Backgrounder: Government Of Canada Announces New Ocean Research Centre In Victoria

Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) is a not-for-profit society created in 2007 by the University of Victoria to develop and manage the VENUS and NEPTUNE Canada ocean observatories, to position Canada as an international leader in the science and technology of ocean observing systems, and to maximize associated economic and societal benefits through commercialization and outreach.

VENUS and NEPTUNE Canada are transforming the way we study the oceans by combining continuous power, remotely operated sensors and instruments, and the streaming of real time data through the Internet. They both involve a national consortium of university, government and private sector partners led by the University of Victoria.

Canada is home to a significant and globally competitive ocean technology industry. About 500 Canadian firms are involved in ocean technologies, exporting some 90 per cent of their goods and services internationally. In BC alone, the ocean technology sector generates about $1.2 billion worth of economic activity.

The new ONC centre, to be called the ONC Centre for Enterprise and Engagement (ONCEE), will help maintain this international competitiveness and the supply of trained people in four areas of market opportunity: subsea sensors and instruments; ocean observatory system technologies; advanced information technology products and services; and public outreach and education.

ONCEE will build on existing partnerships between observatory researchers and relevant Canadian and foreign organizations. Where suitable industry partners can’t be found, ONCEE will help establish new spin-off companies.

Through ONCEE, Canadian manufacturers will test and demonstrate their components, optimize their products for other markets, and link with other emerging observatories. Suppliers of ocean observatory technologies will market their products more effectively and exploit their world-leading position. Commercialization of new data management systems will create next-generation software applications in many sectors.

ONCEE’s education and outreach initiatives will lead to more informed public policy related to the oceans, greater public understanding of ocean issues, and increased awareness among young people of career opportunities in ocean-related science and technology.

VENUS (Victoria Experimental Network Under the Sea) is the world’s first operational, real-time portal into the ocean. Two cable arrays—in Saanich Inlet near Victoria and the Strait of Georgia near Vancouver—are supporting studies on ocean processes, turbulence, animal behaviour and ecology, and ocean engineering. For more information visit www.venus.uvic.ca.

The NEPTUNE Canada (North-East Pacific Time-series Undersea Networked Experiments) observatory, located on the Juan de Fuca tectonic plate off the coast of BC, is the world’s first regional-scale, cabled deep-ocean observatory. Installation is scheduled for completion by the end of 2009. It will support studies on ocean-climate interactions and their effects on fisheries, seismic and tsunami activity, gas hydrate deposits, and seafloor ecology. For more information visit www.neptunecanada.ca.

For more information on ONC, visit www.oceannetworks.ca.