Limitations in science capacity needed to support sustainable aquaculture development in Nova Scotia resulted in the formation of the Centre for Marine Applied Research (CMAR) in 2017. One of the most pressing data gaps was the lack of coastal water quality data, that was needed to support site decisions. This was the genesis for the development of CMAR’s Coastal Monitoring Program which began collecting high resolution, water quality data at biologically relevant scales. To ensure data access far all, CMAR applied FAIR data principles (Finable, Interoperable, Accessible, and Reusable), to ensure our marine data is freely available on the Nova Scotia Open Data Portal, the Canadian Integrated Ocean Observing System, and in summary reports on our website. Beyond aquaculture, these data have been useful to other marine users and CMAR now supports a diverse range of fisheries and environmental research, such as climate change vulnerability assessments, technology development, and carrying capacity modelling. An essential ingredient
for developing these research projects and others, has been collaboration.
The complexity and resource demands of modern- day aquaculture research, makes it highly challenging for any one entity to operate in isolation. C oastal sustainability is a priority for governance, academia, industry, First Nations, and non-for-profit and CMAR has been fortunate to collaborate with all these stakeholders.
This presentation discusses our experience with successful collaborative research approaches, lessons learned, and considerations for fu ture advancement.