Stay up to date with news and events in the Fisheries and Aquaculture Department.
Student stories: Hooked on salmon
Second-year diploma student Tristan Dieleman, under Professor Duane Barker, participated in a chum and coho salmon counting assessment on the Chase River in south Nanaimo that yielded amazing results of record-breaking returns.
“Tristen was a true leader. He helped train new students on all sampling procedures, was responsible for compiling all field data and served as liaison between his team and I,” says Duane. “This was a great training opportunity for Tristen to further develop skills in leadership, organization and communication and he excelled."
“As I’ve gone through the program and learned what I’ve learned, I’ve realized what I don’t know is even greater; you realize you don’t know 10 other things,” he explains. “One thing for certain is regardless of where I end up, I’m going to enjoy it. Because I’ve enjoyed the entirety of the program since I have been here. Every course has information relevant to what I enjoy in life and my passion. As long as there are fish, that is where I will be.”
Read more about it in the VIU blog.
Student stories: Helping to protect cutthroat trout
Joe Clark, a Fisheries and Aquaculture student, is working with the Nanaimo & Area Land Trust (NALT) to monitor urban streams in Nanaimo for the presence of cutthroat trout. Read about Joe's work below.
“The Fisheries and Aquaculture diploma was excellent in terms of giving me the hands-on skills I needed to understand fish habitat, fish behaviour and ecology. There is a large field component to the program, which was great because we got to get out and look at fish habitat and evaluate urban streams,” says Joe. “The faculty in fisheries and aquaculture instilled a lot of confidence in me. I feel like I left with the skills to do this kind of work. I couldn’t just pick one professor over another, they were always very encouraging and helpful. They did a good job preparing me for this kind of work.”
Upcoming Events (2025)
Award and Scholarship Donor Appreciation Event
- Where? Golden Eagle Sablefish
- When? April 2025. More information to come.
Fisheries and Aquaculture Student Graduation Ceremony, Class of 2025
Where? TBA
When? April 2025. More information to come.
Do you need field gear?
Good news! You can now borrow outdoor field gear from the VIU Gear Closet in the VIU Library!
- Bring your VIU card to the Library Service Desk to check out gear for up to 7 days. Before you return borrowed gear, clean it thoroughly. Return clean gear to the Library Service Desk during open hours.
Scholarship and award recipients
Congratulations to the 2024-2025 Fish and Aqua Scholarship and Award recipients!
Thank you to everyone that attended the Fisheries and Aquaculture Awards & Scholarship Dinner, which was held on campus at the newly opened Shq'apthut (An Indigenous Gathering Place) building on November 6. Food was provided by Quality Foods. A total of $27,000 was awarded to students this year!
Visit the Awards and Scholarship page for more info (link below)!
| Awards and Scholarships | Value | Recipient |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Dr. Brian Riddell Pacific Salmon Foundation (PSF) Fisheries Award | $2000 | Juno Thummerer |
| 2. Nanaimo Marine Pavilion Scholarship | $500 | Owen Worobec |
| 3. NPA Board Centre for Indigenous Fisheries (CIF) Fisheries & Aquaculture Award for Aboriginal Students | $1000 | Olivia Ballard |
| 4. NPA Board CIF Fisheries & Aquaculture Scholarship | $1000 | Terilyn Ewen-Holdom |
| 5. Island Scallops Fisheries & Aquaculture Scholarship | $1000 | Isabel Vilchis Valdez |
| 6. Island Scallops Fisheries & Aquaculture Scholarship | $1000 | Emily Lohn |
| 7. Fan Seafoods Ltd. Geoduck Endowment Scholarship | $500 | Ty Heroux |
| 8. Eunice Lam Award | $1500 | Dani Weber |
| 9. Eunice Lam Award | $1500 | Jonah Mueller |
| 10. Underwater Harvesters Association Research Society Award | $1000 | Nicole Darlington |
| 11. BC Shellfish Industry Award | $1000 | Jaimie Pollard |
| 12. Fanny Bay Salmonid Enhancement Society Award | $1000 | Thomas Champaigne |
| 13. Nicholas Plecas Aquaculture Award | $1500 | Jaimie Pollard |
| 14. Tom Orr Memorial Award - Sponsored by Pacific Prawns Fisherman's Association (PPFA) | $1000 | Konrad Breier |
| 15. Cermaq Canada Award | $1500 | Tyler Welsh |
| 16. Dr. Daniel M. Ware Memorial Award | $1000 | Emily Palmer |
| 17. Dr. Don Noakes Memorial Award | $1000 | Reid Muise |
| 18. Sandy Miller PSF Fisheries Award | $1000 | Tristan Dieleman |
| 19. MOWI Canada West Scholarship | $1500 | Olivia Ballard |
| 20. Frank Bernard Award in Fisheries | $2000 | Tristan Dieleman |
| 21. Frank Bernard Award in Fisheries | $2000 | Chris Girvan |
| 22. William E. Ricker Memorial Scholarship | $2000 | Marcel DuPlessis |
Fish and Aqua in the News!
The past year has been a busy one for Fish and Aqua. Read about the exciting research and student achievement stories below.
- Enhancing Food Sovereignty with Indigenous Communities: VIU and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency collaborate on marine food safety. (July 2024)
Breeding Oysters to Combat Ocean Acidification: Dr. Tim Green collaborates with Department of Fisheries and Oceans (July 2024)
Pacific Salmon Foundation Scholarship winners from VIU Fisheries & Aquaculture! (April 2024)
Why is BC developing new strains of Shellfish?: Dr. Tim Green joins the Future of Work Series on Global News BC. (March 2024)
Creating the World's Best Oyster (the challenges of shellfish farming in BC): Dr. Timothy Green speaks about his work at Deep Bay Marine Field Station.
Growing Knowledge in VIU's Aquaponics Greenhouse. (June 2023)
VIU partners with brewery to raise awareness of climate change research. (May 2023)
Detecting and Managing Bacterial Infections in Salmon - Dr. Spencer Russell is working to understand and manage bacterial infections in salmon with the help of NSERC and Mitacs grants. (March 2023)
