SmartBay receives continued support from Government of Canada

Senator Fabian Manning announced an investment of $224,000 to help the SmartBay project continue providing real time information

The SmartBay project in Placentia Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, will continue to provide real time information to help protect maritime ecosystems and support the sustainable development of Canada’s oceans thanks to an investment by the Government of Canada announced today by Senator Fabian Manning. The federal investment will cover the operational costs of the SmartBay project for a period of two years, as well as support the development of a sustainability plan for this sophisticated oceans observation system.

“Our Government supports the SmartBay initiative as an example of how the ocean technology sector can benefit the rural areas of the province,” said Senator Manning. “The success of this user-driven observation system involving fishers, the oil and gas industry, marine transportation, recreational boaters and municipalities is being piloted in Placentia Bay for potential development and use in oceans around Canada and throughout the world.”

“The SmartBay system allows for better decision making from a safety, efficiency, policy and environmental perspective,” said Glenn Blackwood, Executive Director, Marine Institute. “This initiative may also act as a catalyst for future research and development of ocean technologies in a province that is already widely recognized for its applied research capacity in areas such as ocean observing, remote operated vehicles, autonomous underwater vehicles, and other industry applications.”

SmartBay Placentia Bay is an initiative of the School of Ocean Technology (SOT) at the Fisheries and Marine Institute (MI) of Memorial University of Newfoundland. Along with the SOT, the SmartBay team includes industry partners AMEC Earth and Environmental, International Communication and Navigation (ICAN) and Earth Information Technologies Ltd.

Since the launch of the SmartBay project, the Government of Canada has provided the services of the Canadian Coast Guard to position and retrieve these high-tech buoys that record essential marine information. Today’s investment of $224,000 through ACOA’s Innovative Communities Fund (ICF) program builds on the Agency’s investment of $2 million in this project since 2006. This ACOA funding is provided through ACOA’s Innovative Communities Fund (ICF), which focuses on investments that lead to long-term employment and economic capacity building.