Welcome from CASD
Heather Manuel
Director, Center for Aquaculture and Seafood Development (CASD)
Welcome to the Centre for Aquaculture and Seafood Development. CASD
is committed to promoting sustainable aquaculture and fisheries by
providing fish, shellfish and aquatic health services, combined
with state of the art facilities for proactive research and product
development in the area of aquatic animal health.
CASD is internationally recognized for its applied scientific and
technical expertise, facilities and commitment to clients. We offer
clients one of the largest and most comprehensive aquaculture and
fisheries training and applied research facilities in Atlantic
Canada. Our quarantine facility allows users to carry out research
requiring biological containment, ensured through the application
of strict operating protocols.
Our services include: a complete range of fish and shellfish health
services such as histopathoglogy, pathogen screening, and diet
development; biotechnology research; product development and
testing; innovative species research and development; and fish and
shellfish health assessments including pathogen surveys and disease
challenge studies.
Recent aquatic health research activities at CASD have included:
- Efficacy of immunostimulants added to dry pellet feed for cultured trout and cod.
- Development of new assays to measure lysosyme activity (immune response) in skin mucous.
- Evaluation of new aquaculture sites (salmon and mussels) in Newfoundland and Labrador (NL).
- Epidemiology and pathology of parasites infecting cultured broodstock and juvenile cod.
- Baseline surveys (3-yrs) of parasites and pathogens in mussels from NL.
- Development of quality assurance standards for the NL mussel industry.
- Modeling of marine bio-fouling organisms.
- Biotechnology research on carotenoid proteins from crustacean processing.
