Science Review 1988 & ‘89 (This Page Blank in the Original) Research 1988 and ‘89 in review S. B. MacPhee, D. I. Ross, and H. B. Nicholls Society, replacing Dr. David Aiken; = Dr. Trevor Platt (DFO) was the 1988 re- cipient of the G. Evelyn Hutchinson Medal of the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, the highest award given by the society; = Kate Moran (DEMR) was appointed Chairperson of the Shipboard Measure- ments Panel of the international Ocean Drilling Project; and = Dr. A.R. Longhurst (DFO) was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. D. I. Ross. S. B. MacPhee, and H. B. Nicholls Huntsman Award: The A. G. Hunts- man Award for excellence in the marine The years 1988 and ‘89 were interest- Hydrography Branch, Mr. Paul Bellemare sciences is awarded annually. It is admin- ing and fruitful ones for the research and was appointed Regional Director of istered by a private foundation based at survey programs carried out at the Bed- Hydrography in May 1988. Subsequently, BIO. ford Institute of Oceanography, the Hali- Mr. Reginald Lewis was appointed Re- The following two Huntsman Awards fax Fisheries Research Laboratory, and gional Field Superintendent. were presented during the period covered the St. Andrews Biological Station. In the The following senior staff changes by this Review. following paragraphs, information is pro- were made in the Atlantic vided on a number of the significant Geoscience Centre (AGC) of events that occurred during those years at DEMR. In August 1988, Dr. the laboratories of the Department of Fish- David Ross was appointed Direc- eries and Oceans (DFO) and at those of the tor of AGC, succeeding Dr. Department of Energy, Mines and Re- Michael Keen, who returned to sources (DEMR), and Environment his position as Research Scien- Canada. tist. Dr. David Prior was ap- pointed Head of the Environmen- Staff tal Marine Geology Subdivision, Key staff changes that occurred at DFO and Dr. Matthew Salisbury was during the review period are as follows. In appointed Head of the Regional February 1988, Dr. Michael Sinclair was Reconnaissance Subdivision. Dr. Carl Wunsch Dr. Lawrence R. Pomeroy appointed Director of the Biological Sci- There were no senior staff ences Branch (BSB), replacing Dr. James changes within the laboratories of Envi- On November 2, 1988, Dr. Carl Stewart, who returned to his position as ronment Canada. Wunsch of MIT was presented with the A. Research Scientist. Also within BSB, Dr. G. Huntsman Award for 1988 in recogni- Donald Gordon was appointed Head of the Awards, appointments, and tion of his major contributions to the de- newly formed Habitat Ecology Division. presentations velopment of innovative analytical tech- Dr. John Pringle was appointed Head of The following were among the awards, niques applicable to the interpretation of the Fisheries and Benthic Aquaculture Di- appointments, and presentations involv- oceanographic data sets and for his scien- vision and Director of the Halifax Fisher- ing staff of the laboratories: tific leadership in preparing plans for glo- ies Research Laboratory. Dr. John Ritter = Dr. Allyn Clarke (DFO) was appointed bal climate research programs in the became Head of the Freshwater and Co-chairman of the Scientific Steering 1990s. Anadromous Division on the retirement of Group of the World Ocean Circulation The A. G. Huntsman Award winner for Mr. Neil MacEachern. There were no sen- Experiment (WOCE); 1989 was Dr. Lawrence R. Pomeroy of the ior staff changes in the Physical and = Dr. John Castell (DFO) assumed the University of Georgia. Dr. Pomeroy was Chemical Sciences Branch. In the Presidency of the World Aquaculture recognized for his fundamental research 1 Research demonstrating the importance of bacterial programs were pursued in the areas of nu- food chains in the oceans. He was awarded trition, disease, disease control, and gene- the prestigious medal on November 22, tics. The principal species for aquaculture 1989. research are Atlantic salmon, halibut, striped bass, lobster, and blue mussels. Research and survey highlights DFO’s five hatchery facilities operated at Some of the major events occurring during peak capacity, delivering over one million the review period are listed below by broad smolts each year to river enhancement pro- geographic region. grams and private aquaculture farms. A research program on silver hake was Georges Bank, Bay of Fundy, Scotian initiated to aid in the management of this Shelf Deep crustal seismic studies carried resource and to study the role of the species out under the Geological Survey of Cana- in the Scotian Shelf ecosystem. da’s Frontier Geoscience Program (FGP) Studies of the morphology and chemi- have provided new evidence on the forma- cal contamination of the sediments in tion of east coast continental margins and Halifax Harbour have provided significant the associated marginal basins. During the input to the assessment of the design and review period, emphasis shifted from the location of appropriate sewage treatment margins of the Grand Banks to the Scotian facilities for the Halifax-Dartmouth met- The ROV being deployed from the C.S.S. Shelf in order to provide information on ropolitan area. Ongoing research in this Dawson. the deep structure of the Scotian Basin and field will lead to improved understanding to provide structural control from the of the remobilization and dissemination of The review period was also active in Meguma rocks of Nova Scotia to the ocean contaminants within the sediments of estu- terms of grey seal research. Seal popula- basement east of the Nova Scotia margin. ary systems. Other research in Halifax tion trends were studied by tagging all These studies have been complemented by Harbour has included benthic biological pups born on Sable Island. In addition, and collaborative studies with scientists from investigations, physical oceanographic in- in cooperation with Guelph and Dalhousie Germany conducted under the Canada/ vestigations, studies of dissolved and Universities and with Fisheries Resource Germany bilateral agreement. particulate trace metal distributions, and Development Ltd., a research program Major research studies involving physi- the examination of contaminants in lob- was undertaken to investigate the cal, chemical, and biological sciences sters. (On this topic, see the essay in this deworming of seal populations, the immu- were carried out on Georges Bank in 1988 Review titled “Halifax Harbour: How the nological relationships between seals and and 1989. The studies included research currents affect sediment distribution”.) the sealworm, and the use of birth control on circulation and mixing associated with A major interdisciplinary project intro- agents and other techniques to reduce and the tidal front, as well as turbulence meas- duced during the review period is employ- limit grey seal populations. urements and studies on plankton produc- ing ecological modelling techniques to ex- Considerable steps were taken during tion and larval distribution in the frontal amine the environmental impact of 1988 and ‘89 to improve interaction and area. salmonid aquaculture in L’Etang Estuary the sharing of knowledge between scien- Substantial progress was made in in southwestern New Brunswick. The tists and fishermen. This process included phytotoxin research, with projects intro- study is designed to provide information seminars, opportunities for fishermen to duced in such diverse fields as bio- about the number of salmon cages the estu- join research surveys and for scientists to chemistry, phytoplankton ecology, and ary can support without having serious en- join fishing vessels, and the dispatch of physiology, as well as microbiological and vironmental effects. printed material to fishermen on a regular aquatic toxicology. As part of this pro- In June 1989, the second set of east basis. gram, phytoplankton profiling was initi- coast trials on the remotely operated ated in the spring of 1989 in order to deter- Hysub 5000 undersea vehicle (ROV) was Grand Banks, Labrador Sea: Scien- mine phytoplankton composition of se- carried out from C.S.S. Dawson. In 1988, tists from AGC and Brock University col- lected inlets on a regular basis. The pur- trials had been conducted off Bermuda us- laborated on a geophysical interpretation pose of this program is to provide informa- ing a vessel from the Department of Na- of the magnetic anomaly of the Labrador tion about the areas and times that are unfa- tional Defence. Twelve principal investi- Sea and Orphan Basin. The purpose of the vourable for mariculture due to the pres- gators carried out experiments which in- study was to understand the nature of the ence of toxin-producing species. cluded examining flow patterns from region’s underlying rock in order to deci- The review period was an active one for sewer outfalls to determine the effect on pher the history of the rifting that created aquaculture research and development. the seafloor, photographing zooplankton the continental margin and subsequently Responsibility for DFO’s Salmon Demon- and euphausiid layers in Emerald Basin, affected the development of the sedimen- stration and Development Farm was trans- mapping dredge spoils, and examining and tary basins that now populate the continen- ferred to the New Brunswick Salmon photographing scallop and lobster habi- tal shelf. Growers Association, and active research tats. The completion of the first five years of 2 Research ternational Joint Global Ocean Flux Study pilot experiment in the western North At- lantic. DFO’s studies focused on the northern progression of the spring phytoplankton bloom and ground-truthing satellite measurements of chlorophyll abundance in the Sargasso Sea and east of Flemish Cap. The first field activity of a joint project between AGC and IFREMER (France) to study continental slope stability was suc- cessfully completed off Nice in 1989. AGC provided a Huntec DTS seismic pro- filing system to examine sediment insta- bility at the site of the 1979 sediment fail- ure, when part of the Nice airport slumped into the sea and triggered a powerful sub- marine turbidity current.