Fisheries and Aquaculture

News Stories

Joseph Nowlan, Scott Britney and Dr. Spencer Russell, wear white lab coats, while looking at a Petri dish.

VIU researcher developing better tools to detect and manage bacterial infections in salmon

March 27, 2023

Dr. Spencer Russell is pursuing his research with the help of NSERC and Mitacs grants. Dr. Spencer Russell is working to understand and manage bacterial infections in salmon.  Russell, a Vancouver Island University (VIU) Fisheries and Aquaculture Associate Professor, is researching Tenacibaculum. These marine bacteria are responsible for a condition called mouth rot or yellow mouth in BC, which... Read more


An brown Vancouver Island marmot sits on a grey rock with some green bushes around it.

VIU lecture series kicks off with the story of the endangered Vancouver Island marmot

January 31, 2023

Science and Technology Community Lecture Series features seven presentations by VIU faculty. Scientists are sharing their insights on everything from the endangered Vancouver Island marmot to investigating deep-sea organisms with computational chemistry during the Vancouver Island University (VIU) Science and Technology Community Lecture Series. The lecture series has run almost every spring for... Read more


VIU students examine a scallop held by Provan Crump, from Coastal Shellfish Ltd.

VIU Program Focuses on the Future of Food Security Through Aquaculture

March 24, 2021

VIU’s new, unique aquaculture minor program allows students to combine it with either a Bachelor of Science or a Bachelor of Arts degree and prepares them for careers in the growing field of aquaculture. People with a passion for creating food security solutions and advancing knowledge for sustainable and earth-friendly food production can now enroll in Vancouver Island University’s (VIU’s) new... Read more


Dr. Spencer Russell works in the Centre for Innovation in Fish Health.

VIU Researchers Investigating Effects of Heat Waves on Marine Animals

December 8, 2020

Three VIU Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture researchers are leading an investigation on the effects of heat waves, due to climate change, on marine animals. Climate change is causing more extreme temperature events, such as heat waves, in marine environments. Researchers at Vancouver Island University (VIU) are studying how these changes are affecting the health of fish and shellfish thanks... Read more