February 2008 – Paul Snelgrove
February 2008 – Paul Snelgrove, Chair of the Canadian Regional Committee and the CoML Synthesis Committee.
Heather Mannix: How did you originally become involved with CoML? Have you always wanted to be a marine researcher?
Paul Snelgrove: I’ve been interested in marine biodiversity since I was an undergraduate student in Newfoundland. Growing up next to the ocean had an obvious influence on my career choice, and my undergraduate advisor, Richard Haedrich, got me started on biodiversity questions in the deep sea. That interest carried on through my graduate career and continues today. I did a postdoc with Fred Grassle (Chair of the Census Scientific Steering Committee) at Rutgers University and participated in one of the very early Census meetings (around 1995) and have stayed in touch with the Census ever since.
HM: As the Chair of the Canadian NRIC, can you tell us about some of the plans the Canadian NRIC has for the remaining years of the Census?
PS: The Canadian NRIC was assembled as a key output of a workshop Mike Sinclair and organized in 2004. The mandate of this committee was to establish a national research program in marine biodiversity in Canada that would contribute to the Census for each of Canada’s 3 oceans – Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic. Because of a funding moratorium in Canada, a coordinated initiative was not possible until now. There were isolated Census-related activities in Canada that the NRIC tried to help coordinate, but we were an unfunded group that struggled to stay involved. However, now we have a Census research network funded, and because it was slow getting out the gate we will be active through 2012 collecting new data.
HM: For the past year, the U.S. NRIC has been considering options for the future of CoML. Are there any Canadian plans for the Census-type activities after 2010?
PS: Because the Canadian research network funding will carry through to 2013 we are hopeful that our activities can help to carry forward the momentum from the Census internationally. Thus, 2010 for us is less of a concern that it is for the International Census, although 2013 will mark the end of the current Canadian network. If we hope to go forward beyond that we will have to reinvent ourselves and depend on additional collaborations and projects that might grow out of our current network.
HM: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the primary ocean agency in the U.S. government, has seen some serious funding cuts in recent years. How is funding for marine science faring in the Canadian government?
PS: Science funding in Canada has been steady through recent years, and indeed has increased in key areas. The trick has been trying to package marine research so that it fits within the national technology and science agenda. We’ve had some success in doing that, in part because there is so much new technology emerging in marine sciences – some of which is very closely linked to the Census. I should also say that our Department of Fisheries and Oceans – our equivalent of your National Marine Fisheries Service – has had major cuts over the last decade despite an expanding mandate that includes ecosystem-based management. Though this has created tough times for them it has also made it essential for them to partner with universities and other agencies and that need has produced some new opportunities and collaborations. Indeed, it is the partnerships between federal government agencies and university scientists that has allowed Canada to develop a true national Census program.
HM: Switching gears to your more recently acquired role as Synthesis Chair, what do you believe will be the most challenging aspect of the synthesis phase?
PS: The greatest challenge with the Synthesis relates to the success of the Census – there is SO much going on! Our own success means there are many people doing exciting things, raising exciting ideas, and addressing so many important issues that bringing it all together will be a real challenge. But it is a challenge that I think the community will enjoy. The science community really recognizes that the Census is much more than the sum of its parts. I guess the other challenge is that 2010 is not very far away!
HM: In preparation for the Synthesis you, along with a committee, did extensive surveys about the perceptions, messages, and outcomes of the Census. What were your most surprising or interesting results?
PS: We talked to a whole variety of groups and I’m not sure there were huge surprises but the discussions were very informative. Because Darlene Crist was part of that committee, it provided a great interface with Education and Outreach, which helped us in talking to people and will also help in implementing some of the synthesis products for non-scientists. As an example of some of the interesting things we did learn, we found that non scientists tend to be most interested in what’s going in their own back yard (well, perhaps their own back bay!), and there is also a very reassuring interest in conservation issues…people care about what’s happening with fish stocks and species loss – not just scientists. So I think the timing is very good to roll out synthesis products now – the oceans are a “hot” issue for scientists and the general public.
HM: What drew you to take on the exciting, albeit huge, task of writing and coordinating a Census Synthesis book?
PS: It is tempting to attribute it to a momentary lapse in sanity, but the reality is that I greatly admire what the Census is doing and I have not had active involvement with any of the individual projects. Even though I am working to make the Canadian Census a reality, I wanted to be an active part of the International Census too. I have been enthused about marine biodiversity for 25 years – back then it was not a hot issue at all, and was somewhat on the fringe. It is great to see it in the limelight, and I feel like I do have something to contribute – a broad perspective that could be useful in making the synthesis successful and helping to make the Census of Marine Life achieve the impact that it deserves.
