Oceans, Marine Affairs, and Fisheries (OMAF) database emphasis: South–South network module

The oceans are our new frontier. They have the potential to make a major contribution to the economic development of coastal states. OMAF contributes to sustainable development, and its strategy of integrated management of oceans, by providing CIDA and the Canadian ocean community with up-to-date information on Canadian capacity in the ocean sector. The database covers the public, private and NGO community. Ocean-related industries and personnel included in the database relate to the following areas of specialization: shipbuilding; oil and gas; sea-bed mining; aquaculture; tourism and recreation; shipping and transportation; emergency response; marine navigation; and marine EEZ monitoring, control and surveillance. Canada is party to several ocean-related conventions relating to shipping, fisheries, marine pollution, climate change and biodiversity. These include: UNCLOS, UNCED, the Biodiversity Convention, the FCCC, MARPOL, and the GPA. OMAF, as a database of technical expertise, provides a link between the programmes Canada supports in developing countries and its obligation to global oceans management and development. OMAF facilitates the sharing of ocean initiatives with relevant international organizations such as FAO, IMO, UNEP, UNESCO/IOC, and is the medium whereby Canadian ocean expertise can be readily identified and accessed.