Rochelle Baker, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada's National Observer

Canada wants to leverage its G7 presidency to shape international objectives on the use of artificial intelligence to understand oceans, documents obtained under the Access to Information Act show. 

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) hoped to host meetings in the fall to develop shared priorities and a global blueprint for action in advancing AI to monitor oceans. 

DFO also wants to showcase those outcomes and play a “pivotal role” as part of Canada’s G7 environmental and maritime security agenda, a department memo obtained by Canada’s National Observer shows. 

“There is a growing international interest in leveraging Al to enhance the processing and analysis of large, complex ocean datasets to support timely decision-making on urgent issues concerning ocean sustainability and protection,” the undated memo to DFO deputy minister’s office stated. 

“Given Canada’s G7 priorities and increasing global focus on Al, DFO is well-positioned to unify and leverage the expertise of G7 countries and other international stakeholders.” 

However, the fisheries and oceans ministry, headed by Joanne Thompson, declined CNO interview requests and didn’t respond to questions on potential challenges and opportunities Canada is exploring on the use of AI and oceans.

Wave of opportunity 

Bordered by three oceans and the longest coastline in the world, Canada should take the lead to use AI to build a sustainable ocean economy, but the window of opportunity is closing fast, said Kendra MacDonald, CEO of Canada’s Ocean Supercluster, a national innovation hub to accelerate global ocean opportunities.

AI paired with advanced technologies, such as drones, monitoring buoys, autonomous ocean gliders or satellites, could revolutionize evaluating fish stocks and distribution, improve monitoring of marine biodiversity, track threatened whales or detect problems like illegal fishing, MacDonald said. 

AI has the potential to unlock powerful insights from an ever-increasing flood of ocean data generated by new ocean monitoring equipment gathering data year round.

For example, the Supercluster launched a $3.8-million Air Sea Ocean Monitoring System (ASOMS) initiative in March led by BC company Ocean Robotics that will use autonomous ocean gliders and amphibious aerial drones paired with AI-enabled sensing technology to monitor oceans over the long term in remote and rough areas. 

“AI really does provide an opportunity to get new insights and analyze data in new ways,” she said. 

“We’re just scratching the surface of what all those different use cases are by the ocean sector, as well as better decision-making for the government in terms of things like marine spatial planning or marine-protected areas.”

Transport Canada has already partnered for a number of years with Whale Seeker, a Quebec startup that uses AI to monitor marine life. The most recent project involves using AI and a remotely piloted aircraft system to detect endangered North Atlantic right whales at risk in shipping lanes in real time and better protect the species from ship strike. 

Some global initiatives also include using AI to create virtual replicas, or “digital twins” of the ocean that will allow complex predictive modelling on the impacts of global warming or disaster preparation.  

AI can help measure, monitor and identify ocean carbon sinks and help buffer other climate impacts like acidification and sea level rise, MacDonald said. 

AI has a “huge role” to play, not only in marine protection but economic productivity, she said. 

Other Supercluster AI projects, funded primarily by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) and industry partners, are being piloted to enhance shipping and safety, while creating new jobs in the marine sector, she added.

Supercluster-funded projects involve AI crunching data to help shipping companies deploy resources better, maintain ships and enhance crew safety. Others include wielding AI and advanced weather sensing equipment to deliver highly accurate and hyper-local marine forecasts to better protect vessels and make port operations more efficient. 

But some outstanding challenges involve fragmented and siloed ocean data sets, often compiled in different ways, which makes comparisons or computing by various groups tricky.

“There’s also lots of work that’s being done to try … reducing the  environmental footprint of AI processing itself,” MacDonald said. 

“From an ocean perspective, the challenge is how much of the computing do you put on the edge or in the ocean, versus how much do you bring the data into a central location to be able to process?”  

DFO’s AI blueprint ambiguous

A forum to discuss global AI Ocean applications is slated for November, the internal DFO memo suggests. 

The G7 Future of the Seas and Ocean Initiative (FSOI), created in 2016 to tackle ocean issues needing global cooperation, will be co-chaired by DFO. The FSOI working group, with up to 40 representatives from G7 nations, is expected to review progress from the past year, discuss key initiatives and develop a work plan for the year ahead.

The ministry confirmed a workshop on AI is being planned but didn’t clarify if the meeting actually involves the FSOI working group. 

“[The meeting] is intended to provide opportunities for further discussions about possible new approaches and adoptions/uses of emerging technologies, including data requirements, technology and infrastructure requirements, performance capacity and training, validation, and security,” a ministry email said. 

Artificial intelligence is part of Canada’s G7 priorities under the core goal of building energy security and accelerating the digital transition, the ministry said. The G7 leaders also issued a  statement on AI and prosperity following the April G7 summit led by Prime Minister Mark Carney in Alberta, the ministry added. While the statement generally discusses the promise of AI’s rapidly advancing technologies, it does not mention any environmental or ocean applications. 

DFO offered no further detail on timelines, ambitions or specific priorities related to AI and oceans. 

“While the use of AI may have potential value for ocean monitoring, further discussions are required before these emerging technologies can potentially be implemented more broadly moving forward,” the ministry said.

Canada needs to get onboard “urgently”

The federal government needs to identify the key “ocean” issues it wants to tackle, connect innovators with prioritized applications and keep AI and oceans on national and international agendas, she said. 

Canada has an enviable depth of AI expertise and a thriving marine economy, but swift action is key, she said, noting oceans are being deluged by problems, such as plastic pollution, acidification, sea level rise, warming waters and increasing extreme weather. 

“We’ve already established some of that leadership, but we need to continue to move on that really quickly,” MacDonald said

“The more information that we have, the more insights we’re able to gather, the better decisions we’re able to make — and that’s all around the planet. So, there’s a real urgency to move this forward.”

Rochelle Baker / Local Journalism Initiative / Canada’s National Observer

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