Our Mandate

The Fisheries Conservation Group is a research group originally created at Memorial University in 1996, to develop an independent fisheries research program that would complement Government programs as well as provide an integrative focus for fisheries research, specializing in the fisheries of the Nothwest Atlantic, but also worldwide.

Research funding has come from many sources, including the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Provincial Fisheries Department, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and The Canadian International Development Agency.

The Group is led by Senior Chair Dr. George Rose, and includes research assistants, post-doctoral fellows and graduate students.

Research Focus

• The collapse and rebuilding of groundfish stocks in Atlantic Canada.
• The ecology and dynamics of important commercial fisheries worldwide.
• Sea-going research.
• Using high-technology to measure the ocean and its fishes (acoustics, electronic sensors, tagging, GIS).
• A comparative ecosystem approach to fisheries and management.
• Working with fishers and industry.

Training Focus

The Fisheries Conservation Group provides a wide range of opportunities and training for students at the graduate level in fisheries science. An important element of this training is experience at sea with scientific research, research vessels, and fisheries. Moreover, students use and develop the latest technology to measure ocean ecosystems and fish populations.

The Collaborators

The Fisheries Conservation Group collaborates with:

• Provincial Department of Fisheries
• Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans
• Other MUN marine scientists (Ocean Sciences Lab, Biology, Physical Oceanography, Earth Sciences)
• Fisheries scientists in many countries (U.S.A., Iceland, New Zealand, Tanzania, Kenya)