The Marine Institute has three academic schools, the School of Fisheries, the School of Maritime Studies and the School of Ocean Technology. Each school includes a range of programming from industrial response training to undergraduate and graduate degree programs.

The School of Fisheries is responsible for developing and delivering education, training, and industry development services required to meet the needs of the harvesting, processing and aquaculture sectors of the seafood industry, and of the food industry in general. The School is committed to developing and delivering education and training programs to meet the needs of these sectors.

Education and training programs offered by the School range from full-time programs offered at the Marine Institute’s facilities on Ridge Road to a comprehensive suite of short, industry-response courses which are community based and offered in response to specific industry and group requests.

Increasingly, the School of Fisheries is expanding its graduate program offerings, both on campus and on-line.

Programs delivered by the School of Fisheries include:

• Doctor of Philosophy in Fisheries Science
• Master of Science in Fisheries Science (Fisheries Science and Technology)
• Master of Marine Studies (Fisheries Resource Management)
• Master of Marine Studies (Marine Spatial Planning Management)
• Master of Marine Studies (Aquaculture)
• Graduate Diploma in Marine Studies (Fisheries Resource Management)
• Graduate Diploma in Marine Studies (Aquaculture)
• Post Graduate Certificate in Quality Management
• Advanced Diploma in Food Safety
• Advanced Diploma in Water Quality
• Diploma in Marine Environmental Technology

The School of Fisheries also offers a variety of industry response courses and programs in processing, harvesting and aquaculture. These are normally offered on a contractual basis in partnership with industry clients through the Community Based Education Delivery (CBED) unit.

Community Based Education Delivery (CBED) Unit

Since 1964, community-based training has been a part of the Marine Institute. The Community Based Education Delivery Unit (CBED) continues this tradition, offering industrial response training. The unit’s main office is located in St. John’s, however, CBED offers courses across Newfoundland and Labrador, Nunavut, and the Northwest Territories, with instruction offered both in-class and on-line.

CBED is responsible for the delivery of Fishing Master Programs both online and in the community, for individuals who are seeking to challenge their examinations with Transport Canada.

CBED supports key training priorities by organizing, facilitating, and leading training to meet the needs of industry. CBED offers courses in the areas of:

• Aquaculture
• Fish Harvesting
• Food Processing

CENTRES

The School of Fisheries oversees a number of centres that support applied research and development for industry and play an active role in the supervision of graduate students.

Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Resources (CSAR)

The Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Resources (CSAR) is an applied research unit within the School of Fisheries. Recognized as Canada’s experts in fish capture, the team of staff and graduate students have core strengths in fishing gear design and testing, conservation engineering, fisheries biology, fish capture behavior, and mechanical engineering.

The team uses a combination of flume tank and at-sea comparative fishing experiments to improve sustainable fishing practices and profitability of commercial fishing enterprises. Graduate students receive practical experience on commercial fishing vessels addressing real challenges facing commercial fisheries. Our research focuses on maximizing the value of the catch while at the same time reducing ecological impacts of fishing, such as bycatch of non-targeted animals, seabed impacts, fuel consumption, discarding, and ghost fishing of lost gears.

The team is also recognized for its expertise in fisheries development, including resource assessments of underutilized species. Documenting the abundance, distribution, and life history characteristics of new species of interest ensures that Canada’s emerging fisheries are established with proper science advice.

Centre for Aquaculture and Seafood Development (CASD)

The Fisheries and Marine Institute’s (MI) Centre for Aquaculture and Seafood Development (CASD) provides research and development, technical support, and technology transfer expertise to the marine bioproducts sector. The Centre is supported by three main pillars – aquaculture, seafood development, and marine bioprocessing – with associated pilot plants, labs, and research facilities. CASD acts as a catalyst for marine bioproducts innovation enabling its industry partners, employees, and students to actively participate in the global Blue Economy. A key focus of the Centre’s multi-disciplinary research team is a zero-waste approach to obtaining 100% utilization of marine resources by using innovative technologies, green chemistry, and environmentally sustainable practices.

The research focus of the centre includes aquaculture engineering and RAS technologies, advanced seafood processing technologies (e.g. thermal processing and High Pressure Processing HPP), equipment design & prototyping, enzymatic extraction of marine biomolecules, and marine by-product utilization. Research and technical personnel include research scientists, seafood technologists, aquaculture technologists, lab technologists, mechanical engineers, thermal processing specialists, and biotechnologists. The Centre also supports a small number of graduate students pursuing research-based Master of Science and doctoral programs in Fisheries Science with a concentration on marine bioprocessing.

Centre for Fisheries and Ecosystem Research (CFER)

The Centre for Fisheries Ecosystems Research (CFER) was established at the Marine Institute in 2010. The goal of the Centre is to better understand fish stocks and the productivity of Newfoundland and Labrador’s marine ecosystem through fisheries research and the training of graduate students in Fisheries Science.

Specifically, CFER’s mandate is to:

• Conduct research on fisheries and marine ecosystems in Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as Arctic and international waters, using novel technologies that focus on sustainability.
• Offer research and training opportunities to graduate students.
• Collaborate with government and industry on research activities that contribute to fisheries management.
• Collaborate with other researchers nationally and internationally.

The School of Maritime Studies is responsible for education and training programs to prepare Newfoundlanders and Labradorians for careers in the marine transportation industry. Current programming is focused on preparing deck and engineering officers for vessel operations and preparing professionals for the associated marine technology sectors. The School also offers graduate programs in the area of ocean safety and maritime management. Research in ocean safety is supported by the Ocean Safety Research Unit.

Programs offered by the School of Maritime Studies include:

• Doctor of Philosophy in Maritime Studies
• Master of Science in Maritime Studies (Safety: The Human Element)
• Master of Science in Maritime Studies (Public Safety)
• Master of Maritime Management
• Bachelor of Maritime Studies
• Diploma of Technology in Marine Engineering Systems Design
• Diploma of Technology in Marine Engineering Technology
• Diploma of Technology in Nautical Science
• Diploma of Technology in Naval Architecture
• Technical Certificate in Bridge Watch Program
• Technical Certificate in Marine Diesel Mechanics
• Technical Certificate in Fire Rescue

Ocean Safety Research Unit (OSRU)

The Ocean Safety Research Unit (OSRU) of the School of Maritime Studies has a thriving multidisciplinary research group, focused on scholarship in the areas of human factors, training, safety and survival, cold environments, public safety, simulators, digitalization and industry 5.0, and autonomous shipping. The OSRU oversees research conducted within the School of Maritime Studies, including the research-based Master of Science and doctoral programs in Maritime Studies.  The OSRU holds close collaboration with other centers and schools within the Marine Institute and Memorial University including the Offshore Safety and Survival Centre (OSSC); the Centre for Marine Simulation (CMS); and the Safety and Emergency Response Centre (SERT). Working with local, national and international academic, industry and governmental partnerships, the OSRU facilitates state-of-the-art knowledge creation and dissemination of training, education, research and development.

CENTRES

Industry response and development services of the School of Maritime Studies are offered through the Centre for Marine Simulation, the Offshore Safety and Survival Centre in Foxtrap, as well as the Safety and Emergency Response Centre in Stephenville.

Offshore Safety and Survival Centre (OSSC) and the Safety and Emergency Response (SERT Centre)

The Offshore Safety and Survival Centre and the Safety and Emergency Response Training Centre support delivery of the full-time diploma and certificate programs at all three Schools by delivering safety and emergency response training courses as part of the full-time programs.  Training is delivered to the highest standards of regulatory bodies including Transport Canada, the Canada-Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board, and the National Fire Protection Association, and others.  Training ranges from personal survival in the open ocean conditions, to firefighting, and small craft operations including lifeboats, and fast rescue boats.

The centres also support delivery of the bachelor, master, and doctoral programs by providing access to a living laboratory where undergraduate and graduate students can directly interact and learn from industry.  Interactions can range from student participation in industrial safety training to applied research activities and use of simulation technologies.  With office and research space available at the centres, graduate students have full access to many specialized research tools including eye tracker and motion capture technologies. 

Centre for Marine Simulation 

The Centre for Marine Simulation (CMS) provides the most comprehensive suite of maritime simulators in Canada. The primary utilization of the CMS simulators is for training and education.  Simulation technology allows individuals and teams to encounter dangerous and life-threatening situations in perfect safety, and to develop the necessary judgment and response skills.  In essence, simulator training provides 'artificial experience' to mariners thereby improving their performance and reducing the risk of a human error induced accident. Such training and education contribute significantly to the efficiency and safety of marine operations, and to environmental protection.  Training and education of marine operators with the use of high-fidelity simulators is recognized as effective and cost efficient.

CMS activities also include mission rehearsal, human factors research, equipment evaluation, and port evaluations.  CMS, with the support of the Ocean Technology Cluster and industry, plays a leadership role in Canada in harsh environment modeling and simulation.

The School of Ocean Technology (SOT) is heavily involved in education, training and applied research in primary ocean industry technologies. The School is committed to developing and delivering education and training programs to meet the needs of the ocean sector in Newfoundland and Labrador, and beyond.

Programs offered by the School of Ocean Technology include:

• Graduate Diploma in Applied Ocean Technology (Ocean Mapping)
• Master of Applied Ocean Technology (Ocean Mapping)
• Master of Technology Management
• Bachelor of Technology
• Certificate in Leadership
• Diploma of Technology (Ocean Mapping)
• Diploma of Technology (Underwater Vehicles)
• Technician Diploma in Remotely Operated Vehicles

Centre for Applied Ocean Technology (CTec)

The Centre for Applied Ocean Technology (CTec), located at the Holyrood Marine Base, is the applied research arm of the School of Ocean Technology. CTec undertakes applied research and development in two key areas: ocean mapping and ocean observation systems. Its primary goals are to:

• Respond to the evolving technology needs of key ocean industries such as fisheries, shipping, and oil and gas
• Work collaboratively with the ocean technology community in Canada.
• Provide work experience and employment opportunities for students and graduates of Marine Institute programs

CTec aims to enhance the safety, efficiency, sustainability, and profitability of maritime pursuits through the application of technology.