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The Fundy Spray, the Huntsman Marine Science Centre’s research vessel, was dedicated at a ceremony at the town wharf July 11.

Members of the public mingled with dignitaries at the event. The vessel dedi-cation itself performed by Mr. and Mrs. John and Lucinda Flemer. Speaking at the event were provincial Minister of Fisheries, Rick Doucet, St. Andrews deputy mayor, John Castell, chair of the board, Dr. Fred Whoriskey, Huntsman Operations Manager, Pat

Fitzgerald, Rev. Gethin Edward, Mrs. Flemer, and MC Bill Smith. Mrs. Flemer broke the traditional bottle of champagne against the boat, after which members of the public and digni-taries went out for a trip on the boat, which was followed by a reception at Anderson House. The Fundy Spray, a converted offshore lobster boat, was purchased by the Huntsman in 2008 to improve upon the work it was already doing, and to in-crease business at the centre. The vessel is used throughout the year by school groups studying at the centre, and also for university courses and summer ma-rine biology programs. In addition, uni-versity researchers use the boat for sam-pling, collections and other studies, and the Huntsman also utilizes the vessel for its own research. It is also utilized in oceanographic research. The Fundy Spray is chartered by compa-nies, schools, and individuals needing a stable, safe, fast platform from which they can deploy scientific, hydro acous-tic, fisheries and oceanographic sam-pling equipment. The vessel is registered as a passenger vessel, and is certified by Transport Canada to carry 20 passen-gers, and two crew, up to 25 miles off-shore, which allows the 50 foot long vessel access to the entire Bay of Fundy.

Fiona is the latest addition to the aquarium, and she arrived with quite the media fanfare, not unlike Big Dee-Dee in 2008.

Official launch for Fundy Spray

Mrs. Lucinda Flemer performs the traditional breaking of the champagne bottle as the Fundy Spray was rededicated at a ceremony at the St. Andrews Town Wharf on Saturday, July 11.

ISSUE 12: Progress in spring 2009

Another season, another rare lobster finds a home Last year, the tale of Big Dee-Dee the giant lobster captured the imagination of people around the world when he was saved from the pot and ended up at the Huntsman aquarium. This year, the story of another lobster, Fiona, at-tracted attention across the U.S., from CNN to Fox News to the Boston Globe and Los Angeles Times. Upon her arrival, CBC, CTV, the PEI Guardian, Saint Croix Courier and Telegraph Journal picked up the story—while other media, including online, did follow-up articles. The yellow lobster, between eight and 10 years old, who, according to a scientist at the New England Aquarium, is a one in 30 million rarity, was caught off Prince Edward Island, and found her way (without a passport) to Cape Cod, via the Ipswich Shellfish Co. Fiona was given to Arnold’s Lobster and Clam Bar, in Eastham, Mass., where she be-came a favourite of the many visitors. Restaurant owner Nathan “Nick” Nickerson named the lobster after his girlfriend’s grand-daughter, and decided that the rare lobster would definitely not end up cooked. He told the Boston Globe cooking her would be “like steaming a Rem-brandt.” The Huntsman found out about Fiona and stepped in, offering to give her a good home and bring her back to Canada. The Huntsman already is home to Big Dee-Dee, and a blue lobster (the odds of which are one in two million), so the Huntsman is quickly becoming the lobster capital of aquariums.

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ISSUE 12: Progress in spring 2009

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Creating a new exhibit at the aquarium

National Aquaculture Strategic Action Plan Initiative

Continued on page 3

STEP 1: Take a large existing tank, cut holes in it, and apply plexi‐glass. Here Bill Hogans, who worked on the project alongside John Anderson, ensures the glass is correctly installed. 

STEP 2: Remove the fish (sturgeon) from the other tank, and transfer them to the new one. Here, Danny Craig carefully lifts one of the fish to be transferred. 

STEP 3: The transformation is com‐plete—glass installed and the sturgeon are visible for the public. The exhibit has proved to be very popular. 

Fisheries and Oceans Canada is currently undertaking a National Aquaculture Strate-gic Action Plan Initiative (NASAPI) as part of its Sustainable Aquaculture Development Program, announced in Budget 2008. The NASAPI will provide Federal, Provincial and Territorial governments with a modern and cohesive approach to guide and manage the sector based on current challenges and op-portunities. The key objectives of the initiative are:

• to establish quantifiable targets for sec-tor development over the next five years,

• to delineate roles and responsibilities amongst all levels of government, as well as industry, and to raise the profile of sustainable aquaculture in the eyes of both the public and govern-ment officials.

The NASAPI will result in the development of five, sector-specific strategic action plans that will be implemented to advance sustain-able aquaculture development across Can-ada. The NASAPI is not meant to be dupli-cative, nor will its outputs override existing strategies which provinces are currently utilizing or in the process of developing. Instead, the intent is to provide a comple-mentary action plan, working with stake-holders and other interested parties to build on existing strategies which will facilitate sustainable industry growth and prosperity. Among the factors to be addressed in the action plans (which include governance and regulatory renewal, innovation, market ac-cess, social license, etc.), is the development of alternative (i.e. new) species for commer-cial culture.

The goal is to focus developmental resources on a targeted number of promising species that are biologically and economically capa-ble of achieving commercial success within the foreseeable future. Following the com-pletion of this exercise a priority list for al-ternate species development will guide fu-ture Departmental investment and resource allocation. Five collaborative discussion sessions were held, representing the five sub-sectors of the Canadian aquaculture industry; East Coast marine finfish, East Coast shellfish, West Coast marine finfish, West Coast shellfish, and freshwater. The exercise brought to-gether subject matter experts, federal and provincial government representatives, and industry stakeholders to review and discuss the candidate species.

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ISSUE 12: Progress in spring 2009

InDepth is published quarterly by the Huntsman Marine Science Centre.

Huntsman Marine Science Centre 1 Lower Campus Road St. Andrews by-the-Sea, NB E5B 2L7 Canada 506.529.1200 Fax: 506.529.1212 huntsman@huntsmanmarine.ca www.huntsmanmarine.ca

BECOME A SUPPORTER! 

Continued from page 2

Schools from around the region continue to study at the Huntsman. This year, a new high school group from Vermont, from Cabot School, visited and stayed on campus. They enjoyed their stay, and one of the highlights was finding some interesting creatures during the very low tide at Indian Point, including this huge sea star, which is currently living in the aquarium alongside another ‘giant,’ Big Dee-Dee the lobster.

Membership program

In May, the Huntsman acquired two new harbour seals, Loki, left, and Snorkel, right, from Storybook Gardens, in London, Ont. Huntsman staff made the journey to pick up the pair. Loki, 16, was born at the Huntsman, and Snorkel, his son, was born in London in 2006. Both seals have had some level of training, especially Snorkel, who is proving to be a very popular addition to the aquarium with the public. The seals are fed at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. each day.

Figure 2. Home page for An Atlas of Dis-tributions of Canadian Atlantic Fishes.

NASAPI program information

A new membership card scheme is close to being implemented at the aquarium. Bill Smith, chair of the advisory board, led the way in creating a new system of mem-berships—which is still ongoing, with special categories for families, alumni and businesses. Forms and cards have been designed in house, and are currently being printed for distribution to members. Tracking of membership will now be done by computer, with renewal notices being sent out by email.

The product of each work-shop outlines a collective and evidence-based agree-ment on a short and focused list of species for develop-ment in each region or sec-tor. The species identified for further investment will be brought forward in the offi-cial consultation stage of the NASAPI initiative in the summer - fall of 2009. The

main outstanding research and development require-ments identified for each targeted species will be revisited and evaluated by a broader audience and action items will be developed looking ahead over the next five years of furthered in-dustry development. A summary of the pros and cons of each of the species assessed during the work-shop will be prepared, as

well as a list of delegates attending the workshop. Copies of all workshop presentations are available in PDF format from DFO, Aquaculture Management Directorate. Contact Amanda Mielke at (613) 949-3129 or by emailing amanda.mielke@dfo-mpo.gc.ca. Submitted by D.Stechey

The annual July 1 parade to celebrate Canada Day in St. Andrews saw partici-pation from the Huntsman. Aquarium staff combined with those from the cod genome project to produce a lobster-inspired float. Ganong Bros. Ltd. sup-plied several cases of Ocean Adventure fruit snacks to be given out along the route. Star of the show was Vanessa McKnight-Whitford, right, who dressed in a lobster suit kindly loaned by the St. Andrews Biological Station.

Replacement of the Small Greenhouse, below, started in the spring. A severe storm in the last week of January demolished the old structure when the roof collapsed under the weight of the heavy snow.

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ISSUE 12: Progress in spring 2009

Around the Huntsman...

Food is now available at the aquarium. ‘Loki Lunches’ and ‘Snorkel Snacks,’ created at Anderson House, can be purchased for lunch. Also, juice and water can be bought from the gift store.

For the annual general meeting reception at Anderson House, some new steps were installed to make the slope more accessi-ble for guests.

Another Huntsman event held in May was a bird walk in St. An-drews, led by Tracey Dean, to celebrate International Migratory Bird Day. Around 20 people took part—and got to see and hear some of the birds that can be found in the area.

Google Ocean includes Huntsman work

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Huntsman staff members have been busy attending several education fairs and shows this spring and summer, including the SMArts conference in Moncton in May. Operations manager, Pat Fitzgerald, at-tended the Ocean Renewable Energy Group (OREG) Bay of Fundy tidal energy forum (Working together for Sustainable Success), held in Annapolis Royal, N.S., in May. He also gave a presentation at the event. Also, a health and environment fair was held at the Fairmont Algonquin hotel in July, when a selection of creatures from the aquarium touch pool proved to be a big hit for the many visitors in attendance. Above, staff member Amanda Knox shows one of the aquarium’s newest lobsters to some hotel guests.

ISSUE 12: Progress in spring 2009

World Ocean Day is celebrated on June 8 annually, but the Huntsman hosted a series of events on Saturday, June 6. A large crowd visited to enjoy beach walks, ocean dis-covery boat trips, to see live creatures under microscopes, and to watch the DFO snif-fer dog in action. In addition, there was a barbecue, live radio remote, an auction, and, in the evening, a dinner/dance at the Curling Club.

The Fundy Spray has been a busy vessel this spring, with school and university groups, researchers, and oceanographic research taking place. Above is just a por-tion of the equipment installed on the boat by Seaforth Engineering Group, from Nova Scotia for some ocean mapping work in the Bay of Fundy.

This spring’s launch of the new Google Ocean as part of its Google Earth application created quite a splash. Now, users of the application can dive under the water, see the ocean floor, and watch videos related to the oceans and ma-rine life. There is a local connection to Google Ocean, as scientists at the Atlantic Reference Centre (ARC), a part of the Hunts-man, were involved with a part of the project through their work in several different fields. Check out Google Earth and Google Ocean, and there are many references to the Census of Marine Life (COML), a ten-year global project involving researchers in over 80 coun-tries. The objective of the pro-ject, which ends in 2010 with results being presented to the public, was to assess and ex-plain the diversity, distribu-tion and abundance of life in the oceans. According to COML, there is a critical need for better infor-mation that relates to fisher-ies, conservation, loss of habi-tat, the impacts of pollution, and global climate change. The census is providing a scientific foundation upon which future ocean policy and research can be developed.

One of the 17 project compo-nents of COML is NaGISA, the Natural Geography In Shore Areas project, the Atlan-tic Ocean regional centre of which is located at the ARC.

The local centre oversees sam-pling sites in N.B, N.S., Maine, and Senegal in West Africa. Heading up the project locally at the ARC are Dr. Gerhard Pohle and Lou Van Guelpen. They are in the process of working with the data col-lected so far, and there’s plenty more analysis still to be done before the 2010 deadline, which will see, among other things, a children’s book fo-cusing on each region in the study, more scientific data, and a wealth of images and videos from the oceans. In addition to the NaGISA data collection, Dr. Pohle is overseeing the census chapter on crustaceans. All data have been submitted, he said, and are now being edited for use by various project partners. Dr. Pohle and Van Guelpen are also heavily involved in the creation of a Gulf of Maine species list, which is a part of the COML regional ecosys-tems work under the Gulf of

Maine Area (GOMA) pro-gram. The species register, one of GOMA’s objectives, is still being created. The resulting data from the species register become part of OBIS, the Ocean Bio-geographic Information Sys-tem, another facet of COML. The OBIS website functions like a huge marine life search engine, with 17 million records on over 100,000 species. Type in, for example, northern right whale, and a wealth of infor-mation on the global distribu-tion of the species pops up. It’s the go-to site for distribu-tional information on marine animals and plants. The Huntsman’s scientists have been involved with OBIS since its inception. The COML project, while a ten-year snapshot in time, does look at the past and the future as well. Historical data are also used and compared to modern data to look for trends. The data will also be used as a reference point for future studies. Work done on the census has already come up with some major new discoveries, many of which have hit the head-lines, as over 5,000 new unde-scribed animals have been discovered.

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ISSUE 12: Progress in spring 2009

Town initiatives include Huntsman

Operations Manager Pat Fitzgerald, right, is interviewed for a segment being filmed by the Discovery Channel for the Daily Planet television program. A crew from Toronto spent a day at the Huntsman filming various activities related to the oceanographic research capabilities of the Fundy Spray.

The Huntsman property is now part of a new hiking trail that residents and visi-tors to the town can enjoy. Jeff Slater is spearheading a scheme to create a hiking/biking trail that will take in all of the town, and the bottom edge of the Huntsman property, below Anderson House and adjoining the Al-gonquin golf course is the route that has been decided upon. The spectacular view over Passamaquoddy Bay is cer-tainly one of the trail’s highlights. The Huntsman is also partici-pating in the Kids Rule in St. Andrews pro-motion alongside the Fairmont Algon-quin, Kingsbrae Garden, Atlantic Salmon Federation and the Town of St. Andrews. Bill Smith at the Huntsman has been active in getting this promotion off the ground to attract new visitors with chil-dren to visit the town. The promotion, which kicked off on Canada Day, runs until the end of August.

Bangkok conference a success The Huntsman’s Dr. Amber Gar-ber (who also deserves congratu-lations for her marriage this spring!) attended a conference in Bangkok in June. Dr. Garber made the trip to Thai-land in to give an oral presenta-tion at the 10th International Sym-posium on Genetics in Aquacul-ture (ISGA 2009). Dr. Jane Tosh (University of Guelph) and Dr. Ed Trippel (St. Andrews Biological Station) were also in attendance to give an oral and poster presen-tation, respectively. All three re-searchers are part of the Atlantic Cod Genomics and Broodstock Development Project. The ISGA 2009 meeting was pre-ceded by an industry tour to the Samutsongkram-Mae Klong-Shrimp Farms. The tour included industry presentations detailing production, processing and distri-bution of seafood from Thailand. The tour also included details of hybrid tilapia production. Presentations began with a wel-come from Professor Dr. Her

Royal Highness Princess Chulab-horn Mahido. The ISGA meetings occur once every three years. These meetings are organized by the International Association for Genetics in Aquaculture (IAGA) which was formed in 1985 during the second meeting. This associa-tion promotes communications and activities among its members on all aspects of genetics in aqua-culture. Two of the main focuses of the meeting are quantitative breeding (use of phenotype for selection such as fast growth) and QTL analysis (discovery of DNA re-gions having strong effects on certain traits that are difficult to measure such as disease resis-tance). This meeting has no con-current sessions as everyone is there for one reason – genetics in aquaculture. The ISGA meeting is a very fo-cused meeting and excellent for anyone in, or new to, the field. The next meeting will be closer to home, in Auburn, Alabama.

One of the events held at the aquarium this year was a third birthday party for Snorkel, the harbour seal, on Saturday, June 27. The celebration was extremely well attended, with games, a seal cake, and some very popular cupcakes, pre-pared for the occasion by the Huntsman’s Residences Man-ager, Nancy Leavitt.