C$400,000 for Shellfish Research

The funding will be put towards establishing a shellfish genomics laboratory at the centre.

Dr. Helen Gurney-Smith, who leads the shellfish genomics research programme, said the lab will examine biological and environmental stress factors inherent in shellfish, according to Nanaimo Daily News.

"In 2007, B.C. shellfish farmers lost about $6 million in product and they don't have the time or expertise to study the problems and find solutions," Gurney-Smith said after James Lunney, MP for Nanaimo-Alberni, announced the funding at the centre, located on the campus of Malaspina University-College.

"We need to study how different shellfish respond to a number of factors, including change in water temperatures, salinity, oxygen levels and diet.

"The losses in 2007 were likely linked to a combination of any number of these factors but we don't know how much each contributed and these are the types of answers we hope to provide in our new lab."

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