Why a Canadian Census?
Canada has a particularly critical role to play in the global Census of Marine Life (CoML) given that we have the longest coastline in the world and border on three different oceans, each with unique characteristics and habitats. Canada also has multiple commitments to maintain marine biodiversity, as evident in the signing of the Convention of Biological Diversity (1992), the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fishing (1995), Canada’s Oceans Act (1997), the Species at Risk Act (2004), and ratification of the Law of the Sea (2004). Through several key workshops over the last few years, it is clear that there is tremendous interest in biodiversity research in Canada and a lot of activities already underway. A steering committee has been established to try to help coordinate these activities and to spearhead new biodiversity research.
