Keeping our oceans and coastal areas clean, safe and healthy for current and future generations is a top priority for the Government of Canada.
Image: An offshore jack up rig. Photo: courtesy of suwatpo/FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
That is why we are making significant investments, under the Oceans Protection Plan, to help protect Canadian coasts and waterways from oil spills.
Today, on behalf of the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, Parliamentary Secretary Sean Casey announced that six international organizations will receive more than $4.1 million for research projects that will help improve protocols and decision-making to minimize the environmental impacts of oil spills.
The recipients include: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation; Johns Hopkins University; New Jersey Institute of Technology; SINTEF Ocean; Texas A&M University; and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
These projects are part of the $45.5 million Multi-Partner Research Initiative, announced last year to leverage collaboration among oil spill experts in Canada and abroad to ensure we have the capability to provide the best scientific advice and tools to respond to oil spills in our waters.
A total of 35 Canadian and international projects will focus on a wide range of innovative strategies and technologies to aid in oil spill response. Under this initiative, researchers will investigate computer modeling to predict the movement and fate of spilled oil, the use of chemical dispersants and herders, the efficiency of in-situ (or onsite) burning of oil spilled at sea and the potential of bio-based agents to disperse oil through biodegradation.
The Multi-Partner Research Initiative will support a variety of different but interrelated research projects on alternative response measures for oil spills while facilitating partnerships among the best researchers across Canada and around the world. These collaborative efforts will improve our knowledge of how oil spills behave, how best to contain them and clean them up, and how to minimize their environmental impacts.
Quotes
“Collaboration is key when working to respond to oil spills. These new partnerships will lead to more scientific knowledge, innovative response measures and advanced technologies that will help minimize the impacts of oil spills on our marine and coastal waters. We are working together to keep our oceans and our coasts clean, healthy and safe.”
The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard
“The Government of Canada is making major investments in scientific research to help protect Canadian waters and coasts from oil spills and other harmful marine incidents. Funding awarded to Canadian and international organizations will support vital research and technologies that better enable us to respond to marine incidents and protect our precious ocean ecosystems for generations to come.”
Sean Casey, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard
Source: Company Press Release