Cases / Finance, funds and markets · Canada · 2012–2013
About 100 tonnes of iron released off Haida Gwaii in 2012 ocean experiment
Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.
Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
In July 2012 about 100 tonnes of iron-bearing material was released into the sea off Canada's Haida Gwaii islands, paid for with 2.5 million dollars from a village fund. Canada's environment ministry searched in 2013 and no charges were recorded, and the London Protocol amendment on ocean engineering has not entered into force.
What?
About 100 tonnes of iron-bearing material was released into the sea off Haida Gwaii in July 2012 in an ocean fertilisation experiment. Wikipedia
Where?
Haida Gwaii islands, British Columbia, Canada Wikipedia
When?
July 2012; ministry search in 2013 Wikipedia
Who?
Gained
None on recordLost
- Old Massett village — Its fund paid 2.5 million dollars for the experiment Wikipedia
Harmed
None on recordWhy?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
Iron-bearing material released at sea, paid for from a village fund. Wikipedia
6 of 6 questions answered from the record
What happened
The record, in order.
Wikipedia reports that about 100 tonnes of iron-bearing material was released off Haida Gwaii in July 2012.
Wikipedia reports that the operation was paid for with 2.5 million dollars from the Old Massett village fund.
Wikipedia reports that Canada's environment ministry searched in 2013 and that no charges were recorded; a link between the experiment and a record salmon catch was not proven.
Columbia Climate Law reports that the 2013 London Protocol amendment on ocean engineering did not enter into force because too few states ratified it.
In court and with insurers
Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.
Lawsuits and rulings
No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.
Insurers
No insurer decision on record.
What we don't know
Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Record
- None on record Not stated in the sources reviewed: the ecological effects of the release, or who else funded or ran it beyond the village fund.
- None on record Not stated in the sources reviewed: whether the London Protocol amendment has entered into force since 2025.
Did the harm stop?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Who paid?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Sources
Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society✓ Researchers
Press and investigations
Researchers
- International governance of marine CDR: small steps forward but much more work to doColumbia Climate Law · 2025-01-09
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