The Ontario Aquaculture Research Centre was established in 1993 by OMAFRA and the University of Guelph to assist the commercial fish farming industry in Ontario. It was previously known as the Alma Aquaculture Research Station. The research centre supports teaching, training, collaboration, research, resilience and sustainability for the aquaculture industry.

Research at the centre has always focused on rainbow trout because this species represents about 92 per cent of the total volume of seafood products from the aquaculture industry in Ontario. However, the centre houses several types of fish.

Primary areas of research include:

The centre has 2,600 square metres of floor space with more than 350 fish-rearing units that allow for fish production and research from egg to broodstock. On-site facilities include:

One of the wet labs is a quarantine facility with a recirculating aquaculture system; the centre offers quarantine facilities for the controlled importation of exotic species or strains of fish. To date, the quarantine unit has been used to successfully import and study Atlantic salmon, Nile tilapia, lake whitefish, lake sturgeon, coho salmon and yellow perch. The research centre has also developed a breeding population of Arctic char and new strains of spring-spawning rainbow trout for Ontario farmers.

The Ontario Aquaculture Research Centre provides necessary expertise and capacity for Ontario’s small- and mid-sized fish farming businesses and supports market development for a fast-changing sector.

Centre staff and partners (including OMAFRA staff and staff from Fisheries and Oceans Canada) offer a workshop on the requirements needed to initiate and operate an aquaculture or aquaponics farm in Ontario. The workshop is intended for novices interested in entering the industry.

The centre also provides continuing education opportunities for Ontario fish farmers by hosting groups and training on topics such as recirculating aquaculture systems and biosecurity, in addition to demonstrating new technologies such as equipment for humane slaughter.

The centre also supports farmers by facilitating the sharing of knowledge and protocols. The development of alternative aquaculture species is a risky activity. Centre staff can test various rearing and feeding methods to develop standard operating procedures intended to help private sector farms in adding new species.

Besides working with academic researchers, research centre staff work directly with the aquaculture industry to answer applied research questions. For example, staff are testing a natural product designed to reduce fungus growth during egg incubation, which would improve egg production and reduce the use of chemical products.

Over 2,000 trees along Victoria Road being removed as part of U of G research project (Guelph Today, March 25)

Lead researcher Dr. Naresh Thevathasan spoke with Guelph Today about the agroforestry research project being completed at the Guelph Research Station.

Why profitable farms can produce less carbon (Farmtario, April 15)

Dr. Claudia Wagner-Riddle and Dr. Susantha Jayasundara were also contributing editors to a white paper titled “Livestock and Greenhouse Gases” written by Mike McMorris, CEO of the Livestock Research Innovation Corp., and Chloe Neudorf. Read more about key practices of farms producing a low level of carbon emissions in this 2020 Agri-Food Yearbook article: It pays to be environmentally friendly: Carbon footprint-friendly dairy farming leads to a healthy planet…and a healthy bottom line.

What is the right way to deal with livestock mortality? (U of G One Health, April 5)

Dr. Brandon Gilroyed and his team, funded by the Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance and the Egg Farmers of Canada, developed a process called ambient alkaline hydrolysis.

OVC Expert Contributes to Global Paper on Equine Asthma (Ontario Veterinary College, April 8)

Dr. Dorothee Bienzle’s review is based on equine research funded in part by an Alliance-funded project.

A Holistic Study to Conserve Our Great Lakes (College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, April 22)

Engineering professors Dr. Jana Levison and Dr. Andrew Binns, along with engineering PhD student Ceilidh Mackie and Dr. Ivan O’Halloran, School of Environmental Sciences, have conducted a field study in the Great Lakes Basin. Funded partly by the Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance, this study seeks to understand nutrient dynamics and the relationship between water quality and land management practices.