April 28, 2010 - 9:04am
Barry Janyk, Chair of the Island Coastal Economic Trust and Mayor of Gibsons, on behalf of the Board of Directors, today announced funding by the Island Coastal Economic Trust (ICET) of $1,300,000 for Vancouver Island University’s International Centre for Sturgeon Studies (ICSS). The total cost of the project is estimated at $5,250,000.
Janyk explained that the objective of ICSS is securing a sturgeon industry for Canada’s Pacific Coast, focussing on Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast. “Sturgeon species represent a high commercial value per fish, and have an estimated worldwide trade of more than $500 million. They are suited to land-based, closed containment production systems which present environmentally sound protein production process. ICSS has been a leader in the sturgeon field, and has a collection of white sturgeon broodstock that is unique among public institutions in Canada. Currently, there is demonstrated interest in this type of aquaculture on Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast, with enormous growth potential. This project is just another example of the ‘economic infrastructure’ that has become the hallmark of the Island Coastal Economic Trust’s support for projects on the North Island and the Sunshine Coast.
According to Dr. Ralph Nilson, President and Vice-Chancellor of Vancouver Island University, VIU is committed to supporting both coastal resource management and regional economic development on Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast.
“The economic and research opportunities provided by white sturgeon in BC is huge,” Nilson said. “The ICSS’s secure source of the brood stock, and our approach to academic and industrial commerce partnerships, provide massive international market opportunity for sturgeon. We have been working with Target Marine in Sechelt and a number of other potential producers, including First Nations, who have expressed a strong interest in entering into this development opportunity.”
Don Tillapaugh, Director of the International Centre for Sturgeon Studies explained the economics of the production of sturgeon in closed containment systems. He indicated that farm-gate revenues for white sturgeon can be up to ten times that of farmed Atlantic salmon due to the fact that sturgeon have a higher farm-gate value and because more of them can be grown in the same volume of water. These economics, coupled with the fact that sturgeon have a similar production cycle and are robust under culture conditions, make sturgeon culture in freshwater tank farm facilities very attractive. “With ICSS having exclusive ownership of broodstock and the practical application knowledge, these factors bode well for massive aquaculture benefits for Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast, and other BC locations in the next few years.”
About the Island Coastal Economic Trust
The Island Coastal Economic Trust was established on February 27, 2006 under an Act of the Province of British Columbia. It provided a $50-million endowment that is managed by an independent Board of Directors comprised of thirteen members – eight mayors and five provincial appointees from the ICET area.
The Board’s mandate is to make strategic investments in economic development priorities including forestry, transportation, tourism, mining, energy, Olympic opportunities, economic development, agriculture and aquaculture, and small business. The ICET region encompasses all Regional Districts and municipalities on Vancouver Island north of the Malahat as well as the Powell River and Sunshine Coast Regional Districts.
ICET has approved $39 million for over 40 projects on the Island and Sunshine Coast since starting its grant program in 2007. The total impact of these investments is estimated at $216 million.
A full overview of ICET can be found at www.islandcoastaltrust.ca
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