Shellfish Aquaculture Innovation in British Columbia's Central Coast

北岛学院和一个地区渔业协会将在未来三年内种植一种当地的贝类，这将得益于NSERC的一笔赠款。该研究项目将种植太平洋地鸭(发音为GOOEY-DARK)，这是最大的穴居蛤类物种，原产于不列颠哥伦比亚省。土鸭养殖始于公元前20世纪90年代，从那时起，人们对扩大该行业的兴趣一直在增长，因为在亚洲市场上，这种贝类的价值高达每磅150美元。然而，直到2017年才最终确定了土鸭管理框架；自20世纪90年代初以来，整个不列颠哥伦比亚省沿海地区养殖土鸭的保有权空间申请现在首次被接受。拟议的为期3年的ARD项目将与中央海岸商业渔业协会(CCCFA)合作，探索不列颠哥伦比亚省中央海岸的土鸭水产养殖预商业化--CCCFA是一个营利性企业，由四个中央海岸社区组成：海尔特苏克、Kitasoo/Xai‘xais、Nuxalk和Woikinuxv。研究活动将在上述三个沿海第一民族(基塔索/赛赛族、海尔图克族和乌伊基努克族)的传统领土内进行。该项目的第一年将重点比较中部海岸五个潜在的土鸭水产养殖点的生物物理条件，并在第二年和第三年培育供使用的土鸭种苗。第二年和第三年将比较不同地点的幼年土鸭的表现(生长和存活)，海带将在潮下地点进行共培养，以帮助土鸭的表现。生物物理和地鸭性能数据都将为有关场地生产能力的数学模型提供信息。对于沿海社区来说，土鸭水产养殖是一个相对较新的、非常有利可图的经济发展机会。该项目将在中部海岸提供第一个关于土鸭水产养殖的商业化前期研究，并将在CCCFA内建立能力，成为中部海岸第一个土鸭水产养殖公司。CCCFA拥有与海洋渔业和海产品市场相关的广泛知识，并将完全有能力利用项目成果使其业务多样化并增加收入。

North Island College and an area fisheries association will grow a local shellfish over the next three years that will benefit area First Nations, thanks to a grant from NSERC. The research project will grow Pacific geoduck (pronounced gooey-duck), which is the largest burrowing clam species and is native to British Columbia (BC). Geoduck farming began in BC in the 1990s, and since that time there has been growing interest in expanding the industry, given the clams are worth up to US$150/lb in Asian markets. However, it was only in 2017 that a geoduck management framework was finalized; applications for tenure space to farm geoduck throughout the BC coast are now being accepted for the first time since the early 1990s. The proposed 3-year ARD project will explore geoduck aquaculture pre-commercialization in the BC Central Coast, in partnership with the Central Coast Commercial Fisheries Association (CCCFA) - a for-profit business that is an alliance of four Central Coast communities: Heiltsuk, Kitasoo/Xai'Xais, Nuxalk and Wuikinuxv. Research activities will take place within the traditional territories of three of the above coastal First Nations (the Kitasoo/Xai'Xais Nation, the Heiltsuk Nation, and the Wuikinuxv Nation). Year 1 of the project will focus on comparing biophysical conditions at five potential geoduck aquaculture sites in the Central Coast, and growing geoduck seed stock for use in years 2 and 3. Years 2 and 3 will compare juvenile geoduck performance (growth and survival) between sites, and kelp will be co-cultured on subtidal sites to assist geoduck performance. Both the biophysical and geoduck performance data will inform a mathematical model on the sites' production capacity. Geoduck aquaculture is a relatively new, and highly lucrative, economic development opportunity for coastal communities. This project will provide the first pre-commercialization research on geoduck aquaculture in the Central Coast, and will build capacity within CCCFA to become the first geoduck aquaculture company in the Central Coast. CCCFA has extensive knowledge related to marine fisheries and seafood markets, and will be more than capable of utilizing the project results to diversify their operations and increase revenue.