Geospatial technology supports responsible fishing operations

HALIFAX, Esri Canada User Conference – October 27, 2015 – Clearwater Seafoods is one of the largest vertically integrated seafood companies in North America and provides premium wild, eco-certified seafood to more than 30 countries around the world. Committed to sustainable seafood excellence, the company uses Esri geographic information system (GIS) technology to deliver top-quality seafood from ocean to plate. From studying shellfish population resources to managing harvesting operations, GIS is used to support Clearwater’s key processes, resulting in significant cost savings and minimized impact on ocean ecosystems while supporting Clearwater’s sustainable approach to fishing. For this outstanding work, Esri Canada today presented Clearwater Seafoods with an Award of Excellence in GIS.

“We always strive to find innovative ways to serve our customers and responsibly harvest shellfish,” said James Mosher, Director, Harvest Science Management, Clearwater Seafoods. “GIS serves as the ideal platform to analyze, model and forecast outcomes so that we can significantly reduce our impact on the ocean floor while more efficiently conducting our harvest operations. More importantly, it enables us to plan our activities in a broader context towards long-term sustainability. This award from Esri Canada confirms that our efforts are successful; it also recognizes our efforts towards being good stewards of the ocean.”

Healthy oceans are fundamental to the success of Clearwater’s business. They use ArcGIS, Esri’s GIS platform, to overlay and analyze various spatial and temporal fishing and survey data on a Web map and develop a better understanding of shellfish resources, population dynamics and their ecosystems. Through GIS-based assessment models, they are working to predict the location, stage of growth and population of various biomasses. This makes it significantly easier to plan harvesting and management of harvested shellfish species, determine the most effective harvest methods and improve fishing success rates. These approaches also contribute to protect the ocean’s diverse ecosystems by minimizing impact on non-target species and habitats.

As well, the company leverages ArcGIS to strategically route fishing vessels, reducing fuel costs and emissions. The technology, which is used on their vessels, writes collected hydrographic, climatic and harvest information to their geodatabase. An effective platform for sharing data, ArcGIS also hosts Clearwater’s Web mapping app that makes information on vessel locations, historical and current harvest activity and data collected onboard the vessels, as well as other analytic tools, accessible to staff in support of intelligent decision-making.

“Clearwater Seafoods’ use of GIS is helping them achieve long-term sustainability,” remarked Alex Miller, president, Esri Canada. “By understanding the spatial relationships between targeted resources and the broader ecosystem, Clearwater is taking an informed, scientific approach to harvesting that ensures a continuous supply of wild seafood and healthy oceans for years to come.”

Read more about Clearwater’s use of GIS in this case study: Clearwater Seafoods Achieves Sustainable Operations through GIS. To learn more about ArcGIS, visit esri.ca/arcgis.

About Clearwater Seafoods
Clearwater is one of North America's largest vertically integrated seafood companies and the largest holder of shellfish licenses and quotas in Canada. It is recognized globally for its superior quality, food safety, diversity of species and reliable worldwide delivery of premium wild, eco-certified seafood, including scallops, lobster, clams, coldwater shrimp, crab and groundfish.

Since its founding in 1976, Clearwater has invested in science, people and technological innovation as well as resource ownership and management to sustain and grow its seafood resource. This commitment has allowed it to remain a leader in the global seafood market and in sustainable seafood excellence. Further information is available on Clearwater's Web site at clearwater.ca.

About Esri Canada
Founded in 1984, Esri Canada provides enterprise geographic information system (GIS) solutions that empower businesses, governments and educational institutions to make timely, informed and mission-critical decisions by leveraging the power of geography.  The company distributes the world's leading GIS software from Esri, Schneider Electric, Cityworks–Azteca Systems, Inc. and other technology partners.  Headquartered in Toronto, the company serves over 10,000 customers from 16 regional offices across Canada.  Esri Canada has joined the elite rank of Canada’s Best Managed companies and has been named to the Branham300.  Information about the company can be found at esri.ca. Follow Esri Canada on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn. 

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For media inquiries, please contact:
Clearwater Seafoods:
Christine Penny,
VP – Sustainability & Public Affairs,
cpenny@clearwater.ca
Esri Canada: Email Contact