Lampsilis

With a length of 25m and a width of 6.7m, the research catamaran of the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR) has a very small draft (0.9m) and is equipped with a fishing trawl. These characteristics allow it to sample both shallow and deep habitats, high-current areas of the Seaway and lower river.

It can navigate in fresh and brackish waters on the St. Lawrence River and some of its tributaries in the Saguenay, Lake Champlain and the Great Lakes. It may occasionally transit in salt water.

The Lampsilis is equipped with a wet and a dry laboratory, in addition to the probes that measure the physical, chemical and optical properties of the water, as well as samplers that can provide specimens of water, sediment, plankton, of invertebrates and fish. The Lampsilis, which has its home port at the Trois-Rivières Marina, can operate approximately 160 days a year from May to October.