BMSC Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre

While the ecologists and phycologists carried on with their course work amidst friendly rivalry, construction was taking place at the old cable station site. A ‘penthouse’ for offices was built on the roof as well as a complex seawater system, sewage treatment plant, and backup generators were installed. The wharves..Read More

Throughout 1969, UBC researchers Dr. Paul Harrison, Dan Pace, Ken Bailey, and others, camped out in the cable station building, conducting the early survey work. There was no power other than possibly a generator. Spooky noises like rushing wind and loud banging noises were heard at night on several occasions,..Read More

The participants in the 1980 NATO Seaweed Conference, likely the first international conference held at the Bamfield Marine Station.

The first visitors to the Bamfield Marine Station was a field trip from SFU. The week previous to their arrival, on March 14th 1972, the M.V. Vanlene ran aground off Austin Island, providing an opportunity to study the effects of an oil spill on the pristine shores.

The Bamfield Marine Station’s first courses were held at BC Packers in West Bamfield. In the beginning, starting with nothing, “we had to improvise everything,” says Dr. Louis Druehl, who still lives and works in Bamfield.

The Pacific Cable Board (PCB) Cable Station was constructed in 1902, and a second building in 1926, with Bamfield being the terminus of an underwater cable laid between Bamfield and Fanning Island, a tiny coral atoll in the middle of the Pacific.  

Nestled between the rugged outer coast and Barkley Sound’s protected inner waters, lies the sacred ancient village of Kiix̣in. The Huu-ay-aht First Nations have a long and proud history in their traditional territories. Their history extends back to the beginning of time, and tells of many great people, adventures, traditions..

This is the story of how five universities that in all other respects are competitors — UBC, SFU, UVic, UAlberta, UCalgary — came together to collaborate on the vision, construction and operation of BMSC.

Early in 1969, a float plane meandered its way over the convoluted bays of western Vancouver Island’s coast as eager eyes peered from the window. Seaweed scientist Louis Druehl was one of those aboard heading a search committee tasked with choosing the best spot to build a Canadian west coast..