The Pacific Biological Station is the oldest fisheries research center on the Pacific coast and forms part of a network of nine major scientific facilities operated by Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Located in Nanaimo, British Columbia, the Station is home to scientists, technicians, support staff and ships' crews whose common interests are the coastal waters of British Columbia, the Northeast Pacific Ocean, the Western Arctic and navigable waters east to the Manitoba, Saskatchewan border.
There are some 22 structures on the site including a four-story office/wet lab building, specialty storage structures for hazardous chemicals and salt water pumping facilities. PBS maintains a number of workshops for research support. There is a 200-lineal-foot wharf used for loading, unloading, and berthage of research vessels, as well as a small boat dock for inshore research boats. PBS also maintains a library and meeting facilities. Aquatic facilities, primarily used by Aquaculture Science, include ambient temperature and heated salt water and fresh (municipal supply) water.
Research at PBS responds to stock assessment, aquaculture, marine environment, habitat, ocean science and fish productivity priorities. Some fisheries management activities are also conducted here.
History
The Station was established in 1908 and originally staffed by summer volunteers from university. Involvement from the Biological Board of Canada (created 1912, became Fisheries Research Board in 1937) started in the 1920s, with addition of full-time employees and new laboratories for chemistry and fisheries research built. The original laboratory building was demolished in 1948 and replaced in 1950. More buildings and extensions were built after.
A Pacific Oceanographic Group was created within the station during World War II and remained until 1970. The group concerned itself mostly with physical oceanography and chemistry and received an influx of secondees from the Department of Mines and Technical Surveys in 1962 (which became the Department of Energy, Mines and Resources in 1966).
In June 1971 the Pacific Biological Station was administratively moved to the Department of Environment, which became the Department of Fisheries and the Environment in 1976 andsplitted in 1979 to yield the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, under which the station operates to this day.
