New ocean research alliance to boost national collaboration

The Pacific Marine Science Alliance Society (PMSA) has announced a three-year agreement with the Marine Environmental Observation, Prediction and Response Network (MEOPAR) designed to strengthen national ocean research collaboration across Canada’s three coasts. 

UBC is one of five member universities of the PMSA, which owns and operates the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre, and works to advance marine and coastal research, education and sustainability.  

The new partnership, backed by $300,000 in funding from PMSA and MEOPAR, will help researchers better collaborate at regional, national and international levels to address crucial research challenges, including climate resilience, marine hazard prediction and sustainable ocean resource use. The collaboration will also prioritize Indigenous-led stewardship, student mobility and new international research partnerships. 

“Our oceans are facing grave threats, including rising temperatures, acidification, deoxygenation and biodiversity loss. We all rely on these marine ecosystems, whether for our livelihoods, our food, our climate or for the very oxygen we breathe,” said PMSA board member Dr. Philippe Tortell, professor in the UBC department of earth, ocean and atmospheric sciences. “This new partnership will enable researchers at the five PMSA-member universities to work together with colleagues across Canada and across the world, developing new approaches to understanding our changing oceans, and innovative solutions to the marine sustainability challenges of today and into the future.” 

As well as expanding training and travel opportunities for students and researchers across Canada, the partnership will develop international research partnerships with Chile, France and beyond, increasing access to ocean research infrastructure and data to support informed decision-making, and advancing climate resilience and coastal community adaptation through new monitoring, prediction and knowledge-mobilization tools. 

“Canada has the longest coastline in the world and we must use this advantage to improve the economic and environmental prospects of the country,” said Dr. David Turpin, PMSA chair. “By partnering with MEOPAR, we will expand our impact nationally and internationally, and build the research, innovation and teaching programs needed to support the next generation of students, scientists and engineers seeking to unlock the ocean's potential for the benefit of all Canadians.” 

The collaboration aims to connect and coordinate Canada’s ocean research efforts from coast to coast to coast, said MEOPAR executive director Dr. Jamie Snook. “By working closely with the Pacific Marine Science Alliance Society, we are not only building new capacity in western Canada but also strengthening national and international partnerships that will help keep Canada strategic and impactful in the critical work of ocean research and management. Together with PMSA, we are laying the groundwork for unprecedented collaboration, transformative research and innovation that will benefit coastal communities, the blue economy and our ocean.”