CHURCH POINT: The Marine Research Centre in Isle Madame will be an integral part of a new lobster quality and innovation project conducting cutting-edge research.
On February 26, the province announced a new $2.5 million facility tasked with finding new ways to advance the quality and export value of lobster. The province and Université Sainte-Anne are working together to develop the Lobster Quality Research and Innovation Centre based at Université Sainte-Anne in Church Point.
With hopes of attracting a world-class research team, the province said the centre will work closely with the university’s Marine Research Centre in Petit de Grat to support innovation in the lobster industry. Areas of focus will include live lobster quality, handling and holding practices, storage and shipping and new technologies for grading.
Kenneth Deveau – vice-president, academic and research with Université Sainte-Anne – marvelled at the innovation and science coming out of their Petit de Grat campus.
“This is just going to make the Marine Research Centre that much more vital, that much stronger,” Deveau told The Reporter.
Pointing to its “phenomenal reputation” within industry and government for the work it does, Deveau said the Isle Madame facility will be the “main centre” for the project.
“The idea behind this project was to establish a foothold here in southwest Nova Scotia as well that would be complimentary [to Petit de Grat]… that would add value,” Deveau noted.
Part of the project involves a high-end research lab that will be staffed by high-end researchers who will work closely with Marine Research Centre director Michelle Theriault and her team; making use of their wet lab and access to ocean water in Petit de Grat, Deveau noted. The centre will be guided by an advisory committee.
“Over and above that, this will give us the capacity to go after projects that we weren’t able to go after before just because of scale,” he explained. “That will be advantageous to both the Marine Research Centre and to this new centre that we’re building here in Church Point.
“A lot of the work that’s being done directly with businesses and with industry, a lot of that will be done by Michelle and her staff.”
Constantly receiving a supply of nearby sea water, the wet lab at the Marine Research Centre on the Petit de Grat campus of Université Sainte-Anne, will be an integral part of the new Lobster Quality Research and Innovation Centre.
The three-year budget of about $2.5 million will be used for personnel ($525,000 for a research lead and laboratory technicians), lab equipment ($1.6 million), and operating costs ($282,000). The funding comes from the province’s Building Tomorrow Fund which helps fisheries and agriculture companies working to create new products, access new markets and add value to existing products. Nova Scotia exports $2.3 billion in seafood products to 80 countries, with lobster being the highest value export.
“The processors, buyers and sellers of lobster in Nova Scotia take quality very seriously and we welcome this initiative to bring a scientific look at ways to enhance lobster quality,” said Leo Muise, executive director of Nova Scotia Seafood Alliance. “We market our live and processed Nova Scotia lobster world-wide and always focus on providing the very best.”
More information about the Lobster Quality Research and Innovation Centre can be found at: https://www.usainteanne.ca/en/community-and-industry-liaison.