Series - Ocean Production Enhancement Network (OPEN)

The Ocean Production Enhancement Network (OPEN) was one of fifteen networks of Centres of Excellence funded in 1990 by Industry Science and Technology Canada. Network participants included scientists from Memorial University of Newfoundland, Laval University, Dalhousie University, McGill University, the University of Quebec at Rimouski, the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Three of Canada's largest seafood companies also participated in the network: National Sea Products, Clearwater Fine Foods, and Fishery Products International.

The goal of the network's research program was to investigate the processes which control the survival, growth, reproduction, and distribution of fish and shellfish. The research program was primarily focused on two species, the sea scallop (Placopectin magellanicus) and Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), which were chosen in consultation with the network's industrial partners. The twenty-nine projects which form the research program involved both laboratory and field studies. OPEN differed from other large scale oceanographic and fisheries research initiatives because it addresses questions of fundamental long-term interest to the fishing industry.