CCGS Alfred Needler

CCGS Alfred Needler is used primarily as a research platform by the Science Sector of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans as well as other departments and organizations. She entered into service in 1982 and is named after a fisheries scientist who developed a method of accurate fish counts from small samples. The ship serves the Canadian and International communities as a versatile platform from which fisheries surveys are conducted. She retains the configuration of a commercial trawler, but her fish holds is converted to laboratory space. The samples collected are used to study the population and health of various species of ocean life.