Government of Canada wants to know more about the nation’s coastal marine ecosystems

Fisheries and Oceans Canada is investing $1.2 million to better understand Canada’s coastal marine ecosystems through science. The funds will serve to support the development of a web-based scientific data management system for integrating and sharing ocean science data.

The project, led by the St. Lawrence Global Observatory (SLGO), will organize, standardize, manage, and disseminate data from coastal environmental baseline projects conducted by Canadian organizations. The SLGO will collaborate with 39 partners from British Columbia, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nunavut and Newfoundland and Labrador. The data to be collected from all three coasts will come from projects in six environments that are likely to be affected by increasing vessel traffic. This initiative will establish data management standards that will be useful to Canada’s marine science community.

The project will look more closely at specific regions, namely: the ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert in British Columbia, the Port of Saint John in New Brunswick, the coasts of the St. Lawrence Estuary in Quebec, Placentia Bay in Newfoundland and Labrador, and Iqaluit in Nunavut. Both Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the SLGO are Green Marine supporters.