Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre

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Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre

Embark on an oceanic journey with us!
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Located on the stunning west coast of Vancouver Island, we're a marine sciences centre dedicated to inspiring transformative relationships with the ocean! The Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre was established in 1972 by the Western Canadian Universities Marine Sciences Society (WCUMSS) in order to provide a permanent base for marine and coastal-oriented field operations on the west coast of Canada.

The property consists of 75 hectares with approximately 3.0 kilometers of waterfront at the confluence of Grappler and Bamfield Inlets. Situated within the traditional territory of the Huu-ay-aht First Nation in Barkley Sound, and adjacent the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, BMSC offers unparalleled access to a wide array of environments—including unique coastal, marine and rainforest habitats and exceptional species diversity. BMSC is owned and operated by the non-profit Western Canadian Universities Marine Sciences Society (WCUMSS) whose members are Simon Fraser University, the University of Alberta, the University of British Columbia, the University of Calgary, and the University of Victoria. The Society has a mandate to:

- Provide world-class research infrastructure for marine and coastal scientists from the member universities and from other Canadian and International institutes;
- Offer senior undergraduate and graduate courses and programs in marine and coastal sciences;
- Provide training for graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and technicians in practical aspects of marine and coastal research;
- Offer in-residence programs in marine biology and general science to schools, colleges, First Nations and other public groups.

09/07/2026

The first hosted in Canada wrapped up last week at Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre!

Participants worked in teams tackling real oceanographic problems over five days using real datasets from ONC.

We can’t wait to show you the results of their work!

08/25/2026

Join us for our last official summer seminar series talk (some bonus talks to come soon), where
Iain McGaw, Professor, Memorial University of Newfoundland presents:

Adapting New Research Directions to Work at a Remote Field Station

This talk is a mixed type presentation, instead of just masses of graphs and data I give an insight to work I have been carrying out at the Cape Eleuthera Institute in The Bahamas and things to consider when thinking about research projects at remote field stations. I also discuss Memorial University and opportunities for those interested in marine or ocean sciences graduate work.

08/19/2026

Check out our latest student blog post about undergraduate student Anna Kottek's weekend field trip to BMSC with her Marine Invertebrates course!

A Bamfield Weekend To Remember by Anna Kottek

“...this experience was way more than just a field trip to me. Being submerged in the world of marine biology in a place as special, unique and biodiverse as Bamfield reminded me of why I chose to study biology in the first place. Nothing is more impactful than hands-on learning in the real world...”

Read it here: https://bamfieldmsc.com/student-blog/a-bamfield-weekend-to-remember/

08/17/2026

Join us this Tuesday evening for our next Summer Seminar Series talk where Dr. Lisa Hoogenboom, Head of Animal Care at BMSC presents:

Wait...there are sharks in Barkley Sound? Exploring the diversity of coastal predators in Canadian waters.

This talk will cover debunking some myths about sharks, an introduction to the amazing diversity of sharks we have in our local waters, and the importance of sharks to the global ecosystem.

See you there or live through our YouTube!

08/13/2026

We are thrilled to announce that the 3rd Biennial World Congress of Marine Stations (WCMS 2026) has been officially endorsed as a UN Ocean Decade activity. This event will be hosted here at the BMSC this September 1st-5th of 2026.

The congress, convened by the World Association of Marine Stations (WAMS), is a unique coming together of global marine-station representatives from more than 15 countries. This meeting will revolve around five themes:

-Oceans and Human Health
-Ocean Innovation and Bioeconomies
-Community, Education and Culture
-Ocean Policy
-Marine Stations as Distributed Research Platforms

The congress will consist of contributed talks, breakout sessions, and cross-cutting discussions on the future of marine stations as connected global research infrastructure.

08/12/2026

Registration for Niki Wilson's Science Communication workshop "Science Communication for an Ever-Changing World" is now open on a rolling basis.

This is a great opportunity for students, researchers, professors, journalists and more to really dig into the world of , out here in beautiful Bamfield.

There are $200 bursaries available for students and carpooling is being arranged to help with arrival costs and logistics.

Details can be found through the link in our bio!

Questions to our Programs Coordinator Grace at Gnelles(at)bamfieldmsc.com

08/10/2026

BMSC Summer Seminars continue! Join us this Tuesday at 7pm.

Philippe Tortell, Professor, Dept. of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Science / Dept. of Botany, UBC, presents:

A Tale of Two Oceans: Climate Change and the Future of the Arctic and Antarctic Marine Ecosystems

The polar waters of the Arctic Ocean are experiencing significant impacts of global climate change, including warming, sea ice loss, and altered circulation patterns and biological productivity. At the other end of Earth, Southern Ocean waters surrounding Antarctica, are responding quite differently to on-going climate change. Understanding the similarities and differences between these two polar regions is critical to better understanding the future trajectory of the world’s oceans, and their role in modulating global climate. This requires innovative ways to collect scientific information in some of the world’s most remote locations, and new partnerships with coastal communities. In this presentation, Philippe Tortell will describe some of the approaches used by oceanographers to characterize the physical, chemical and biological properties of the polar oceans, and discuss why the Arctic and Antarctic regions are likely to experience very different responses to current and future climate shifts.

See you there!

08/04/2026

Join us for our first summer seminar of August!

Jake Lawlor, PhD Candidate at McGill University, presents: Understanding and Managing Climate Change Responses Across Ecological Scales.

Climate change is shifting thermal envelopes across Earth's surface, thus altering the conditions that organisms experience across space and time. My research aims to quantify the impact of shifting climate regimes across ecological scales — from individual responses to community-level changes — and to use predicted biogeographical climate responses to inform management strategies.

07/31/2026

Our last BMSC shark week post!

Behold, the incredible gentle giants of the sea - basking sharks!

Thank you to Scott Wallace (Pacific Sounds Lodge) for the wealth of knowledge from your book and we can’t wait to see the basking shark exhibit from the Shaw Centre for the Salish Sea later this fall!

07/30/2026

BMSC shark week continues for day 3 with this neat bluntnose sixgill shark that we saw recently while out doing research!

(And don’t worry, the sharks were successfully released)

🦈

Address

100 Pachena Road
Bamfield, BC
V0R1B0

Telephone

+12507283301

Website

http://www.bamfieldmsc.com/

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