splash1
 splash2
Introduction




Field Station Facilities

4The Pacific SEA-Lab aquaculture R&D and training facility provides a unique opportunity for aquaculture training and applied graduate research in that it supports commercial-scale production of a number of species, employing a variety of innovative and classical aquaculture systems, at a single dedicated R&D farm site. Key features of this aquaculture Field Station are summarized below.

Location:

The Pacific SEA-Lab field station is located on the northwest side of Vancouver Island, British Columbia.  Situated on a remote area of the coast the facility boasts a pristine environment in which to study natural ecological processes in the development of sustainable aquaculture systems.

Find us with Google-Earth at the following coordinates:50°  02' 45.85" N   by   127°  17'; 53.66" W

Aquaculture Species:

The Pacific SEA-Lab farm site is licensed for commercial-scale production of sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria), two species of blue mussels (Mytilus edulis; M. galloprovincialus), scallops (Patinopectin yessopensis), oysters (Crassostrea gigas), red/green urchins (Strongylocentrottus fransiscanus; S. droebachiensis), sea cucumber (Parastichopus californicus), cockles (Clinocardium nuttali) and two taxa of macrophytes (Laminaria sp.; Porphyra sp.). The site is licensed for monoculture and for integrated (Sustainable Ecological Aquaculture) SEA-system production, facilitating research projects within or among any of these species.

3

Production Systems:

The Pacific SEA-Lab farm maintains commercial-scale production infrastructure typically used across the Canadian aquaculture industry, including: (i) a steel 18-cage Viking finfish aquaculture system; (ii) a 4-cage Future-SEA circular finfish system; (iii) a series of shellfish rafts; (iv) shellfish surface and subsurface longline systems; (v) shellfish juvenile rearing system (FLUPSY); and (vi) a variety of new innovations in SEA-system development (e.g., sea cucumber and urchin production components).  A range of containment structures/approaches used across these production systems are also employed at the farm site (trays, nets, socking, raceways, seed lines, etc.).

Research Facilities:

The Pacific SEA-Lab on-site research capacity is supported by a small lab facility and a variety of field sampling/survey equipment.  The on-site lab facilities include a:wet lab (125 ft2) with fresh/saltwater systems; live holding tanks; sample processing and storage; cold room; and a dry lab  (450 ft2) with benches, basic analytical equipment (balance, drying oven, analytical probes, calibration chemicals), compound & stereo microscopes.

1Field sampling/survey equipment:

40-ft research vessel with positioning electronics, hydrographic winch system (500m of wire), grab samplers, plankton nets, water bottles, benthos sorting station;
20-ft aluminum skiff, center console, 90-hp, 36 ft2 working area;
16-ft rigid hull inflatable with 50-hp outboard, center console;
current meters: one 300 khz ADCP profiler, two AquaDopp fixed position meters, two SD-6000 fixed position meters;
CTD profiler / data-logger;
2Remote Sensor CARMS buoy anchored at farm site – system includes a meteorological station (wind speed/direction, air temperature, spectrometer) and a subsurface sensor array with dissolved oxygen, temperature, salinity, chlorophyll, water flow (ADCP), and radiance/irradiance.  Data acquired every 30 minutes, logged hourly, and up-linked and made accessible via the Iridium satellite network;
SeaMor Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) with colour video recording/editing support equipment.

On-Site Accommodation:

The current Pacific SEA-Lab infastructure can support 8-10 students. Accommodation comprises rooms with bunks, kitchen facility, washrooms (showers), and a small common room that also serves for informal lectures and presentations. Students are required to bring sleeping bags or other forms of bedding to suit their individual needs. Pacific SEA-Lab fees include all food, but special needs must be conveyed to the facility at least 1 week prior to arrival.

Funding is now being sought to help develop a new lab, lecture and accommodation facility for the SEA-Lab Field Station. A floor plan for this 2-level facility is available for download in either Microsoft WORD or Adobe Acrobat formats.