ORS PRIVACY POLICY

Last updated: [June 26, 2026]

The St. Lawrence Shark Observatory (Observatoire des requins du Saint-Laurent – ORS) is committed to protecting the privacy of visitors, contributors, donors, volunteers, and collaborators. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, disclose, and protect personal information obtained through our website.

By using this website, you consent to the practices described in this Privacy Policy.

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About ORS

The St. Lawrence Shark Observatory (ORS) is Canada’s first independent shark research organisation and registered charity dedicated to the study, education, awareness, and conservation of sharks inhabiting the Gulf and Estuary of the St. Lawrence.

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Information We Collect

Depending on how you interact with our website, we may collect personal information that you voluntarily provide, including:

• Name
• Email address
• Telephone number
• Mailing address
• Organisation or affiliation
• Donation information
• Research enquiries
• Media enquiries
• Educational requests
• Volunteer applications
• Shark sighting reports
• Photographs, videos, documents, or other files you choose to submit
• Any additional information included in your correspondence

Providing this information is entirely voluntary.

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Shark Sightings and Scientific Contributions

ORS encourages the public to submit shark sightings and related scientific observations.

Submitted material may include:

• Photographs
• Videos
• GPS coordinates
• Dates and times
• Environmental observations
• Species identifications
• Behavioural observations
• Other supporting information

These contributions may be used to support scientific research, conservation initiatives, educational activities, publications, presentations, public awareness campaigns, and historical archives.

Whenever possible, contributors will be acknowledged unless anonymity has been requested.

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Copyright of Submitted Material

Unless otherwise agreed in writing, contributors retain copyright to photographs, videos, and other original materials submitted to ORS.

By voluntarily submitting material, contributors grant ORS a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to use, reproduce, adapt, publish, and distribute the submitted material for scientific, educational, conservation, historical, outreach, and non-commercial purposes.

Where practical, ORS will credit contributors.

Commercial licensing of submitted material will never occur without the contributor’s permission.

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Personal Information Associated with Submissions

When submitting sightings or other materials, contributors may choose to:

• provide their full name;
• provide a pseudonym;
• remain anonymous.

Personal identifying information is stored separately whenever appropriate and treated confidentially.

Where photographs or documents contain identifiable individuals, ORS may obscure faces or other identifying features before publication or choose not to use the material.

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Donations

When making a donation, personal information required to process the donation and issue charitable tax receipts may be collected.

Payment information is processed through secure third-party payment providers. ORS does not store complete credit card information on its own servers.

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Automatically Collected Information

Like most websites, our servers may automatically collect limited technical information, including:

• IP address
• Browser type
• Device type
• Operating system
• Date and time of access
• Pages visited
• Duration of visit
• Referring website

This information is used solely to improve website performance, security, and user experience.

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Cookies

This website may use cookies and similar technologies to:

• improve website functionality;
• remember user preferences;
• analyse website traffic;
• enhance security.

Users may disable cookies through their web browser settings. Doing so may affect certain website functions.

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Website Analytics

ORS may use privacy-conscious analytics services, such as Google Analytics or similar platforms, to better understand website usage.

These services collect aggregated statistical information and do not identify individual visitors.

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How Your Information Is Used

Personal information may be used to:

• respond to enquiries;
• communicate with contributors;
• process donations;
• issue charitable tax receipts;
• evaluate scientific observations;
• conduct research;
• improve website content;
• organise educational activities;
• fulfil legal obligations;
• protect website security.

ORS never sells, rents, or trades personal information.

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Sharing Information

Personal information may be shared only when necessary:

• with trusted service providers supporting website operation;
• with scientific collaborators when appropriate and subject to confidentiality obligations;
• where required by law.

Information is never shared for advertising or commercial marketing purposes.

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Data Security

ORS employs reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect personal information against unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, misuse, or loss.

Although reasonable efforts are made to safeguard all information, no method of Internet transmission or electronic storage can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

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Data Retention

Personal information is retained only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected or to comply with legal obligations.

Scientific observations and research records may be retained indefinitely as part of ORS’s scientific archive.

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Children’s Privacy

ORS provides educational resources intended for schools and young audiences.

We do not knowingly collect personal information directly from children without appropriate consent.

Parents or guardians who believe a child has submitted personal information without permission may contact us to request its removal where legally permissible.

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External Websites

This website contains links to external websites operated by third parties.

ORS is not responsible for the privacy practices or content of those websites.

Visitors should consult the privacy policies of external websites separately.

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Artificial Intelligence

Some educational illustrations and visual materials published by ORS may be created using AI-assisted rendering tools under the scientific direction of ORS researchers.

Artificial intelligence is not used to make decisions about individuals or to process personal information submitted through this website.

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Your Rights

Subject to applicable Canadian privacy legislation, including the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and Québec’s Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector (Law 25), you may request:

• access to your personal information;
• correction of inaccurate information;
• withdrawal of consent, where applicable;
• deletion of personal information where legally permitted.

Requests will be handled within the timeframes prescribed by applicable legislation.

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Changes to This Policy

ORS may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes in legislation, website functionality, or organisational practices.

The date appearing at the top of this page indicates the most recent revision.

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Contact

Questions concerning this Privacy Policy or the handling of personal information may be directed to:

St. Lawrence Shark Observatory (ORS)

Email: info@sharkscience.ca

Website: www.sharkscience.ca