Living Oceans Society is a Canadian environmental organization that has been a leader in the effort to protect Canada's oceans since 1998. It is based in

Sointula Sointula is an isolated village on Malcolm Island in British Columbia, Canada. Lying between Vancouver Island and the British Columbia mainland, northeast of Port McNeill and not far from Alert Bay, the island is part of the historic and present ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, with a satellite office in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

. Living Oceans Society's vision states that: ''Canada's oceans are sustainably managed and thriving with abundant sea life that supports vibrant and resilient communities.''"About Us/Vision"
Living Oceans Society.

Initiatives

Living Oceans Society focuses its work on six initiatives:

salmon farming The aquaculture of salmonids is the farming and harvesting of salmonids under controlled conditions for both commercial and recreational purposes. Salmonids (particularly salmon and rainbow trout), along with carp, and tilapia are the three most ...

ocean acidification Ocean acidification is the reduction in the pH value of the Earth’s ocean. Between 1751 and 2021, the average pH value of the ocean surface has decreased from approximately 8.25 to 8.14. The root cause of ocean acidification is carbon dioxid ...

, sustainable seafood, ocean ecosystems,

tankers Tanker may refer to: Transportation * Tanker, a tank crewman (US) * Tanker (ship), a ship designed to carry bulk liquids ** Chemical tanker, a type of tanker designed to transport chemicals in bulk ** Oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tank ...

and ocean planning.

Ocean planning

Living Oceans Society is working to establish

ecosystem-based management Ecosystem-based management is an environmental management approach that recognizes the full array of interactions within an ecosystem, including humans, rather than considering single issues, species, or ecosystem services in isolation. It can be ...

(EBM), including a network of

Marine Protected Area Marine protected areas (MPA) are protected areas of seas, oceans, estuaries or in the US, the Great Lakes. These marine areas can come in many forms ranging from wildlife refuges to research facilities. MPAs restrict human activity for a conse ...

s (MPAs) in Canada's North Pacific waters. Living Oceans Society is actively involved in both the federal Pacific North Coast Integrated Management Area (PNCIMA) marine planning process, and the Marine Planning Partnership (MaPP) between the Province of British Columbia and the First Nations groups of B.C.'s North and Central Coasts and Haida Gwaii. The organization is working with local stakeholders to better manage the area's resources and ensure a healthy ocean and healthy communities in the region. To support this work, Living Oceans Society has researched and analyzed socio-economics of coastal communities, current management practices for MPAs, and fishing bycatch, and has gathered data in deep sea ecosystems.

Ocean acidification

Stopping ocean acidification requires a reduction in

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide ( chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is trans ...

emissions. Ecosystems can better adapt and survive acidification if natural resilience is preserved. Therefore, Living Oceans Society is pushing the Canadian government for effective climate policy,

marine protected areas Marine protected areas (MPA) are protected areas of seas, oceans, estuaries or in the US, the Great Lakes. These marine areas can come in many forms ranging from wildlife refuges to research facilities. MPAs restrict human activity for a conserv ...

and

sustainable fishing A conventional idea of a sustainable fishery is that it is one that is harvested at a sustainable rate, where the fish population does not decline over time because of fishing practices. Sustainability in fisheries combines theoretical discipli ...

practices. They also strive to increase awareness through an information campaign and a partnership with the

Climate Action Network Climate Action Network - International (CAN) is a global network of over 1,300 environmental non-governmental organisations in over 130 countries working to promote government and individual action to limit human-induced climate change to ecolo ...

Canada.

Sustainable seafood

Living Oceans Society is a founding member of

SeaChoice SeaChoice is an environmental advocacy group based in Canada. Launched in 2006, SeaChoice was created to increase consumer awareness around seafood sustainability in Canada. For 10 years, its primary goal was shifting seafood procurement to more su ...

, a program that helps consumers and businesses make choices that support sustainable seafood. Living Oceans Society partners with industry leaders who are pioneering sustainable fishing and aquaculture practices, and connects these partners with consumers that are demanding their products. SeaChoice works closely with the

Monterey Bay Aquarium Monterey Bay Aquarium is a nonprofit public aquarium in Monterey, California. Known for its regional focus on the marine habitats of Monterey Bay, it was the first to exhibit a living kelp forest when it opened in October 1984. Its biologists ...

’s

Seafood Watch __NOTOC__ Seafood Watch is a sustainable seafood advisory list, and has influenced similar programs around the world. It is best known for developing science-based seafood recommendations that consumers, chefs, and business professionals use to i ...

program to ensure that all sustainability assessments are accurate and grounded in science. Living Oceans Society also pushes the Canadian government to address issues such as bycatch, deep sea fisheries impacts and

Salmon farming

Living Oceans Society co-ordinates the Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform (CAAR), a coalition of five leading Canadian

environmental organization An environmental organization is an organization coming out of the conservation or environmental movements that seeks to protect, analyse or monitor the environment against misuse or degradation from human forces. In this sense the environmen ...

s that work to promote a transition from open net-cage salmon aquaculture to closed-containment

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family Salmonidae, which are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (genus ''Salmo'') and North Pacific (genus '' Oncorhy ...

aquaculture in

. CAAR works with the government and industry on sea lice monitoring, and researches the viability of closed containment aquaculture systems. It also works with grocery retailers and restaurants to inform them about the issues related to open net-cage salmon aquaculture, and the alternatives. CAAR is also a participant in the Salmon Aquaculture Dialogues.

Ocean ecosystems

Living Oceans Society strives to protect the four basic building blocks of ocean ecosystems:

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

food web A food web is the natural interconnection of food chains and a graphical representation of what-eats-what in an ecological community. Another name for food web is consumer-resource system. Ecologists can broadly lump all life forms into one o ...

s, and

water quality Water quality refers to the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water based on the standards of its usage. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which compliance, generally achieved through tr ...

. This includes participating in efforts to improve the

science Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...

and management for important kinds of habitats, such as deep-sea corals and glass sponge reefs. In 1999, the Society collaborated on the Reef Environmental Education Foundation (

REEF A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes— deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock o ...

) Fish Survey. In 2009, the Society conducted the Finding Coral Expedition. This expedition brought together a group of international scientists and Living Oceans Society staff to study Canada's Pacific cold water corals and document threats to their well being.

Tankers

Living Oceans Society is participating in the movement to prevent oil tankers from using the North and Central Coast of British Columbia as a transportation route and is calling for a permanent legislated tanker ban in this region. This initiative is currently focused on the proposed

Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines The Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines were a project to build a twin pipeline from Bruderheim, Alberta to Kitimat, British Columbia. The eastbound pipeline would have imported natural gas condensate and the westbound pipeline would have expo ...

project, designed to bring crude oil from the

tar sands Oil sands, tar sands, crude bitumen, or bituminous sands, are a type of unconventional petroleum deposit. Oil sands are either loose sands or partially consolidated sandstone containing a naturally occurring mixture of sand, clay, and wate ...

to a marine terminal in

Kitimat Kitimat is a district municipality in the North Coast region of British Columbia, Canada. It is a member municipality of the Regional District of Kitimat–Stikine regional government. The Kitimat Valley is part of the most populous urban distr ...

, B.C., where it could then be transported via supertanker to markets in Asia and the United States. An independent poll conducted in May, 2010 found that 80 percent of British Columbians disagreed with the proposed project. Living Oceans Society is participating in the federal government's environmental assessment of the project."Enbridge Northern Gateway Joint Review Panel"
. Canada

National Energy Board The National Energy Board was an independent economic regulatory agency created in 1959 by the Government of Canada to oversee "international and inter-provincial aspects of the oil, gas and electric utility industries". Its head office was located ...

Bibliography

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References

External links

Living Oceans Society

PNCIMA Matters

Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform

SeaChoice

British Columbia Marine Conservation Analysis