The tunicate cover the mussels, making them difficult to harvest. (CBC)

The Prince Edward Island aquaculture industry will receive more than $600,000 in federal funding this year, Fisheries Minister Gail Shea announced Friday.

The $614,231 will go toward four projects aimed at improving the mussel-farming industry and innovations in growing halibut.

"The P.E.I. Aquaculture Alliance is receiving $266,000 to develop and commercialize four tunicate treatment systems for mussels," Shea told a news conference in Borden-Carleton.

Tunicate, a filter feeder commonly known as sea squirt, are smothering mussel lines in P.E.I. While the tunicate do not directly harm the mussels, they compete for the same food and make the mussels more difficult to harvest.

"P.E.I. Mussel Farms [Inc., of Morell] is receiving $150,000 for special platforms to cultivate mussel lines and to mange invasive species," Shea said.

Coles Mussel Farms in Kensington will get $38,265 through the Aquaculture Innovation and Market Access Program funding to assemble technology that will increase the efficiency of tracking farmed mussels, Shea said. This new tool will inform farm managers of the activities and treatments applied to each mussel line in real time.

Halibut PEI Inc. will receive $160,000 for the second phase of a project that focuses on growing halibut by using water wells and lobster holding facilities.

"Providing funding through the Aquaculture Innovation and Market Access Program helps create and protect jobs," said Shea.

The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) and provincial government also contributed some funding to the projects.

"The provincial government is pleased to partner with the federal government and the aquaculture industry in the continued growth, development and diversification of aquaculture in Prince Edward Island," P.E.I. Fisheries, Aquaculture and Rural Development Minister Neil LeClair stated in a news release.

"The industry is an important part of the rural economy, and is one of the industries targeted for support under the Rural Action Plan," he said.