It’s World Oceans Day every day for our experts

How is BC a world leader in ocean observation science and technology? Are the Trudeau government’s targets for protecting Canada’s marine areas realistic? How is the ocean critical to understanding climate change?

In advance of World Oceans Day on June 8, the following experts from the University of Victoria are available to media to comment on the work they’re doing to help Canadian policy-makers make informed decisions related to the ocean and climate change.

Pioneer science in the deep blue: What do you do next when you already run the world’s largest and most advanced undersea observatory? You make it even bigger and more advanced, of course. Ocean Networks Canada (ONC), an initiative of the University of Victoria, has just completed the most technologically challenging expedition in its 10-year history, installing another 18 km of fibre optic cable and instruments at two of its deepest and most volatile research sites off the west coast of Vancouver Island. ONC President and CEO Kate Moran can talk about why this expedition was such a milestone for global ocean engineering, how international partners worked together to solve some tough logistical problems, and what this new observatory footprint will tell us about climate change, earthquakes and tsunamis, and life in extreme environments.
Media contact: Kate Moran (CEO and president, ONC) via Leslie Elliott (ONC Communications) at 250-472-5357, 250-516-1246 or elliottl@uvic.ca

How much should we protect? The Trudeau government’s target of setting aside 10 per cent of Canada’s oceans as marine protected areas by 2020 is a great starting point but doesn’t go far enough, says a UVic researcher. “This is not a percentage game,” says Natalie Ban, a UVic marine conservation biologist and planner. “Simply aiming for 10 per cent may not translate into meaningful protection.” Ban wants to see ecological criteria implemented, such as the inclusion of different ecosystems within marine protected areas, and extensive stakeholder consultations. “This will lead to improved buy-in and compliance, and better conservation outcomes,” she says.
Media contact: Natalie Ban (Environmental Studies) at 250-853-3569 or nban@uvic.ca 
(Note: Ban is available June 1-3 but is away June 5-8 doing remote field research). 

The carbon connection: Few people realize that the ocean acts as a natural carbon storage bin, currently absorbing just over one-third of the carbon dioxide we belch out into the atmosphere. Trouble is, the ocean can’t keep up with us. “We’re burning fossil fuels and putting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere at a faster rate than the ocean can take it up,” says Roberta Hamme, a UVic chemical oceanographer. The data she collects on this vital ocean-carbon cycle is used in computer models for predicting the progression of climate change.
Media contact: Roberta Hamme (Earth and Ocean Sciences) at 250-472-4014 or rhamme@uvic.ca

Take a dive: UVic and Ocean Networks Canada are partners in “The Emerald Forest,” a “live dive” cinematic experience being presented at IMAX Victoria on World Oceans Day, June 8. The event, organized by the Fish Eye Project, will give audiences at IMAX and online the chance to follow and interact with scuba divers as they explore the marine kelp forests at Victoria’s Ogden Point. For more information visit http://www.fisheyeproject.org/worldoceansday.

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