Fleming College

Lindsay, ON – (December 6, 2023) – Fleming College is on the cusp of opening an innovative new fish hatchery which will combine the latest aquaculture technology with hands-on learning, all while enhancing Fleming’s research capabilities.

Construction is underway on a new, $6.5 million facility, located at Fleming College’s Frost Campus in Lindsay, ON. The new facility will open in the spring of 2024.

“This hatchery stands as a testament to Fleming’s commitment to applied learning and fostering groundbreaking discoveries,” said Fleming College President Maureen Adamson. “This facility will serve as an unparalleled educational hub for aspiring students and community partners, pioneering research in aquaculture production.”

Aquaculture is the breeding, raising, and harvesting of fish for human consumption. It is increasingly becoming more relevant as governments and industries look for new ways to feed and supply the world’s population with protein in ethical and sustainable ways.

Joining the long-established Aquaculture program for students, Fleming College launched the Centre for Innovative Aquaculture Production (CIAP) in 2021, an applied research centre working within the commercial and scientific aquaculture community.

Researchers, program faculty and technologists worked side-by-side with students under one roof for the first time in Fleming’s historical teaching hatchery.

In recent years, CIAP has experienced rapid growth. At the same time, the number of Aquaculture program students is expected to double in the next few years, now attracting students from around the globe.

The need for an additional and new learning and research space that could accommodate the needs of both students and researchers quickly became apparent to Fleming College. The College broke ground on the new facility in early 2023.

Boasting three fully independent recirculating aquaculture system-based wings as its foundation, the new facility enables the academic and research teams to vary air and water temperature and lighting conditions to simulate a broad range of climates and regions around the world. This allows for a much broader variety of species to be incorporated into education and research, from traditional cold water, now to more temperate and warm water species.

The original hatchery will remain in operation at the Frost Campus. Working in tandem, the two hatcheries will house multiple cohorts of fish across levels of maturity and species at the same time.

“This new facility, and what our students will learn here, will be increasingly important as the world looks for new food sources and sustainable practices,” Adamson said. “The ability to study warm and cold-water species, and different cohorts of fish, will open up more employment opportunities for our students.”

For researchers, these advantages also translate in much shorter lead times for work with industry enabling them to be even more responsive to partners’ point in time needs.

“This type of facility isn’t built often, and there aren’t many in Canada,” President Adamson said. “Fleming College has made this investment as a testament to our success and commitment to our community and surrounding partners. We are proud of our growing reputation in the Centre for Innovation in Aquaculture Production.”

About Fleming College
Fleming College respectfully acknowledges that we are situated on Michi Saagiig Anishinaabeg lands and territory. Located in the heart of Central Ontario, Fleming College has campus locations in Peterborough, Lindsay, Cobourg and Haliburton. Named for famous Canadian inventor and engineer Sir Sandford Fleming, the college features more than 100 full-time programs in Arts and Heritage, Business, Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences, General Arts and Sciences, Health and Wellness, Justice and Community Development, Skilled Trades and Technology, and Continuing Education. Fleming College has more than 6,800 full-time and 10,000 part-time students, and 80,000 alumni.

For media enquiries, please contact:
Sarah Deeth
Communications Officer
sarah.deeth@flemingcollege.ca
705-749-5530 ext. 1161

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