Public Interest

Centre for Shellfish Research partners with DFO, the Puget Sound Restoration Fund and the Nature Conservency to research native Olympia oysters

While oyster reefs once dominated this shoreline, as well as coastal estuaries around the world, now it is rare to find a reef in good condition. Discovering a healthy reef would help scientists understand more about the way an intact oyster reef ecosystem functions and also set a vision for what restored oyster reefs along the West Coast could look like again.

Determined to find the expansive, healthy Olympia oyster reefs seen only briefly from the bow of a boat more than a decade ago, expedition leaders from Vancouver Island University and The Puget Sound Restoration Fund contacted scientists from the Conservancy and the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans to take part in a week-long expedition to search for and document these fabled reefs. Read more...

More Shellfish Stories

• An Oyster to Fight For

• The Taste of an Oyster

• Shucking Oysters

CSR Featured on Knowledge Network In 2005, the BC Knowledge Network Leading Edge Program profiled the CSR with a focus on Dr. Barnes' research investigations including the Particulate Matter Study; Biodiversity; and Polyculture projects.

CSR Explores Biodiversity of BC Shellfish Aquaculture

The examination of biodiversity assemblages at suspended shellfish operations has revealed a level of diversity comparable to that of mangrove swamps in Central America . The high level of biodiversity at shellfish operations has become a centre piece of public discussions regarding shellfish ecological interactions. For more information on preliminary findings of the biodiversity associated with deep water oyster farms, see the Factsheet in the Publication section.

CSR Presents to Special Committee on Sustainable Aquaculture

Don Tillapaugh (Director, CSR) and Dr. Penny Barnes (Canada Research Chair, CSR) recently each made presentations to the Special Committee on Sustainable Aquaculture.

As the Committee is tasked with examining the economic and environmental impact of the aquaculture industry in BC, the CSR felt it was critical to actively participate in the process & highlight recent research completed at the CSR. The power point presentations are available through the links below:

Barnes, Penny. Presentation to Special Committee on Sustainable Aquaculture, 2007

Tillapaugh, Don. CSR Presentation to Special Committee on Sustainable Aquaculture, 2007