Canadian lab receives AQC-3 approval
PEI's Centre for Aquaculture Technologies is now able to conduct research on Level-3 biocontainment aquatic pathogens.
The Center for Aquaculture Technologies Canada (CATC) recently received an approval from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) Office of Biohazard Containment (OBCS) for its aquaculture research facility located in Souris, Prince Edward Island (PEI).
The facility is now approved to operate as an Aquatic Animal Pathogen Containment Level 3 (AQC3) biocontainment facility. This certification allows the Center for Aquaculture Technologies to expand its suite of services to include the conduct of in vivo and in vitro studies with imported aquatic animal pathogens.
In response to the approval, Dr Debbie Plouffe, Vice President of Research, reflected: “At the Center for Aquaculture Technologies we provide a full suite of services across multiple disciplines to help our clients make important technological advances in fish health, nutrition, and genetics.
“Achievement of Level 3 biocontainment certification for aquatic animal pathogens from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is a milestone that is indicative of our dedication to our clients and the quality of our team.
“This certification makes our company the only privately held contract research organization on the continent with such a designation. These state of the art facilities coupled with the extensive knowledge base of our staff enables us to expand our role in the development of new technologies for the aquaculture industry in association with domestic and international partners."
CATC is a full service contract research and development organization focused on the application of biotechnologies to improve productivity, efficiency and sustainability in aquaculture. Founded in 2012, the company has specific expertise in fish health, nutrition, genomics, and genetics.
