Climate Ready BC Seafood Program

The Climate Ready BC Seafood (CRBS) Program was a province-wide initiative that invested approximately $1.7 million in 11 collaborative projects designed to improve British Columbia's ability to understand, monitor, and adapt to the impacts of ocean acidification and hypoxia (OAH).

Delivered by the Tula Foundation in partnership with the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food, the program brought together Indigenous Nations, universities, industry, stewardship organizations, researchers, and coastal communities to develop practical solutions that support climate resilience across British Columbia's seafood sector.

Projects ranged from expanding ocean observing networks and developing innovative monitoring technologies, to selective breeding of climate-resilient oysters, modelling ecosystem responses, supporting Indigenous Guardian programs, and engaging commercial fishers and tourism operators in citizen science.

Collectively, the program established new partnerships, generated critical datasets, strengthened regional monitoring capacity, and created tools and knowledge that will continue to support fisheries, aquaculture, marine stewardship, and climate adaptation throughout British Columbia.

Partners

Program Delivery

• British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture and Food

• Tula Foundation/Hakai Institute

Time Frame

Context

Ocean acidification and hypoxia are among the fastest growing threats facing British Columbia's marine ecosystems, fisheries, shellfish aquaculture, and coastal communities.

Increasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is changing seawater chemistry, reducing the availability of calcium carbonate needed by shellfish to build shells while also increasing the frequency of low oxygen events. Together, these changes threaten biodiversity, seafood production, food security, and coastal economies.

The Climate Ready BC Seafood Program was established to accelerate implementation of the BC Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia Action Plan, supporting applied research, monitoring, Indigenous stewardship, and practical adaptation strategies that improve resilience across the province.

Outcomes

The Climate Ready BC Seafood Program significantly strengthened British Columbia's capacity to understand and respond to ocean acidification and hypoxia by expanding monitoring networks, enhancing existing observing infrastructure, and supporting new approaches to real-time, community-based, and Indigenous-led monitoring across the coast. Collectively, the projects generated extensive new datasets that improved understanding of changing ocean conditions, species vulnerability, and the roles of kelp, eelgrass, and other coastal habitats in building resilience. The program also delivered practical tools to support climate-ready seafood production, including improved hatchery monitoring, genomic selection for resilient oyster stocks, predictive modelling, and evaluation of emerging monitoring technologies.

Beyond the scientific advances, the program fostered lasting partnerships among Indigenous Nations, researchers, industry, governments, and stewardship organizations, creating collaborative monitoring networks that will continue beyond the life of the program. Investments in Guardian programs, citizen science, training, and community-led monitoring strengthened local capacity and supported the integration of Indigenous Knowledge with western science. Knowledge generated through the projects was widely shared through outreach, publications, educational resources, and the BC Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia Action Forum, ensuring that the program's outcomes continue to inform marine stewardship, fisheries management, aquaculture, and climate adaptation across British Columbia.

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