FISH FARMING 

York University

Fresh-water fish farming is a sizeable--and growing--industry in Canada. Over the past ten years revenues have increased nine-fold and there's great potential for the industry to expand even more. Research being conducted by Dr. Scott Kelly at York University aims to help realize that potential.

"My research has two goals," says Dr. Kelly. "The first is to develop a realistic model for the fish gill so that we can reduce the use of live fish in our experiments. Why the gill? Because the gill is an important and sensitive organ in direct contact with water. Gills are to fish what lungs are to humans, so understanding how the gill works, and how it handles things like exposure to toxins or changes in water temperature, is vitally important to keeping fish healthy."

The second part of Dr. Kelly's research will look at how environmental stress impacts on a fish's appetite. "Appetite is tied to energy expenditure, which is dictated by environment," explains Dr. Kelly. "When environmental conditions change, fish either eat more or less or they may stop eating altogether. Knowing how this works will help fish farmers regulate the environment for optimum productivity."

Researcher: Dr. Scott Kelly