intensity of the bioenergy.