Ocean Gliders for Planning and Monitoring Remote Canadian Pacific Marine Protected Areas

Given the United Nations’ ambitious goal—endorsed by more than 100 nations, including Canada—of protecting 30% of the world’s marine ecosystems by 2030 (UN, 2023), the need to establish, expand, and track the effectiveness of protected areas is becoming more pressing each year. Effective planning for and monitoring of marine protected areas (MPAs) rely on the availability of quality baseline ecological and oceanographic information. Many of the sites in the Canadian Pacific Ocean best suited for protection, due to the confluence of ecological, cultural, and political significance, are remote. This poses two challenges: (1) there is little baseline information to guide planning, and (2) they are challenging to monitor once established.