The University of British Columbia
UBC - A Place of Mind
The University of British Columbia Vancouver campus
Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries
  • Home
  • About
  • Our Values
  • People
    • Alumni
  • Research
  • Graduate Program
  • Courses
    • Non-credit Courses
  • News & Events
    • News
    • Media Coverage
    • IOF Seminars
    • Events
  • IOF Intranet
  • Donate
/ Home / OPRU

OPRU

Haunting the seas: the legacy of ghost gear pollution in marine environments

Haunting the seas: the legacy of ghost gear pollution in marine environments

“Ghost gear” is a specific category of anthropogenic marine debris that contributes to the global marine plastics problem. After it becomes disconnected from its intended use, ghost gear can catch non-targeted species – such as fish, whales or other marine mammals – through by-catch or entanglement

Posted in 2024, IOFNews, News Release | Tagged with ghost gear, IOF students, microplastics, OPRU, plastic, pollution, Shoreline cleanup

Microplastics may be accumulating at a high rate in endangered Galápagos penguins’ food web

Microplastics may be accumulating at a high rate in endangered Galápagos penguins’ food web

The model predictions showed a rapid increase in microplastic accumulation and contamination across the penguins’ prey organisms resulting in Galápagos penguin displaying the highest level of microplastics per biomass, followed by barracuda, anchovy, sardine, herring, and salema and predatory zooplankton.

Posted in 2024, IOFNews, News Release | Tagged with Ecuador, Galápagos, IOF alumni, IOF Research Associates, IOF students, Juan Jose Alava, microplastics, OPRU, penguins, plastic, pollution, Research

Toxic chemicals found in oil spills and wildfire smoke detected in killer whales

Toxic chemicals found in oil spills and wildfire smoke detected in killer whales

Toxic chemicals produced from oil emissions and wildfire smoke have been found in muscle and liver samples from Southern Resident killer whales and Bigg’s killer whales.

Posted in 2023, IOFNews, News Release | Tagged with biology, British Columbia, contaminants, faculty, IOF Research Associates, Juan Jose Alava, killer whales, OPRU, orca, Pacific Ocean, pollution, Research, whales

PICES Symposium brought together science from all around the world

PICES Symposium brought together science from all around the world

Several IOF members presented at the symposium, with Research Associate Dr. Anna McLaskey, winning the best oral presentation in the Biological Oceanography Committee section.

Posted in 2023, IOFNews | Tagged with Anna McLaskey, Brian Hunt, CORU, IOF postdoctoral fellows, IOF Research Associates, Juan Jose Alava, Loïc Jacquemot, Marine Zooplankton and Micronekton Laboratory, MMRU, OPRU, Pelagic Ecosystems Lab, PICES, Szymon Surma

It’s time to classify plastics as persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic pollutants

It’s time to classify plastics as persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic pollutants

Researchers from around the world are urging the international community to recognize the full environmental and health threat of plastics and categorize them as persistent, bio-accumulative and toxic (PBT) pollutants.

Posted in 2023, IOFNews, News Release | Tagged with IOF Research Associates, Juan Jose Alava, OPRU, plastic, pollution, Research, toxins, United Nations (UN)

New WORKING PAPER: Ecological Impacts of Marine Plastic Pollution, Microplastics’ Foodweb Bioaccumulation Modelling and Global Ocean Footprint: Insights into the Problems, the Management Implications and Coastal Communities Inequities

New WORKING PAPER: Ecological Impacts of Marine Plastic Pollution, Microplastics’ Foodweb Bioaccumulation Modelling and Global Ocean Footprint: Insights into the Problems, the Management Implications and Coastal Communities Inequities

The Nippon Foundation-Ocean Litter Project (2019-2023)

Posted in 2023, IOFNews | Tagged with food webs, IOF Research Associates, Juan Jose Alava, microplastics, ocean, OPRU, plastic, pollution, Publications, Research

Tips for reducing your plastic use

Tips for reducing your plastic use

Here are some clever tips on how to reduce your plastic use.

Posted in 2023, IOFNews | Tagged with International Plastic Free Day, IOF Research Associates, Juan Jose Alava, microplastics, OPRU, plastic

May 25 is International Plastic Free Day!

May 25 is International Plastic Free Day!

Plastic is everywhere. It’s in our oceans, coastal areas, and buried deep in the soil. It’s in our food and our water, and wreaks havoc on the natural world around us.

Posted in 2023, IOFNews, News Release | Tagged with International Plastic Free Day, IOF Research Associates, Juan Jose Alava, microplastics, OPRU, plastic

‘This is a wake-up call for the world’: UBC researchers at the forefront of championing for change

‘This is a wake-up call for the world’: UBC researchers at the forefront of championing for change

The Galápagos islands are under severe threat from ocean pollution, climate change, and illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing pressures

Posted in 2023, IOFNews, News Release | Tagged with biodiversity, climate change, conservation, Galápagos, IOF Research Associates, IOF students, Juan Jose Alava, OPRU, penguins, pollution, Research

Toxic toilet paper and long-lasting chemicals found in endangered killer whales

Toxic toilet paper and long-lasting chemicals found in endangered killer whales

A chemical used in the production of toilet paper and ‘forever chemicals’ have been found in the bodies of orcas in B.C. , including the endangered southern resident killer whales.

Posted in 2023, IOFNews, News Release | Tagged with British Columbia, chemicals, IOF Research Associates, Juan Jose Alava, killer whales, marine mammals, OPRU, pollution, Research, whales

  • 1
  • 2
  • Next
Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries
Faculty of Science
Vancouver Campus
The University of British Columbia
AERL, 2202 Main Mall
Vancouver, BC Canada V6T 1Z4
Tel 604 822 2731
Website oceans.ubc.ca
Email info@oceans.ubc.ca
Find us on
     
Back to top
The University of British Columbia
  • Emergency Procedures |
  • Terms of Use |
  • Copyright |
  • Accessibility