Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre - PollutionTracker: A New Coast-Wide Initiative in British Columbia

Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s Partnership Fund is contributing $399,000 to support Vancouver Aquarium’s PollutionTracker program, which will track contaminants released into the ocean that can harm marine organisms and their habitat.

The PollutionTracker will generate high-quality, high-resolution data on a wide range of contaminants including hydrocarbons, flame retardants, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and microplastics. The PollutionTracker model is also readily scalable for Canada-wide application.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s contribution to PollutionTracker will be used to expand its coverage along the B.C. coast to include the north and central coasts, Haida Gwaii, and the west and north coast Vancouver Island; contribute to data management and interpretation; and, support the dissemination of findings through scientific publications, conferences, and user-friendly, downloadable reports.

Ultimately, the data will help to identify pollution sources in B.C. and inform policies and management decisions.

Update: In February 2018, Fisheries and Oceans Canada announced an additional $72,000 in funding for Pollution Tracker under Canada’s Oceans Protection Plan.

Project Number: HQ2016.9
Year: 2016
Partner: Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre
Principal Investigator(s): Peter Ross
Eco-region: Pacific