Ocean program projects

The NRC's Ocean program supports over 60 collaborative projects with partners from industry, academia and the not-for-profit sector. These projects benefit from grants and contributions awarded through the Collaborative Science, Technology and Innovation Program administered by the NRC's National Program Office. Our projects help to solve some of the most pressing ocean challenges and support the growth of Canada's sustainable blue economy.

The Ocean program's work focuses on 4 themes:

The following stories showcase some of the projects undertaken by the NRC's Ocean program.

Use the filtering options below to change the focus of your results in the following table.

Title Area of focus Summary
Seagrass could help protect coast from storm surge and erosion
A sandy and rocky beach sits at the bottom of a steep grassy hill and rocky cliffs dotted with trees.
Coastal resilience The NRC and Memorial University researchers and students are developing computer models that could help us determine how best to protect our coast using nature-based solutions, such as seagrass.
Dredged sand used as a nature-based solution against coastal erosion
A small brown and white bird with a bright orange beak and feet stands motionless on a sandy beach on a sunny day.
Coastal resilience The NRC, in partnership with Saint Mary's University, is using numerical modelling tools to determine the effectiveness of restoring the lost habitat of the piping plover on the Chiasson Office spit in New Brunswick using nature-based techniques.
Decreasing emissions and increasing efficiency of small boats
A fishing boat glides slowly across still waters next to the shoreline.
Pollution remediation The NRC helped a Canadian-based company convert boats to all electric or hybrid propulsion and develop systems to help operators reduce their costs and vessels' emissions.
Upcycling seafood waste
A top view of a lab workstation shows 3 salmon heads laid out on a tray along with 3 small tubes containing different colour liquids, a small metal reaction vessel and a computer screen.
Bio assets NRC researchers are working with the Memorial University of Newfoundland to investigate how to cost-effectively repurpose seafood waste into products with commercial value.
Marine navigation and charting a greener course with artificial intelligence
Queen of Oak Bay ferry with mountains in the background
Intelligent marine assets NRC Researchers are developing AI-based technology that could provide ship captains with real-time navigation guidance to help decrease fuel consumption, fuel costs and greenhouse gas emissions.
Eco-friendly breakwaters do double duty as welcoming homes for marine life
Concrete installation along the ocean covered in biodiversity
Coastal resilience With help of the NRC, a marine technology company has developed breakwaters to not only protect shorelines but also marine biodiversity.
Autonomous fleet ice management via reinforcement learning
Man leans over a water-filled indoor basin with small pieces of floating plastic ice as he adjusts small model vessels
Intelligent marine assets Researchers and engineers at the NRC and Memorial University are applying the idea of swarm intelligence to the challenge of navigating in ice-covered seas.