Canada faces gaps in ocean science research

Canada’s ocean science research has gaps in vision, collaboration and information at the same time that the world’s oceans are under stress from unprecedented change and increased pressure from a growing population, a national report concludes.

Ocean Science in Canada: Meeting the Challenge, Seizing the Opportunity is an evidence-based assessment by the Council of Canadian Academies of the current state of ocean science in Canada and addresses issues such as human capacity, infrastructure, funding, and scientific collaboration.

 “We know oceans research is inherently complex and interdisciplinary. That’s one of the reasons why it’s difficult to get an accurate picture of what ocean-related research is being done across the country at universities, in government and the private sector, ” says UVic Vice-President Research Howard Brunt.

UVic is one of nine members of the Canadian Consortium of Ocean Research Universities, which asked the CCA to undertake the assessment that was released Nov. 6.

The panel identified three main gaps in the coordination and alignment of the ocean science community Canada:

• The vision gap: lack of a comprehensive national strategy or vision for ocean science, which makes it difficult to prioritize needs and plan investment.
• The coordination gap: insufficient collaboration at the local, regional, national and international levels, and across disciplines and sectors; no effective national mechanism to coordinate allocation of resources and facilitate sharing among ocean scientists, which hinders sharing of resources and knowledge at the international level.
• The information gap: limited availability and comparability of information across Canada, such as number of active researchers, research spending or inventories of large instruments relevant to ocean science, which makes it difficult to assess to ocean science capacity and to help inform national strategies and plans.

Brunt says researchers in one part of the country don’t necessarily know about similar work being done elsewhere and that improved collaboration and coordination of information would be valuable.

“UVic has a well-earned international reputation for the research and innovation in oceans science and can contribute in a meaningful way to ensure Canada meets this challenge,” says Brunt. “Focused, relevant oceans research should be a national priority.”

CCORU, recently established as a cohesive voice for leading ocean research universities, will work to bring together industry, government and academia to leverage resources towards priorities in ocean science.

Upon release of the report, Victoria MP Murray Rankin delivered a statement in the House of Commons urging serious consideration of the expert panel’s findings.

“The CCORU universities do world-class research, including at the University of Victoria, but there is a pressing need for better integration of science in ocean management and use,” says Rankin. “Industry, governments and universities must work together, to ensure a healthy ocean ecosystem for generations to come.”

CCA is an independent non-profit science-based organization that supports independent, authoritative and evidence-based expert assessment that inform public policy development.

A copy of the panel’s report is on the CCA’s website.