Integrated Science Data Management (ISDM) - Fisheries and Ocean Canada

The Integrated Science Data Management (ISDM) was formed in 2006 from the merging the Marine Environmental Data Service (MEDS, founded in 1968 to coordinate the processing and archival of physical oceanographic data and who had in the meanwhile absorbed the Canadian Oceanographic Data Centre, founded in 1962) and the Engineering Development and the Geomatics Services of the Canadian Hydrographic Service (CHS), both of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO). The ISDM's mandate is to manage and archive ocean data collected by DFO, or acquired through national and international programmes conducted in ocean areas adjacent to Canada, and to disseminate data, data products, and services to the marine community in accordance with the policies of the Department. ISDM is a key area of the Canadian Hydrographic Service. As its name suggests, ISDM manages scientific data from a wide range of sources. This enormous volume of ocean data continues to grow with ISDM archives expanding by about 1 million observations a month from Canadian and international programs. This data is essential in deepening our understanding of our oceans.