Eco-consultants awarded $800,000 to support aquatic biodiversity project

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — A eco-consultancy firm with an office in Fort St. John has received $800,000 to support an aquatic biodiversity project. 

On July 3rd, the Government of Canada announced a $3.9 million investment in five national companies through the Canadian Space Agency’s funding initiative, SmartEarth. 

“Through this investment, we are strengthening Canada’s autonomy, resilience and security, while accelerating the development of innovative space-based solutions,” said Mélanie Joly, minister of industry.

“These efforts help build a stronger Canada, a more sustainable and more resilient country for everyone.”

One of these companies is Hatfield Consultants based in British Columbia, which has a branch in Fort St. John. 

According to its website, Hatfield is an environmental consultancy providing science-based solutions to address the needs of its clients. 

Olivier Tsui, director of remote sensing and geomatics at Hatfield, said the company received $800,000 to support the development of an eelgrass mapping system to support aquatic biodiversity. 

“It’s going to be a comprehensive map of eelgrass within British Columbia and that’s something that marine biologists and conservation specialists have not had so we’re hoping that it is a game changer,” said Tsui.

He describes eelgrass as an aquatic habitat important for juvenile salmon and crabs. 

“It’s a habitat that’s basically changing a lot and we’re aiming to hopefully provide a comprehensive map that can be updated regularly using satellite data,” said Tsui. 

These ecosystems exist in certain areas of the province, like the Lower Mainland, Roberts Bank area and Boundary Bay in Vancouver Island.

“When the salmon goes up into the river systems, they spawn and the young juveniles spend some time in the rivers, but then they make their way down the river into the ocean and they spend a lot of time in eelgrass,” Tsui explained. 

“It’s one of their habitats where they actually grow and get stronger and then make their way out, so that’s why it’s an important aquatic habitat.”

According to the government’s announcement, Canada’s coastal eelgrass beds are in decline due to climate change-related threats.

“Hatfield will use satellite data and artificial intelligence techniques to map eelgrass beds on a large scale over the entire coast of British Columbia,” said the government. 

Tsui said the investment would help by directly funding the research and technical work that would acquire the data. 

“One of our company values is to use innovative technology to support environmental management in the places where we live,” said Tsui. 

Hatfield had also worked with the Canadian government on finding endangered whales like the  North Atlantic right whale using satellite imagery and artificial intelligence in areas like the Gulf of St. Lawrence to protect them from fishing lines and ships.

The eelgrass mapping system is a two-year project expected to be completed by the summer of 2027 and will release detailed public data about the coast of B.C. 

Work on the project will be done by Hatfield employees based in North Vancouver and Calgary. 

More information about SmartEarth and its investments can be found here.