Project Leads

Heather (Manuel) Burke, Project Coordinator

Ms. Heather (Manuel) Burke is the Director of the Marine Institute’s Centre for Aquaculture and Seafood Development, a position she has held since 2005. In her role as Director, Ms. Burke leads a diverse team of ~15 scientific and technical personnel (research scientists, engineers, technologists, post docs, graduate students) to ensure multi-disciplinary scientific and technical expertise is available to assist industry, academia and government with their research/technical needs in areas related to seafood processing, aquaculture and marine bioprocessing. Since joining the Marine Institute in 1998, Ms. Burke has participated in over 400 applied research projects for the seafood, aquaculture and marine bioprocessing sectors, and has facilitated numerous collaborations with provincial, national and international organizations. Her own research interests include the assessment and optimization of fisheries & aquaculture value chains, marine bioprocessing & biomass utilization, bioproduction of crustacean extracts, and environmental impacts of aquaculture and their mitigation. Ms. Burke obtained master’s degrees in Food Science (1996) and Business Administration (2003) from Memorial University where she is currently a PhD candidate (Environmental Science) specializing in Value chain optimization of unutilized marine biomass materials generated by the Newfoundland and Labrador seafood industry.

Kelly Moret, Project Manager

Ms. Moret has approximately 25 years’ experience working on fisheries and aquaculture initiatives locally, regionally, and internationally. In her current role she is leading Collaborative Research and Engagement for Hampidjan Canada Ltd., the Canadian branch of the International Hampidjan Group of Companies, with a focus on sustainable harvesting technologies.  Prior to her current position, Kelly worked at the Fisheries and Marine Institute in various positions.  She served as the Director Community Based Education Delivery under the School of Fisheries, a position focused on delivering industry-focused professional curriculum to the harvesting and processing sectors. Kelly has been engaged in applied research, development and project management for the commercial harvesting, processing and aquaculture sectors through the Marine Institute’s Centre for Aquaculture and Seafood Development, and the Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Resources.  She has managed, supervised, or served as technical advisor on more than 100 industry projects focusing primarily on technology transfer, innovation and process improvement. Her project management skills ranged from short term projects valued <$10,000 to multi-year strategic initiatives valued at more than $5 million Canadian.  She works collaboratively with industry, academia, government and NGOs to create more efficient, sustainable and competitive fisheries. Ms. Moret obtained a Masters degree in Science-Aquaculture from Memorial University of NL, and holds a Masters Certificate in Project Management from York University-Schulich School of Business. 

Kelly’s recent work through Primefish Canada focused on comprehensive value chain analysis for the Newfoundland fishery (cod, herring and Atlantic salmon), specifically comparing the competitiveness of the NL value chain to Iceland and Norway. 

Ray Hayter, Technical Liaison

Mr. Ray Hayter is an Instructor and Fish and Seafood Post Harvest Specialist with the Fisheries and Marine Institute’s School of Fisheries. Since joining the institute in 1992, Mr. Hayter has instructed in various programs at the academic level of Advanced Diploma, Technology, Certificate and Community Based Response. He has been cross appointed in various applied research projects for fish and seafood, harvesting, aquaculture and marine bioprocessing. During his time at the institute he has been involved in projects and programs locally, nationally and internationally. Prior to joining the institute, he has held various positions with industry mainly focused on product and production development on land and at sea. Mr. Hayter obtained a Diploma of Food Technology (Marine Products) from the College of Fisheries now the Fisheries and Marine Institute (1979) and a Bachelor of Technology from Memorial University (2000).