Sustainable Fisheries Science Fund
Each year the Sustainable Fisheries Science Fund provides funding to support research and science that enhances the sustainable management of Canadian fish stocks. The fund aims to improve relationships and promote shared ownership within the fisheries science community, as part of the revised Fisheries Act.
Expected outcomes
The fund’s goals include developing analytical tools that support the precautionary approach framework, such as models, methods and databases. Funded projects will advance the science needed for management of sustainable fisheries, including:
- surveys and monitoring
- improving stock assessments
- bettering our understanding of the marine environment
The fund will also create and enhance existing partnerships with fisheries science stakeholders, such as:
- academics
- industry professionals
- Indigenous communities
- non-governmental organizations
It will also improve links with international jurisdictions. This allows us to identify new methods, ideas and products used elsewhere to improve sustainable management of major fish stocks.
Sustainable Fisheries Science research projects
| Funding Recipient | Project name | Project description | Timeframe | Funding amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dalhousie University | Development of a new biomarker technique to evaluate seal diets | To develop a new method to assess seal diets in the Northwest Atlantic. Researchers will examine the spatial and temporal variation in stable isotopes of major fatty acids found in fish and grey seal blubber. Quantitative fatty acid signature analysis will be used to determine the contribution of various prey species to seal diets. | 2023-2026 | $150,000 |
| Memorial University of Newfoundland | The ecosystem role of harp seals in Newfoundland and Labrador | To use two ecosystem models to evaluate key parameters of harp seal and cod interactions. | 2023-2026 | $200,000 |
| Fish, Food and Allied Workers (FFAW) | Seal Species Distribution, Abundance and Seasonality: Documenting Fish Harvesters' Knowledge and Observations of Seals from Southern Labrador to the South Coast of Newfoundland | To identify local changes in seal abundance, distribution and seasonality over a 20-40 year time period through the collection of current and historical seal observations by fish harvesters. | 2023-2025 | $93,924 |
| Heiltsuk Tribal Council | Population Dynamics, Distribution, Diet and Contaminant Load of Pinniped Predators of Central Coast Pacific Herring and Pacific Salmon populations | To collect data on the abundance, distribution, health, diet, and contaminant load of California and Steller sea lion populations in Heiltsuk Territory and identify how these factors have changed over time. | 2023-2025 | $200,000 |
| Concordia University | Developing precautionary approach frameworks within changing productivity regimes: a case study of Northern Shrimp, SFAs 4-7 | To develop simulation tools toexamine varying levels of productivity and test how different approaches for setting reference points affect the dynamics of the Northern Shrimp fishery through simulation. | 2020-2023 | $133,975 |
| Memorial University | Age-based catch-at-length stock assessment and harvest strategies for redfish and witch flounder in dynamic Northwest Atlantic ecosystems | To develop a general method to account for incomplete redfish and witch flounder spatial coverage. | 2020-2024 | $130,295 |
| Dalhousie University | Genomics and the estimation of population abundance in Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus) using the "Close Kin Mark Recapture" framework | To test a new methodology using genomics and the Close Kin Mark Recapture (CKMR) approach to estimate Atlantic Halibut populations. | 2020-2025 | $963,154 |
| Homarus Inc | Lobster science project in LFA 23 and LFA 25 | An at-sea sampling program in LFA 23 and LFA 25 to assess the impacts of recent carapace size increases on lobster stock dynamics. | 2020-2021 | $76,186 |
| University of New Brunswick | Further development of a lobster settlement index and modeling tool to forecast changes to fisheries recruitments in 3 regions of eastern Canada | To conduct monitoring and modeling activities for lobster fisheries in:
|
2020-2024 | $513,811 |
| Université du Québec à Rimouski | Development of an individual and energetics-based model to estimate the imminent ecological impact of redfish populations on the Gulf of St. Lawrence ecosystem | To record physiological data on redfish. This develops Dynamic Energy Budgets (DEB) of individual growth and metabolism and explores the responses of redfish to changing environmental conditions in the Gulf of St. Lawrence (GSL). | 2020-2023 | $191,935 |
| Université du Québec à Chicoutimi | Otolithometry research to support the management of two fish stocks in the Gulf of St. Lawrence | To develop expertise and tools to estimate age and growth of redfish (Sebastes mentella and Sebastes fasciatus) and Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus). | 2020-2022 | $154,550 |
| University of Manitoba | Reconstructing the demographic past and projecting the future of Arctic whale populations to understand the consequences of climate change and harvest | This project will delineate Arctic whale population structure based on spatial genomic variation and reconstruct demographic trajectories prior to human arctic settlement.
This project will also explore effects of climate change and harvest levels (prior to and post European settlement) on Arctic whale populations using an assessment model. |
2020-2023 | $228,736 |
| Blue Matter Science | Rigorous and accessible calculation, testing and exploration of Reference Points for Canadian fish stocks, accounting for environmental considerations | To develop a generic tool that can be tailored by individual assessment biologists to test whether status quo approaches can maintain fish stocks at sustainable levels subject to:
|
2020-2023 | $300,000 |
| First Nations Fisheries Society of British Columbia | First Nations Pacific Salmon Rebuilding Initiative | To use the First Nations Fishery Council's Indigenous Technical Advisory Network to engage with science and technical experts from various groups including First Nations groups. This will help to identify salmon stocks of importance to First Nations which require rebuilding under the new Fish Stock Provisions. | 2020-2021 | $24,150 |
| Dalhousie University | Benthic ecosystem mapping for improved understanding of fisheries stock dynamics on Georges Bank, offshore Nova Scotia | To generate geospatial data sets (around Georges Bank, offshore Nova Scotia), at high spatial resolutions.
The research will also develop methodologies and approaches for incorporating geo-spatially mapped ecosystem variables into stock assessments for other species. |
2021-2024 | $232,875 |
| University of Toronto | Determining stock structure of whelk in NAFO subdivision 3Ps using next-generation sequencing | To evaluate whether whelk genetic stock structure follows simple geographic patterns, or is influenced by environmental factors.
A "seascape genomics" framework will be applied to assess the relationship between ecosystem variables and spatial patterns of genetic diversity and structure. |
2022-2024 | $102,469 |
| University of Winnipeg | Improved assessment of Arctic marine mammal populations in a changing environment using full lifecycle mechanistic energy budget models | To develop and use simulation modelling to predict the impacts of individual and cumulative stressors on temporal population dynamics of walrus, beluga, and bowhead whales in the Canadian Arctic. | 2022-2024 | $134,512 |
| Dalhousie University | Evaluating ecosystem impacts on bowhead whale foraging ecology and health | To determine what ecosystem conditions sustain bowhead whale populations in eastern Canadian Arctic. The project will also test whales' health and conditions using morphometrics for different age groups. | 2022-2025 | $651,833 |
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