The net effect of shellfish farming on bay productivity

Description

The starting point in defining this project is the Canadian fish habitat legislation and policy, which has the guiding principle of "no net loss of productive capacity of fish habitats" (NNL). A major problem in making the Policy operational, in a scientifically defensible manner, is that there is no numerical framework in place to account for losses and gains in productive capacity.

• To develop and test a net change equation adapted to shellfish farming. This equation will be applicable at the bay level, and as such may become a useful tool for DFO's bay-by-bay management strategy.
• To develop fitting survey methods and proceed with the evaluation of cultivated shellfish biomass in all NB and PEI embayments.
• To determine the extent of the modified area in relation to seasons and shellfish stocking densities.
• To investigate whether molluscan productivity alone can signal a net productivity shift resulting from shellfish farming.

Program Name

Aquaculture Collaborative Research and Development Program (ACRDP)

Year(s)

2005 - 2010

Ecoregion(s)

Atlantic: Gulf of St. Lawrence, St. Lawrence Estuary

Principal Investigator(s)

Luc Comeau
Email: Luc.Comeau@dfo-mpo.gc.ca