Established in 1962 as Canada's first, and currently largest, federal centre for oceanographic research, BIO derives its name from the Bedford Basin, an inland bay comprising the northern part of Halifax Harbour, upon which it is located.

As the federal government seeks to concentrate its operations in the Halifax Regional Municipality, BIO is being considered for additional office buildings to house other non-oceanographic and non-research organizations and their employees.

van Steenburgh, Director-General of Scientific Services of the Department of Mines and Technical Surveys, championed the establishment of a modern oceanographic institute on Bedford Basin.

[2][3] BIO houses several organizations from various federal departments which perform targeted research mandated by government or in partnership, advise on marine environments, provide navigational charts covering Georges Bank to the Canadian Arctic, and respond to environmental emergencies.

A team led by Dr. John Smith at BIO published the first paper on the spread of radioactivity across the Pacific Ocean following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.