Read the full PMSA article here: Collaboration Between Canadian and Chilean University Consortiums Strives to Understand and Protect the Ocean 

Canadian and Chilean marine science organizations have formalized a new partnership to strengthen collaborative ocean research and education across the Pacific Rim and polar regions. The agreement, signed on November 25, 2025, brings together the Pacific Marine Science Alliance (PMSA), a consortium of five western Canadian universities including UBC, and the newly forming Chilean National Consortium of Ocean Science, led by the Océanos Institute at the University of Concepción and comprising ten research institutions across Chile. 

Canada and Chile together account for more than one-fifth of the world’s coastline and play leading roles in Arctic and Antarctic research. Despite their distance, the two countries have strikingly similar Pacific coastal environments and face many of the same ocean challenges, related to climate change, ocean acidification, fisheries resource management, and coastal hazards. Coordinating research across hemispheres creates new opportunities to understand how large-scale ocean processes shape regional ecosystems and the communities that depend on them. 

For UBC researchers, the agreement builds on more than a decade of Canada–Chile collaboration led by Dr. Philippe Tortell, a professor in Biological Oceanography at EOAS, whose work spans the eastern Pacific and polar regions. These collaborations have supported joint field programs, graduate student exchanges, and international training in ocean observation, biogeochemistry, and data science. Programs such as PRODIGY (Pacific Rim Ocean Data Mobilization and Technology) have provided many EOAS students with interdisciplinary and cross-cultural experience alongside Chilean colleagues. 

“This agreement marks a significant step forward in building a large-scale ocean research program across the Pacific Rim,” said Tortell. “Canada and Chile share many ocean challenges, and with that, a responsibility to provide global leadership in the protection and sustainable development of ocean resources.” 

The agreement signing followed a research visit to Chile by a Canadian delegation representing PMSA, including EOAS faculty Philippe Tortell, Rich Pawlowicz and Michael Bostock, along with UBC Dean of Science Mark MacLachlan. Hosted by the University of Concepción, the Catholic University of Chile, and the Catholic University of Valparaíso, the visit focused on identifying opportunities for coordinated research programs, shared infrastructure, and expanded student mobility, with plans to begin these efforts in 2026. 

The PMSA–Océanos agreement was signed alongside a Memorandum of Understanding between NSERC (the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada) and Chile’s national research agency, ANID (Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo), creating a broader framework for Canadian-Chilean research collaboration. Representatives from both countries’ science ministries, funding agencies, and diplomatic missions attended the signing ceremony. 

Together, these agreements mark a major milestone for Pacific Rim ocean science under the UN Ocean Decade, positioning UBC and its partners within a growing international network dedicated to advancing ocean knowledge and stewardship at a global scale.