CCGS Alfred Needler

CCGS Alfred Needler is an offshore fishery science vessel operated by the Canadian Coast Guard.

CCGS Alfred Needler was constructed in 1982 at Ferguson Industries Limited, Pictou and commissioned into the Department of Fisheries and Oceans as CSS Alfred Needler. She was named after Canadian fisheries scientist Dr. Alfred Needler, who developed a method of accurate fish counts from small surveys.

She was transferred into the Canadian Coast Guard in 1995 after CCG was merged into DFO and took over the department's fleet of research vessels and was renamed CCGS Alfred Needler. The vessel is primarily used as a research platform by the Science Sector of DFO, as well as other departments and agencies in the Government of Canada.

Alfred Needler is used by Canada and the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) to conduct fisheries surveys; as such, she retains the configuration of a commercial trawler, although her fish holds are converted to laboratory space. The samples collected are used to study the population and health of various species of ocean life.

Alfred Needler is part of CCG Maritime Region and is home-ported at CCG Base Dartmouth, although she is often alongside at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography. She is one of several fishery research vessels operated by the Government of Canada to monitor migratory fish stocks in the North Atlantic.

Alfred Needler experienced an engine room fire on 30 August 2003. There were no casualties although the ship sustained $1.3 million in damage. The cause of the fire was an oil leak in an incorrectly repaired turbocharger.

In September 2009, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans announced invitations for contracts to replace several of the Coast Guard's research vessels, including Alfred Needler. Her replacement will be larger, 67 m in length. She will be staffed by a crew of 25, and will be able to carry an additional staff of 18 scientists. She is scheduled to be completed in 2012.