NR-MAR-02-14E

MINISTER THIBAULT ANNOUNCES COMPLETION OF $5 MILLION UPGRADE TO RESEARCH FACILITY

October 18, 2002

St. Andrews - The Honourable Robert G. Thibault, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, today announced the completion of upgrades to the St. Andrews Biological Station, in St. Andrews, New Brunswick. The $5 million in funding for this initiative was provided by the Treasury Board Rust-Out Funding Program. This allocation has funded the construction of two new facilities that are vital to the infrastructure of the Biological Station, Atlantic Canada's oldest marine research facility, founded in 1908.

"It is with great pleasure that I announce the upgrade of this essential marine research station," said Minister Thibault. "The Biological Station has a long history of world-class research. It is vital to maintain its infrastructure so its staff can continue to support and work with the fisheries and aquaculture industries in the Maritimes Region. This upgrade confirms the department's commitment to building the federal science capacity."

"State-of-the art marine science facilities are key to supporting and developing our important fisheries resources," stated Minister Bradshaw, M.P. for Moncton-Riverview-Dieppe.

The new facilities include a Sand Filtration Building which houses state-of-the-art equipment to filter salt water for the station's many laboratories, and a Storage Warehouse for the safe storage of the scientific equipment used by the 80-plus full-time staff at the facility. As well, the warehouse holds Marine Emergency Response equipment for the Canadian Coast Guard. This equipment, used in marine disasters such as oil spills, will now be stored in an easily accessible facility.

The Sand Filtration Building was built by Diamond Construction (1961) Ltd. of Fredericton, N.B. at a total cost of $3.6 million. It represents a major investment to ensure continued capability to carry out saltwater research. The increased capacity allows 2000 US gallons per minute to pass through sand filters to remove any particles greater than 20 microns in size. A cascading degassing system then removes any supersaturated gasses as both oxygen and nitrogen can cause problems for fish if the water is supersaturated. The entire system is duplicated so that there is guaranteed water at all times The system is automated with fail-safe alarms, a dedicated emergency generator and level sensors using a CAS (Controls and Status) networked software system.

This project is the second step of a total update of the saltwater research facilities following the earlier upgrade of the saltwater intake in 1997 and the planned replacement of the laboratories in 2005.

The new Storage Warehouse, built by Castle Rock Construction Services Inc. of Saint John, N.B., replaces the many small, outlying buildings on the Station campus, many of which will be demolished because of their age and state of disrepair. The cost of this project was $1.4 million.

Research at the Biological Station focuses on oceanography, commercial fisheries, environmental studies, and aquaculture development. It has recently expanded its mandate to include marine protected areas and species at risk, including the Northern Right Whale.

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