Toronto, January 15, 2026, 05:13 (EST)
Three Grade 11 students from west of Toronto have pulled together roughly $5,500 in early funding for a fishing net aimed at cutting shark bycatch — the unintentional catch of non-target species — the Halton District School Board announced Thursday. Emmy Nah, Amrutha Kosuri, and Veera Kalsi developed the “Bye-Catch” concept at Oakville’s T.A. Blakelock High School. They used recycled materials and added electromagnets plus blue LEDs designed to repel sharks without harming fish, the board said. After making it to the finals of Samsung’s Solve for Tomorrow contest, the team pitched the idea to investors. Attendees at a Rotary conference in Orillia chipped in $4,650 toward the funding total. Nah noted, “Oceans cover 71 percent of the Earth,” as the group moves forward with intellectual property protection and plans for East Coast testing. 1
The fundraising is modest, yet it’s the kind of boost that can propel a school project into real-world testing—where costs, durability, and concrete results matter far more than presentations and applause. Bycatch solutions often seem straightforward—until they face the challenges of salt water.
The student pitch comes as Ontario schools expand their definition of “support,” increasingly relying on partnerships and programs aimed at parents. Boards want to spot issues sooner, before they escalate into absences, crises, or worse.
Bycatch is a rough term for a complicated problem: fishers end up hauling in unintended catch, then face the challenge of dealing with it. Any solution must be effective without driving up costs or forcing crews to alter their fishing methods.
The Halton board recently held a one-day mental health partnership symposium with Syl Apps Youth Centre, uniting school staff and community groups like ROCK, Halton Women’s Place, Kerr Street Mission, and the Halton Regional Police Service Mental Health Unit. Janice Theodoropoulos, ROCK’s manager of access and system navigation, emphasized that “Strong, coordinated partnerships between community providers and school boards are essential.” Linda Dela Paz, vice principal of student well-being and mental health for the board, added, “Supporting mental wellness is a shared responsibility.” 2
Parents and guardians must register to attend the board’s virtual mental health and well-being sessions, which mostly run on Google Meet and aren’t recorded. Coming up on Jan. 20, HDSB psychologists Larissa Pipe and Lisa Sedore will lead a workshop on teen executive functions — the mental skills behind planning, focus, and emotional control. Then on Jan. 22, child and youth care practitioners Allysa Antinori and Louise Williams will cover relationships and conflict. Later in the schedule, Halton ADAPT counsellor Corrie McIlveen tackles addiction services on Jan. 27. On Feb. 4, HDSB psychologist Lisa Pilgrim will host a session about AI and digital life. The lineup wraps with a Halton Region Public Health webinar on food and body image, held on Zoom Feb. 10. 3
Put simply, the board’s message splits into two threads: encourage students to chase opportunities and, at the same time, provide them with solid footing. The language repeats across both: confidence, connection, asking for help.
The shark-deterrent net remains a prototype, with field tests set to determine if the magnets and lights actually work in real-world fisheries. Early funding risks drying up, and filing for intellectual property isn’t cheap. On mental health, sessions are capped and unrecorded, potentially restricting the number of families who can benefit.
