JUDIQUE, Nova Scotia (AP) – A Canadian development association wants to grow lobsters that have a greater chance of survival after being released into the ocean.

Spokesman John MacInnis of the Judique, Nova Scotia, group says the plan is to grow the lobsters to a stage in which they will stay on the ocean floor instead of swimming in the water column where mortality rates can be as high as 99 per cent.

The development association has developed a partnership with researchers at the Universite Sainte-Anne campus in Petit de Grat, Nova Scotia. The project will cost about $250,000.

MacInnis said the group has been meeting with different government funding agencies and is looking for a commitment from fishermen.

AP-ES-03-10-08 0907EDT