BIO is a modern oceanographic research facility, established in 1962 by the Federal Government of Canada (the former Department of Mines and Technical Surveys, now Natural Resources Canada) and is located on the shores of the Bedford Basin in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Over the last 50 years it has grown to become Canada's largest centre for ocean research. The Institute performs targeted research, mandated by the Canadian government, to provide 'peer' reviewed advice and support to government decision making on a broad range of ocean issues, including sovereignty, safety and security, environmental protection, the health of the oceans, safe and accessible waterways, the sustainable use of natural resources (fisheries, minerals, oil & gas) and the integrated management large ocean management areas.
Currently, four federal departments are located at BIO: Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), Environment Canada (EC), and the Department of National Defence (DND), but this entry represents the DFO component of BIO.
The NRCan component, known as Atlantic Geoscience Center, Geological Survey of Canada, is under organisation code 3047.
History
Upon its inception, BIO had a group who operated under the Department of Mines anc Technical Surveys (later Department of Energy, Mines and Resources), and another group, the Atlantic Oceanographic Group (AOG), who operated under the Fisheries Research Board of Canada.
Both groups were retitled in 1968 as Atlantic Oceanoographic Laboratory (AOL) and Marine Ecological Laboratory (MEL), respectively.
From 1968 to 1969, BIO was known simply as the "Bedford Institute".
In 1971, the geological component of AOL split and formed the Atlantic Geoscience Center of the Geological Survey of Canada (then under the Department of Energy, Mines and Resources, now under Natural Resources Canada). The remainder of AOL and MEL were transferred to the new Department of Environment, to the Department of Fisheries and the Environment in 1976 and to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (1979).
In 1987 the entities of MEL and AOL were reorganized into today's DFO Science Branch at BIO, the largest DFO branch at BIO.
In 1997, activities previously conducted at the Halifax Fisheries Research Laboratory under the defunct Fisheries Resource Branch were transferred to BIO.
