Construction begins on $8.6m shellfish centre

Fred Davies

It’s lauded as a world class facility with significant potential of becoming a major economic driver for the region.

On Thursday roughly 100 people gathered along a Deep Bay shoreline near the community’s harbour to witness official groundbreaking for Vancouver Island University’s $8.6 million field station for shellfish aquaculture.

A 10,000 square foot multi-use building on three hectares of ocean front property, the new facility is being built to the highest of environmental standards. This includes a pump ashore sea water research centre, in addition to a working research and development and training shellfish farm.

“This new field station will support the growth of the shellfish industry and spur on the creation of new jobs on Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast benefitting communities and First Nations,” said Ralph Nilson, VIU president and Vice Chancellor.

In attendance on a warm and sunny afternoon were VIU representatives as well as politicians from both the federal and provincial government, who together chipped in millions to fund more than half the project cost.

James Lunney, Conservative MP for Nanaimo-Alberni expressed delight with the rapid progress leading to what many described as a momentous occasion.

“We have great expectations for the role this institute will play in the community,” he said. “It will make huge contributions in knowledge generation and innovation for the benefit of the industry.”

The centre is designed to cluster scientific, environmental, economic and public programming.

The centre anticipates learning opportunities for area students and will promote tourism through marine ecology experiences and food preparation from VIU’s Culinary Institute of Vancouver Island.

Field station manager, Brain Kingzett, said the project’s design is intended as a green building demonstration that will serve as a model for how various coastal and marine activities can co-exist harmoniously.

“It will be one of the greenest buildings in Canada,” he said.

Among expected attributes will be heating transfer from adjacent sea water, lighting and ventilation that automatically adjusts for optimal efficiency, recycling of grey water and a parking lot made from crushed oyster shells rather than pavement.

“The entire building will be as energy efficient as possible and will use around 20 per cent of the electricity that a similar non-green building would,” said Kingzett.

Attendees at the groundbreaking also included the chair of Island Coastal Economic Trust, Joe Stanhope; RDN’s electoral area H director Dave Bartram and BC Minister of Agriculture and Lands Ron Cantelon.

Construction of the field station will take 14 months.

‘This will be a huge economic driver and the the green building techniques can serve a training aspect purpose for the RDN’s building inspection service,” said Bartram.