At first glance, there appears to be little to map on the ocean—just a vast, blue expanse. Traditional hydrographic charts display the coastline, buoys and depth to aid in navigation, but not much more. However, in the last decade, there has been a revolution in marine mapping.

With global fish stocks plummeting, there’s a growing urgency to collect and map spatial data about the marine ecosystem. In British Columbia, a wealth of geographic information on fish catches, landings, habitat, currents and Aboriginal traditional use is being collected.

In 2003, Ecotrust Canada began its marine GIS work by assembling spatial data on the ownership of fishing licences and quota on the B.C coast. The data and maps were the foundation of our landmark report, Catch-22: Conservation, Communities and the Privatization of B.C. Fisheries. Since then, we’ve partnered with First Nations to collect and map historical catch and traditional-use data, and worked with commercial fishermen to map their fishing patterns on the West Coast of Vancouver Island. Much of the data is being used in Aboriginal treaty negotiations or to inform new marine-use planning processes.

Ecotrust Canada’s mapping and GIS program is founded on six operating principles: open access to public information, respect for local and traditional knowledge, a commitment to best practices, helping to realize local community visions, building long-term local capacity and a commitment to network communities and individuals. Taken together, these principles promote what we call “information democracy” and the empowerment of communities.