Dr. Ray Peterson
Dr. Ray Peterson was a pioneer (1985) in the development of selective breeding programs in the BC Aquaculture Industry. Ray was a dairy breeder at UBC and had no previous experience in fish. When he took on Bruce Swift as a Master student he found himself spawning Coho, and measuring Chinook and Atlantic salmon throughout the industry.
He was the first researcher in B.C. ( and most likely Canada) to use PIT Tags as means of individual identification of fish within family which allowed the application of Animal Model BLUP analysis to determine Estimated Breeding Values. Dr Peterson also developed data collection software, database and economic models that are currently still being used in the B.C. salmon farming industry today (i.e. Creative Salmon and Cermaq Canada). Dr. Ray Peterson developed selective breeding programs for Coho salmon, Chinook salmon and Atlantic salmon. . Unfortunately Dr. Ray Peterson passed away on Jan 14 2014.
Everyone in the aquaculture industry who worked with Ray always said he was a great guy and he will be missed.
Mary Ellen Walling
After 11 years on the front lines of advocacy for the BC Salmon Farmers Association, Mary Ellen Walling has moved on to new adventures.
Her time at the association though, marked significant movement in both the sector, and the public's perspective of the sector.
From sitting at the table with the World Wildlife Foundation's aquaculture standard committee to braving her way through the media scrums of PCBs, Cohen Commission and court battles, Mary Ellen's ability to keep calm in a storm helped lead the way for many during her time with the BCSFA.
Dr. Sonja Saksida
Sonja has been instrumental in leading partnerships with Fisheries & Oceans Canada, (Quinsam River Hatchery) and the Atlegay Fisheries Society to monitor the spring plankton blooms near Campbell River and establish a relationship between bloom timing and abundance, and Coho salmon survival.
Sonja's leadership and passion to support practical science activities from the CAHS to assist in the understanding of the natural ecosystem and the trends in wild salmon survival have been essential to the work.
Her ongoing activities supporting the work at Quinsam Hatchery include a vibrio vaccination trial which is looking at determining if injection vaccination of hatchery Coho will increase survival rates to adult return.
These are examples of Sonja's foresight in looking outside the box to use her lab and staff for a variety of activities. It has raised the profile and value of this facility in the community, and region.
