Today's News

Government of Canada invests $46.5 Million in Ocean Networks Canada for world-class ocean monitoring system to enhance Canada's ocean protection for the next generation

Victoria, BC, February 6, 2023--(T-Net)--The federal government announced today $46.5 million in funding over five years to Ocean Networks Canada, an initiative of the University of Victoria, to enhance their world-class ocean monitoring system.

The funding announcement was made and confirmed by Joyce Murray, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, in a media briefing at the Fifth International Marine Protected Areas Congress IMPAC5 in Vancouver.

Funded through Canada's Oceans Protection Plan, this research is expected to help to provide real-time, open data to better understand our changing oceans.

Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) is an initiative of the University of Victoria (UVic), and operates observatories in the deep ocean, coastal waters, and land of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Arctic coasts of Canada, delivering continuous, real-time, and archived open-access ocean data.

This investment is expected to support ONC's network of cabled, mobile, and community-led deep sea and coastal ocean observatories that collect data to monitor changes, including climate impacts and underwater noise on all three coasts.

It also supports oceanographic radar and ocean buoy monitoring efforts that provide real-time information on wave and surface currents that help monitor ocean conditions and prepare for extreme events.

Today's investment helps Canada continue to collect the data needed to protect our ecosystems, support safe navigation, and inform emergency response planning.

ONC President and Chief Executive Officer Kate Moran said "Ocean Networks Canada is committed to supporting Canada's Oceans Protection Plan. Our culture of innovation and partnership brings together scientific research and Indigenous knowledge to advance the goals of the Plan and deliver the tools needed to tackle the biggest challenge today in the ocean and on the planet—climate change."

"Ocean science is essential to the protection and the sustainable use of oceans and waterways. Today's funding will support data collection needed to safeguard our waters, and the abundance and diversity of the ecosystems and marine life within them. Canada continues to be an ocean science leader for our aquatic environment and blue economy. Ocean science and monitoring is a smart investment when it comes to ocean protection." stated Joyce Murray, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard.

Quick facts

• Ocean Networks Canada was established in 2007 by the University of Victoria and operates several world-leading ocean observatories on Canada's East, West, and Arctic coasts.

• Ocean Networks Canada's deep sea, coastal, and land-based infrastructure delivers real-time, long-series and high-quality data that is freely available through its online data management portal, Oceans 3.0.

• The funding announced today is part of the Government of Canada's Budget 2022 commitment to provide $2 billion over nine years to renew Canada's Oceans Protection Plan and expand its work into new areas.

• Since 2016, the Government of Canada has dedicated $3.5 billion to the Oceans Protection Plan, making it the largest investment Canada has ever made to protect its coasts and waterways.