Canada’s Ocean Decade newsletter
November 2022 – Issue 5
On this page
- Ocean Decade Community of Champions Feature
- Fifteen Canadian-led projects endorsed as Ocean Decade Actions
- The IOC’s fourth call for Decade Actions is now open
- Over $4M awarded in funding for Canadian Arctic research led by ArcticNet
- The Ocean Tracking Network receives $38.5 million from the Canada Foundation for Innovation
- Introducing the new Ocean Networks Canada Website and data portal
- Join the ORCA Pod! Call for new members
- Upcoming events
- Contact us
Ocean Decade Community of Champions Feature
The Ocean Decade Community of Champions was created with 1 champion for each of the 7 Decade Outcomes. The Champions aim to mobilize the Canadian ocean community and foster the creation of innovative and transformative science‑based actions. Lisa (Diz) Glithero, Champion for An Inspiring and Engaging Ocean, and Kent Smedbol, Champion for A Productive Ocean, explain their role and vision for their respective thematic networks:
Lisa (Diz) Glithero, Champion for An Inspiring and Engaging Ocean
"Through the Canadian Ocean Literacy Coalition - an alliance of organizations, institutions, networks and communities across regions, sectors and scale - we will advance ocean literacy in the Ocean Decade by leveraging the implementation of the co-developed national ocean literacy strategy. This includes, for example:
- strengthening ocean-climate education in schools, teacher education and non-formal learning spaces
- growing Ocean Week Canada
- raising awareness and access to ocean-related career opportunities and training
- strengthening ocean knowledge exchange through media, storytelling and the Arts and
- supporting Indigenous-led conservation and community restoration projects
It is going to take all these things and more to really transform society’s relationship with the ocean.”
Kent Smedbol, Champion for A Productive Ocean
“Canadian coastal and Indigenous communities from coast to coast to coast benefit from sustainable harvest and sustainable use of ocean spaces. In the face of a changing ocean climate, ensuring sustainability of our activities is a shared responsibility of all those who collect food or make their living from the ocean. Our group will focus on promoting development of:
- science networks
- partnerships
- collaborations and informal relationships among Indigenous communities
- harvest organizations
- academics and
- other ocean experts
to help promote and advance sustainable ocean use for a more productive ocean under the umbrella of the Ocean Decade initiative.”
Fifteen Canadian-led projects endorsed as Ocean Decade Actions
The Ocean Decade momentum continues to grow. Globally, the Ocean Decade now comprises 44 programs, 193 projects and 62 contributions that are endorsed as Ocean Decade Actions by UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC).
Recently, a new series of Decade Actions received endorsement. These include 15 Canadian-led projects focusing on a variety of themes, including:
- oceanography
- fisheries
- climate change
- ecosystem health
- biodiversity and monitoring
- marine biogeochemistry and
- hydrography
For Canada, these endorsements celebrate leadership in the Ocean Decade by Tula Foundation, University of British Columbia, University of Calgary, McGill University, the British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, the Canadian Commission to UNESCO, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, as well as their respective partners.
To learn more, read the news release and view the full list of newly endorsed Ocean Decade Actions.
The IOC’s fourth call for Decade Actions is now open
The IOC’s fourth call for Decade Actions (No. 04/2022) is now open for submissions until January 31, 2023. The IOC launches calls for Decade Actions every 6 months. These calls are an open invitation for project leads worldwide to collaborate on transformative and innovative initiatives that contribute to achieving the Ocean Decade vision. The current Call is seeking new programs on Ocean Decade Challenge 6 – Increase Community Resilience to Ocean Hazards and Ocean Decade Challenge 8 – Create a Digital Representation of the Ocean. It also seeks to identify new projects on a variety of thematics.
Submit your initiatives to be considered for Ocean Decade endorsement and to gain access to a global community that is contributing to enhancing ocean sustainability.
For more details on the Call, see the news release or visit the Ocean Decade’s Global Stakeholder Forum.
Over $4M awarded in funding for Canadian Arctic research led by ArcticNet
ArcticNet, Canada’s national hub for Arctic and northern research, partnered with DFO, UNESCO’s IOC, Mitacs and the Weston Family Foundation to fund 21 projects supporting a self-determined and sustainable Canadian North. With more than $4 million over 2 years, the new projects will improve understanding in key priorities for the North, including:
- climate change
- human health
- socioeconomic and cultural systems
- biodiversity
- resource management and
- policy impacts
Four of the new projects identified through this call for proposals align with the Marine Systems priority and received official endorsement as Ocean Decade Actions from the IOC. These projects address key priorities in ocean and Arctic marine science, including:
- anthropogenic impacts on cetaceans
- ecosystem dynamics of the last ice area
- mobility and sea-ice safety of coastal communities and
- support greater understanding of underwater noise, ocean observation and climate modelling
all of which are very important given the impact of climate change.
For more information, read ArcticNet’s press release.
ArcticNet will hold its Annual Scientific Meeting on December 4-8, 2022 in Toronto, ON
The ArcticNet Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) is a meeting ground for world-class Arctic research. Every year, Arctic research leaders from across Canada and worldwide, along with their partners from Inuit organizations, northern communities, federal and provincial agencies and the private sector, convene to share knowledge, build relationships and foster a strong Arctic research network.
Learn more on the conference webpage.
The Ocean Tracking Network receives $38.5M from the Canada Foundation for Innovation
Ocean Tracking Network (OTN) has been awarded a grant of $38.5 million from the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s (CFI) Major Science Initiatives (MSI) Fund, the only 1 in Atlantic Canada, bringing the total amount awarded to OTN from the Government of Canada to $65.6 million. The MSI Fund supports unique operating and maintenance needs of some of Canada’s leading research facilities — both physical spaces and virtual networks — to serve researchers as they continue driving science and innovation.
Since 2008, OTN has been deploying innovative ocean monitoring equipment and marine autonomous vehicles (gliders) in key aquatic locations around the globe and has since expanded to include remotely operated vehicles and side scan sonar technology while fostering international collaboration. Read the full media release.
Introducing the New Ocean Networks Canada Website and Oceans 3.0 data portal
Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) has recently released its new website and the Oceans 3.0 Data Portal, which has attracted more than 32,000 global users who can search, download and visualize data received from over 12,000 sensors on ONC’s cabled observatories, mobile platforms and autonomous instruments on all 3 coasts of Canada. The website offers new tools and features including:
- interactive maps of observatory sites
- data dashboards to visually analyze, track and display both live and 16+ years of data
- learning modules to provide experiential learning for middle to high school students
- a new expeditions interface to connect live with at-sea ONC expeditions; a media kit for ONC information
- a multimedia library to access live and archived underwater videos and much more!
Learn more about ONC by reading the newly released 2021-22 ONC Annual Report ‘Advancing New Frontiers’, available in PDF and ISSUU formats.
Join the ORCA Pod! Call for new members
The Oceans Research in Canada Alliance (ORCA) was established to improve the coordination of ocean science and technology (S&T) in Canada. ORCA brings together Canada's ocean S&T community to increase collective knowledge, align efforts and forge stronger collaborative ties. Membership reflects the diversity of Canada's ocean S&T community and includes:
- academic institutions
- government departments
- granting agencies
- non-governmental organizations
- Indigenous groups and
- industry
Join the ORCA Pod! Membership is free and provides you access to the ORCA Community Platform which facilitates coordination and collaboration between ORCA members. Send an email to the ORCA Secretariat ORCA.AROC@dfo-mpo.gc.ca to join the more than 500 members from over 155 organizations that are already part of ORCA. Together we can advance our collective understanding of the ocean!
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