A $15.8 million research project involving Western Research Chair and biology professor Raymond Thomas is hoping to find better ways to use the natural by-products of our oceans.
From finding new ways to repurpose salmon heads for agricultural and cosmetic products, to developing a new health care solution using proteins found in eels, the Marine Biomass Innovation project integrates Indigenous tradition and wisdom, and scientific innovation.
A collaboration between six Indigenous communities, five industry partners, five Canadian universities and four international education institutions, the project is an effort to reduce waste, and fully utilize all the products of Canada’s fishing industry – with the hope of providing new economic opportunities to communities that rely on the ocean’s bounty.
“We want to find components that will allow 100 per cent utilization of biomass and allow rural, remote, coastal and Indigenous communities to be hubs of innovation in Canada – all centred …