News

Archipelago named 2012 Technology Business of the Year

Victoria, B.C. (January 27, 2012) - Archipelago Marine Research Ltd. was named “Technology Business of the Year” at the 12th annual Vancouver Island Business Excellence Awards at the Westin Bear Mountain Resort.

The title was awarded based in part on Archipelago’s development and innovation in electronic monitoring technology for fisheries, the company’s ongoing efforts to foster sustainable marine resource-management practices throughout BC and around the world, and on a local level, the commitment by Archipelago employees to achieve a sustainable balance within the workplace and the community.

Archipelago was among 17 award winners, chosen from a record 450 nominations for this year’s event. The Vancouver Island Business Excellence Awards event was sponsored by RBC Royal Bank, Hayes Stewart Little Chartered Accountants and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of B.C.

NOAA and Partners Complete Epic Southeast
Alaska ShoreZone Coastal Mapping Project

Juneau, AK (January 11, 2012) - People around the world can now get an eagle's-eye view of all of Southeast Alaska's shoreline without leaving home, now that the award-winning ShoreZone project has been completed for the entire coastline from Dixon Entrance to Yakutat.

NOAA and other members of the ShoreZone Partnership will make a presentation on the recently completed seven-year project January 19 at the 2012 Alaska Marine Science Symposium in Anchorage. About 30,000 kilometers (19,000 miles) of coastal habitat was mapped during the project—a milestone equivalent to surveying the entire Pacific coastline of Washington, Oregon, and California, twice...

full story...

Trials To Reduce Fish Discards Could Be Expanded

BBC News (November 7, 2011) "Trials to reduce discards from fishing vessels could be expanded as the government says initial results show they are working. Boats in the trials with CCTV cameras have to keep all the fish they catch but are rewarded with extra quota. Findings from 15 boats in England have seen discards of less than 1%. There are also similar trials in Scotland…”

Read the full story on how Archipelago is working with UK fisheries to help fish more selectively, reduce discards, and eliminate waste…

Or view the video

Archipelago Wins 2011 BC Export Award for Sustainability

BRITISH COLUMBIA (October 28, 2011) Archipelago Marine Research was among nine British Columbia companies recognized today at the 29th annual 2011 BC Export Awards for outstanding achievements in exporting. More than 500 business leaders gathered at the Hyatt Regency Vancouver Hotel to honour the companies and individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the exporting sector in the past year. Archipelago Marine Research Ltd., a Victoria-based provider of sustainable marine resource-management products and services, received the 2011 BC Export Award for Sustainability.

This distinction was based upon a range of criteria, including Archipelago’s thirty-year history in working with fisheries, governments, and coastal communities to develop and implement a range of sustainable marine resource-management practices; including fisheries management (both at-sea and dockside), coastal planning and analysis.





From left: MLA Frank Lee; Paul Boileau, Chairman BC Board of Directoris of CME-BC; Shawn Stebbins, president and CEO, Archipelago Marine Research; Louise Fogarty, Award Sponsor.




Archipelago is well known as a pioneer and leading proponent of electronic monitoring (EM) programs for fisheries; in fact, 100 percent of British Columbia's commercial groundfish fleet is now monitored by Archipelago’s electronic monitoring technology. Drawing from the lessons learned as a British Columbia business safeguarding Canada’s marine resources, Archipelago has steadily expanded into the international marketplace, using BC expertise to address global challenges.

The BC Export Awards is the longest running ceremony of its kind in Canada. Since its inception in 1982, the BC Export Awards has recognized the achievements of more than 320 BC exporters. For more information, see the 2011 BC Export Awards news release:

BC Export Awards news release

Electronic Eyes May Replace
New England Fishing Observers

(Associated Press / September 17, 2011 BOSTON)
"New England's already strapped fishing fleet has a major new expense bearing down on it -- paying for human monitors to track the fish that are hauled on deck or tossed overboard. That is, unless researchers can figure out how to replace those humans with cheaper electronic eyes. A federally funded pilot project is testing a system at sea that could record the catch, and even figure out what it weighs, relying largely on closed-circuit cameras on board..."

This article describes New England's 54-month pilot project using electronic monitoring technology from Archipelago Marine Reaserch as a cost-effective alternative to at-sea observers.

Full story...

Archipelago wins BC's Capital Regional District
EcoStar Award for Waste Reduction, May 2010

In May Archipelago became the proud winner of BC's Capital Regional District EcoStar Award for Waste Reduction for 2010.

The Archipelago Sustainability Initiative (ASI) was formed in 2003 in order to address the growing concerns about the waste stream generated by Archipelago employees. The goal of ASI is to provide Archipelago with a holistic, cyclical view of the business model that embodies a truly sustainable and socially responsible business operation.  To date ASI’s primary focus has been to address the waste stream generated by company operations and Archipelago employees. The committee has also led initiatives around:

• Increasing awareness around green house gases and climate change
• Promotion of green products such as reusable shopping bags and biodegradable soaps
• Reduced water consumption through the installation of low flow toilets
• Reduced energy consumption through the installation of energy efficient light fixtures and implementing energy saving policies around computer use
• Encouraging bicycle commuters through the installation of secure bike storage, participation in Bike to Work Week, reserved parking for car pool vehicles

Since 2008 Archipelago has diverted from the landfill 12 dumpsters of Styrofoam, 10 dumpsters of soft plastics, 2 dumpsters of flattened cartons, 11 lbs of foil wrappers, 300 lbs of batteries, 4,800 lbs of compostable materials over 4 years, and 947 lbs of waste and recyclables collected as part of the local TD Shoreline Cleanup. The vision by 2012 for Archipelago is to have a zero waste environment.

Watch the video about Archipelago's award-winning waste-reduction initiatives:

Capital Regional District - EcoStar Awards

May 2010 - Archipelago's Shawn Stebbins wins the
Victoria Advanced Technology Council (VIATeC) 2010
Executive of the Year Award

Archipelago was very proud to see our President Shawn Stebbins recognized for all the hard work he and the company have been putting into improving Archipelago's business processes, organization, and long-range vision as a company.

In order to meet the growing international interest in our technology and services, Shawn was faced with the challenge of positioning Archipelago for international growth by creating a scalable organization with a clear corporate vision. During 2009, Shawn worked collaboratively to implement a re-organization of the company’s structure and built a management team (Executive Leadership Team) whose members share clear and focused goals and objectives that align with our corporate strategy. Despite the economic downturn of 2009, Shawn continued to invest in the company by allocating funds to upgrade the corporate systems, continuing with research and development, increasing leadership capacity by promoting and supporting stronger leadership with training and development initiatives. Furthermore, he maintained our core values by offering undiminished contributions to local community charities and initiatives.

Shawn’s leadership during 2009 touched all areas and levels of the organization; as a direct result of his leadership, Archipelago accomplished huge organizational transformation while maintaining positive employee morale, and made remarkable progress towards positioning the company to begin building our vision.

Archipelago, a proud Alaska ShoreZone partner, shares
the 2009 Coastal America National Spirit Award

The 41 partners of the Alaska ShoreZone project received the Coastal America National Spirit Award for their collaborative high-tech project to inventory every mile of Alaska’s coast. Since 2001, the Alaska ShoreZone team has collected aerial photos and video of coastal areas to create a powerful visual database (available to the public at the NOAA Fisheries Service Alaska Region website). Using the database, users can virtually fly the coast, viewing high definition photos and video to identify sensitive habitats and other coastal features.

News release