Victoria International Marina

Victoria International Marina is proud to be associated with The International SeaKeepers Society and to be the location of Canada’s first SeaKeepers ocean monitoring station.

The International SeaKeepers Society, a non-profit society, is a unique network of individuals including yachtsmen, entrepreneurs, corporations, divers, scientists and concerned citizens who recognize the ocean’s critical importance to the life of our planet.  Founded in Monaco in 1998 by a group of concerned yacht owners who recognized that, in order to address the deterioration of the world’s oceans, scientists needed a monitoring system that could provide them with large-region, high-quality data, they created the SeaKeeper 1000™, a revolutionary method of data collection, and then used some of the founders’ yachts as free ranging test platforms.  The system is now deployed in over 50 locations around the world and has been recognized throughout the scientific community for its unique ability to provide reliable and extremely cost-effective data. Canada’s first SeaKeeper 1000™ monitoring station will be situated at The Victoria International Marina.

SeaKeeper's data is distributed over the Global Telecommunication System, a network managed by the United Nations' World Meteorological Organisation, which channels data to 156 member nations' National Weather Services and to several international organisations that track surface oceanographic data.  These latter organisations include, but are not limited to, the Marine Environmental Data Service in Canada, the National Centers for Environmental Prediction in the US, and the Global Oceans Surface Underway Data pilot project in France.  These centers archive and make data available to the world's scientists and climatologists.

The society has also developed an interpretive center, the "Sea Kiosk", which will be installed in the Marina building.  The Kiosk presents real time video footage of ocean life and layman explanations of the myriad of problems facing the oceans.  Visitors will learn about the various threats to the ocean’s health, what scientists are trying to learn and why data collection is so critical, as well as what people can do to help restore the oceans to good health.  It is the intention of the Marina to offer school groups and marine enthusiasts the opportunity to come and learn about the ocean through this Sea Kiosk.

The International SeaKeepers Society has garnered much praise from both the scientific community and environmental leaders.  Many influential celebrities, scientists, and world leaders have become involved in the SeaKeepers’ initiatives.  Honourary Members of the International SeaKeeper's Society include Prince Rainier lll, actor Ted Danson, Titanic producer James Cameron, former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev and journalist Walter Cronkite.