Mr. Speaker, Canada is a proud supporter of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, or the Ocean Decade. The Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard is a member of the Ocean Decade Alliance, a global network of leaders to inspire and stimulate action. Fisheries and Oceans Canada, DFO, has established a dedicated Ocean Decade office to convene the Canadian ocean community and to stimulate a strong Canadian contribution to the Ocean Decade that is aligned with national priorities.
DFO is supporting research to better understand deep sea ecosystems through different activities. For example, DFO is conducting research and providing peer-reviewed science advice and expert input to support the establishment of new marine conservation areas. DFO scientists are collecting baseline data, managing data and information, identifying ecologically and biologically significant areas, and conducting biophysical overviews, including in deep sea ecosystems.
In addition, DFO is working with partners to better understand deep sea ecosystems and their biodiversity. For example, since 2017, DFO, the Council of the Haida Nation, the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council and Ocean Networks Canada have conducted several expeditions to the Northeast Pacific seamounts and have discovered 43 new Canadian seamounts.
Through the Canadian Hydrographic Service, DFO is mapping the seafloor and its features, including deep sea ecosystems. The department has developed a tool to identify seamounts in data collected. DFO’s Marine Spatial Planning initiative publishes geospatial data on Open Maps (e.g., a map of the seamounts of the Northeast Pacific Ocean is available at https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/32215c2d-833e-40e0-b7f6- 2e145312d674).
This work to better understand deep sea ecosystems contributes to Canada’s work under the Ocean Decade.