Canadian Ocean Research: The Next Decade

Canada is a maritime nation. It has the world's longest coastline and second largest continental shelf. Canada's coast, if stretched, would circle the earth six times at the Equator. The 200 mile Exclusive Fishing Zone represents 32% of Canada's total territory. This maritime area is the size of continental Australia and eight times the size of Texas. Many major cities are coastal ports or are located on the St. Lawrence Seaway, the world's longest and heavily-used waterway. Much of Canada's trade goods are transported by water. Weather and climate are driven by ocean processes, determine the location and success of our important fishing, agriculture and forestry industries. Canada's fishing industry continues to be a major exporter of fisheries products and the mainstay of hundreds of small communities in coastal areas. Offshore oil and gas production, and the associated spill hazards, particularly in ice-infested waters, pose new environmental threats to our coastal areas. All these facts, and many others which for the sake of brevity we will not mention, lead to the necessity of a strong and credible ocean research activity in Canada.