The STRings for Absorption length in Water (STRAW) are the first in a series of pathfinders for the Pacific Ocean Neutrino Experiment (P-ONE), a future large-scale neutrino telescope in the north-eastern Pacific Ocean. STRAW consists of two 150 m long mooring lines instrumented with optical emitters and detectors. The pathfinder is designed to measure the attenuation length of the water and perform a long-term assessment of the optical background at the future P-ONE site. After 2 years of continuous operation, measurements from STRAW show an optical attenuation length of about 28 m at 450 nm . Additionally, the data allow a study of the ambient undersea background. The overall optical environment reported here is comparable to other deep-water neutrino telescopes and qualifies the site for the deployment of P-ONE.

The Pacific Ocean Neutrino Experiment is a new initiative towards constructing a multi-cubic-kilometre neutrino telescope to expand our observable window of the Universe to the highest energies, and will be installed within the deep Pacific Ocean underwater infrastructure of Ocean Networks Canada.

The largest ocean observing platforms and systems in Canada are operated by Ocean Networks Canada (ONC). The physical- and cyber-infrastructure operating on the platforms comprise networks that monitor the west and east coasts of Canada and the Arctic, allowing ONC to continuously gather data in real time for scientific research that helps communities, governments, and industry make informed decisions about the future. The first telecommunication cable-based network, VENUS [Victoria Experimental Network Under the Sea], was installed in 2006 in Saanich Inlet, British Columbia. This was quickly followed by a second VENUS cabled network installed in the southern Salish Sea. These unique networks initiated long-term subsurface ocean monitoring for inshore areas of the British Columbia coast that continue today. Lessons learned from these early installations subsequently informed the design and installation ten years ago of NEPTUNE (North East Pacific Time-series Underwater Networked Experiments), a telecommunication cable-based observatory that spans the southern British Columbia offshore area. These networks were designed to be expanded and to support diverse uses. Here we describe the current status of VENUS and NEPTUNE, and the new networks on mobile systems, citizen science platforms, and fixed systems along the coast and on land in Indigenous community coastal areas in the Arctic and on Canada's west coast, with expansion to the east coast and Hudson's Bay currently in the planning stages.

Abstract Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) is the not-for-profit agency responsible for the management of VENUS, the coastal observatory, and NEPTUNE, the regional observatory, on behalf of the University of Victoria, lead institution for a pan-Canadian consortium of universities, industries and government agencies. ONC's vision is to be a world leading organization supporting ocean discovery and technological innovation. ONC's mission is to enable transformative ocean research and technology development through an innovative cabled infrastructure that supplies continuous power and Internet connectivity to a broad suite of novel subsea instrumentation in coastal and deep-ocean environments.

Over the last three years, the University of Victoria and OceanWorks have designed built and installed the world's first multi node advanced cabled observatory. Located in Saanich Inlet and in the Strait of Georgia on the West Coast of Canada, the Victoria Experimental Network Under the Sea (VENUS) cabled observatory provides power and communications to numerous under water oceanographic instruments and has been continuously delivering near real time data to scientist since February 2006. This paper describes the VENUS Project life from concept to delivery of science data. Details of the architecture, design, capabilities, deployment and commissioning of both observatories will be provided along with lessons learnt. An overview of some of the data management and usage issues is provided.