At the SERG we address research questions that reside at the interface between the marine environment’s limited capacity to produce and the seemingly insatiable human demand to consume. As a starting place for all our research initiatives, we take the position that ecological issues are in fact the manifestation of underlying economic, social and cultural drivers. By limiting research scope to only the “ecological” while ignoring the economic, social and cultural is tantamount to treating the symptom while ignoring the disease. Each SERG research initiative is positioned in such a way as to be driven by, incorporate and respond to, economic, social and cultural dynamics. The underlying motivation of all our research is to inform and be policy relevant for the benefit of all Canadians. We are keenly aware of the putative role of university research in public discourse and seek to engage and inform.