Agreement signed to enhance fish-health capabilities

The province of New Brunswick will partner with the Atlantic Veterinary College at the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) to build a new $2.36-million fish-health laboratory in the Bay of Fundy.

Premier Shawn Graham made the announcement this week, joining Agriculture and Aquaculture Minister Ronald Ouellette and UPEI President Wade MacLauchlan to sign a co-operation agreement between the province and the Atlantic Veterinary College for the construction and use of the new laboratory.

'We're very pleased to partner with the Atlantic Veterinary College, which will position New Brunswick at the forefront of aquatic animal health science,' Graham said. 'Investments in fish health are essential for the aquaculture industry to continue to be an important player in the objective of New Brunswick achieving self-sufficiency by 2026.'

The province of New Brunswick's contribution to the project is $1.82 million. The Atlantic Veterinary College will provide $535,000, as part of a Canadian Foundation for Innovation grant, toward construction cost of the new facility.

The Atlantic Veterinary College, the region's only veterinary college, has a global reputation for aquatic veterinary medicine, particularly for the practical applications to health and productivity concerns facing aquatic-food-animal producers in Atlantic Canada.

'The Atlantic Veterinary College at UPEI and the Government of New Brunswick have shared a strong partnership aimed at improving aquaculture health for almost two decades,' MacLauchlan said. 'We are proud to be moving our collaboration to this next level, and look forward to the educational, research, service and industry benefits that will result from today's agreement.'

The agreement recognizes the long history of collaboration between the college and the Department of Agriculture and Aquaculture with respect to training veterinarians and graduate students, and serving the industry through research to solve fish-health issues.

'This agreement is a good example of our efforts to collaborate in supporting the sustainability of the aquaculture and fishing industries in New Brunswick,' Ouellette said. 'Healthy fish stocks are conducive to farm productivity and economic competitiveness, which in turn lead to investor confidence in New Brunswick's aquaculture industry.'

The new laboratory will be built in St. George, New Brunswick and will be about 513 sq. metres (5,700 sq. ft.) in size. It will provide space for fish necropsies; diagnostic sample collection; preparation and storage; bacteriology and virology processing; disinfection capabilities; and data entry and processing stations.

Construction will begin in the spring of 2008, with completion expected in late fall.

Photo: New Brunswick Agriculture and Aquaculture Minister Ronald Ouellette, UPEI President Wade MacLauchlan, New Brunswick Premier Shawn Graham