Grant: Applied Research and Development Grants - Level 1

AquaDelights Seafoods Ltd. has been operating a sustainable oyster production and export farm in LittleHarbour, NS for over twenty years. The company collects oyster seeds, grows them on the seafloor in alow-impact, ecosystem sensitive method, and harvests the oysters when they reach market size. However,oyster demand greatly exceeds supply and expansion of this rural industry is inhibited by lack of easilyaccessible and clean growing areas. This lack of space is a product of water contamination by bacteria whichare flushed into the system by heavy rainfall. The main source of this pollution is suspected to be residentialseptic fields.NSCC's Applied Geomatics Research Group (AGRG) plans to develop a circulation model of Little Harbour todemonstrate how land-based contaminants are affecting the water quality and the aquaculture industry there.The model will use high resolution bathymetry data obtained by AGRG during a survey of the area inSeptember 2014 using an airborne topographic-bathymetric lidar system and multispectral camera, and waterquality data which will be obtained in 2015. The model will provide AquaDelights with strategies forexpansion into clean areas, and the model will also demonstrate how contamination frequency patterns maychange in the future under different scenarios such as warmer temperatures or decreased sources of pollution.The Aquaculture Association of Nova Scotia will work with AGRG to facilitate a community meeting topresent model results and suggest a watershed management strategy that would benefit all the users of LittleHarbour, including homeowners, shellfish growers, and recreational users. It is anticipated that a significantoutcome of this project will be the attraction of government regulatory attention in order to address the problemof contamination in oyster growing areas in order to expand this sustainable industry.