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SUBJECTS
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Government On-Line Report
October 31, 2001
Overview | GOL at DFO | Key External Services | Future Plans | Contact Information |
Overview
The mandate of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is to ensure safe, healthy and productive waters and aquatic ecosystems for the benefit of present and future generations. Through its mandate, the Department affects the livelihoods and safety of thousands of Canadians in oceans and freshwater industries throughout Canada, from fishing and marine transportation to tourism and recreation.
In 1999, the Government of Canada announced its commitment to put government information and services on-line, and become the government most connected to its citizens by 2004. For DFO, the Internet offers numerous possibilities for improving the way the Department delivers its services to Canadians. While various technologies already play a major role in the day-to-day work of the Department, DFO is working toward taking full advantage of the benefits offered by the Internet for delivering services and information to Canadians.
GOL at DFO
Service to Canadians is an important part of the Department’s vision, and DFO is working hard to continuously improve its relationship with clients and Canadians alike, including developing new mechanisms to deliver programs and information to the public.
"Access DFO", for instance, is a recent initiative to provide Canadians with "one-stop" access to DFO information and to improve responses to in-person, telephone and on-line inquiries. Through a diversified network of 50 sites across the country, the public can choose how they want to get information from DFO. Each site has core DFO publications on display and a direct-line telephone to contact a bilingual general inquiry service. Computer kiosks to provide citizens with access to DFO and Government of Canada web sites, are being installed at 14 of these sites. DFO recognizes that the Department’s clients are at widely varying levels of Internet familiarity making the full-range of delivery channels especially important.
The Department’s vision for GOL is to continue using the Internet to improve and transform the delivery of DFO’s services to its clients. DFO recently adopted a four-part strategy to move the GOL agenda forward in the Department:
Client-Centric Web Presence
Like other science-based departments, the provision of information and knowledge is one of DFO’s key external services. DFO’s many Internet web sites are entry points or "gateways" to a wide range of departmental information and services. DFO’s web sites collectively contain over 30,000 pages of information ranging from safe boating issues to scientific data about Canada’s waters and aquatic resources. The Department’s goal is to ensure that its web presence, or structure, is less about how the department is organized internally and more about how clients seek and use information and services on its web sites, making information and services easier for clients to access.
The Department is currently working to ensure that published materials will also be available in electronic formats on the Internet, and that information on web sites is recorded and archived to preserve institutional memory. To ensure that information is timely, accurate, relevant and complete, the Department is also improving the overall management of its web sites.
The Department is also revamping its web pages to meet the Common Look and Feel Standards established by Treasury Board. These standards are designed to ensure that all Canadians, regardless of ability, geographic location or demographic category, are given equal access to information on the Government of Canada’s web sites.
Portals and Clusters
The Department recognizes the importance of making a strategic contribution to the Government of Canada’s portal. DFO is committed to working in partnership with Environment Canada, Natural Resources Canada, Agriculture and Agri-food Canada and Health Canada to develop a single-window cluster for sustainable development. DFO is also working with Transport Canada and Environment Canada to develop a single access point to government services for marine services clients.
DFO will continue to pursue opportunities with government and non-government partners to develop "portals" of information and services, consistent with DFO’s business goals, strategic objectives and available resources.
GOL Foundation
DFO is committed to developing a solid foundation for GOL and an efficient approach to shared requirements across the Department and across the Government. The Department recognizes the need to enhance the management of its vast information holdings, and significant investments are being made in this area to support the effective management of electronic documents and records.
To provide citizens with a secure and trusted on-line environment, the Department is ensuring that privacy and security issues are addressed for all GOL initiatives. In addition, DFO is adopting the government-wide guidelines and standards developed by the Strategic Infrastructure Initiative (SII), as it implements its information technology infrastructure to support the electronic delivery of DFO’s services.
On-Line Service Offerings
DFO will continue to enhance its existing on-line services, while ensuring that progress is being made on projects leading to new on-line DFO services.
Key External Services
Marine Navigation Information Services
The Department currently provides a wide range of information on-line to help mariners safely and efficiently navigate Canadian waterways. For example, mariners are able to retrieve information, such as localized changes to navigation aids and events, navigational hazards, and changes to navigation routes and charts, through notices to mariners and notices to shipping. Tidal predictions for over 700 locations in Canada are provided on-line by the Department’s Canadian Hydrographic Service (CHS). CHS also provides a map-based on-line catalogue of nautical charts, and plans to introduce a service to help clients find one of the more than 700 chart dealers nearest to them. CHS is currently evaluating software that will ultimately allow Canadians to purchase nautical charts on-line.
The Department’s web site also provides information on the Canadian Coast Guard’s fleet, to help clients determine which vessel or services would best suit their needs for activities such as arctic exploration and oceanographic studies.
Consult:
National Notice to Mariners at http://www.ccg-gcc.gc.ca/notmar/
Canadian Hydrographic Service at http://www.chs-shc.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/chs/
Canadian Hydrographic Service Interactive On-line Chart Catalogue at http://webcat.chs-shc.gc.ca/
Canadian Coast Guard Fleet List at http://www.ccg-gcc.gc.ca/fleet/main_e.asp
Scientific Information Services
Providing scientific excellence is an important part of DFO’s mandate. The following list provides a sampling of the diverse information sources available on the Department’s web sites. While much of the information is static and textual, there are plans to make the information more dynamic and interactive by 2004.
- Marine Environmental Data Service (MEDS)
MEDS manages and archives ocean data collected by DFO, or acquired through national and international programmes conducted in ocean areas adjacent to Canada, and disseminates data, data products, and services to the marine community. Using a common web access point, MEDS provides various types of scientific data such as tide and water levels, remote sensing and physical and chemical oceanographic profiles. MEDS has recently improved its search capability and continues to enhance and update its various data holdings.
Consult:
Marine Environmental Data Service at http://www.meds-sdmm.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/
- Fisheries and Oceans Statistical Services
This service provides on-line statistical information on a wide range of fisheries data, including Canadian landings, fisheries products and stocks and aquaculture. Various reports are also available such as the Annual Statistical Review of Canadian Fisheries and Recreational Fisheries in Canada.
Consult:
Fisheries and Oceans Statistical Service at http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/communic/Statistics/stat_e.htm
- St. Lawrence Observatory Portal
The St. Lawrence Observatory Portal is dedicated to the exchange, dissemination and presentation of scientific data and marine information collected in the St. Lawrence marine ecosystem. The portal serves a wide-ranging audience including academics, industry, government and non-government organizations both in Canada and abroad. Enhancements planned for fiscal year 2001-02 include: presentation of the fishing activity and catch rates of the Sentinel Fishery Mobile Gear fleet using data collected by fishers through a partnership between DFO and the fishing industry; development of a site to publish the result of the CDEENA program (Comparative Dynamics of Exploited Ecosystems in the N-W Atlantic) in order to illustrate the predator-prey interactions in marine ecosystems and to assist in stock assessment and: presentation of real-time oceanographic data (sea temperature, salinity, etc) using a new mooring station, part of the Gulf of St. Lawrence Thermograph Network.
Consult:
St. Lawrence Observatory at http://www.osl.gc.ca/
- Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat Services (CSAS)
The CSAS web site provides a wide range of scientific information on commercial fish stocks, including stock-status reports and research documents, to help evaluate Canada’s fisheries resources. The web site also provides a series of publications on decisions, recommendations and major points of discussion at DFO-sponsored meetings.
Consult:
Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat Services at http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/csas
Community Building and Awareness
DFO is keenly interested in meeting increasing public expectations for greater involvement in the decisions being made about the management and use of Canada’s aquatic resources and environments. DFO has developed several web sites to increase awareness of sustainable development and provide more accurate data for better resource management. Several regionally focused applications, such as the Traditional Fisheries Knowledge web site, for the Southern Gulf of the St. Lawrence, give users access to local information on fisheries-related projects, commercial fishery resources and resource management initiatives. Information on select watersheds in the Lower Fraser Valley of British Columbia is expected to be on-line in the spring of 2002.
- The Oceans Program Tracking Activity System (OPAT)
The Oceans Program Tracking Activity (OPAT) system is designed to increase national and international awareness of activities related to DFO’s ocean-related programs. Geographically referenced on a map of Canada, clients can simply click and zoom to pull up detailed information including specific project objectives, partners, achievements, background studies and key contacts
Consult:
Oceans Program Tracking Activity System at http://canoceans.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/index_e.htm
- WebWaves
WAVES, DFO’s on-line catalogue of library holdings, contains bibliographic information about the published and unpublished literature relating to fisheries, aquatic sciences, and nautical sciences available in the Department’s libraries. The catalogue provides links to full-text documents for many of the Department’s recent publications. In addition, as frequently-requested or out-of-print departmental publications are digitized, links from WAVES are established to provide access to these older documents.
Consult:
WebWaves at http://inter01.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/wavesdocs/waves_mainmenu.html
Licensing
The Department will be introducing a pilot project to enable 250,000 recreational fisheries applicants in British Columbia, to apply and pay for their recreational fishing licences on-line. The project, to be piloted in fiscal year 2002-03, is expected to become the basis for a national system.
Regulatory Approvals:
The Department is initiating a feasibility study to determine on-line options for ensuring effective review and approval of construction or other development proposals in which fish habitat or navigable waters may be affected. It is envisioned that individuals, companies and other organizations who are proposing to undertake construction work in or around water could be provided with on-line information on the review process and possibly have the ability to complete and submit the required forms.
Future Plans
DFO is committed to meeting the Government of Canada’s GOL objectives. The GOL initiative represents an exciting new way for the Department to connect more effectively with Canadians, and serves as a powerful tool for meeting the Department’s mandate and vision. It represents not only a new channel for service delivery, but a new way of doing business. It also offers significant opportunities to better engage Canadians in policy-making and decision-making processes, and to collaborate with partners and stakeholders in the effective management of Canada’s fisheries and oceans resources.
There is no doubt that GOL initiatives will be instrumental in shaping the DFO of the future.
Contact Information
For more information, please contact:
Rosangela Guerra
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Government On-Line Office
200 Kent St.
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0E6
Telephone: (613) 998-5888
E-mail: guerrar@dfo-mpo.gc.ca
