This dataset provides the results obtained by Health Canada’s Canadian Radiological Monitoring Network (CRMN) for the gross alpha and beta activity concentrations in drinking water, given in units of becquerels per liter (Bq/L). More information about the CRMN network can be found on the Health Canada website (see link below). Although water quality is a matter of provincial jurisdiction, the CRMN, in collaboration with the city of Ottawa, has been conducting a targeted program to monitor the radiological content of drinking water from two water treatment plants in Ottawa, ON. The Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality recommend screening levels of 0.5 Bq/L and 1.0 Bq/L for gross alpha and gross beta activity, respectively. The screening levels are set to reflect the most restrictive Maximum Acceptable Concentrations (MACs) for specific radionuclides in drinking water. If the screening levels are not exceeded, compliance with the guidelines can be inferred. The screening levels set out in the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality are calculated based on annual averages of radionuclides in drinking water. Short-term exposure to levels above those recommended by these guidelines does not indicate a health risk. The measured gross alpha and gross beta activity concentrations presented here are well below the screening levels set by the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality, with only one exception to date. This occurred February 28, 2011, and was attributable to the flushing of lead pipes at the water treatment plant. It resulted in a spike of naturally occurring lead radionuclides that was dealt with immediately by the City of Ottawa. The map shows the approximate sampling location for each monitoring station. Stations are found within the associated location range.

Catch, effort, location (latitude and longitude), and associated biological data from groundfish multi-species longline surveys in the southern portion of the inlets and protected waters east of Vancouver Island, British Columbia.Introduction The Inside South Hard Bottom Longline (HBLL) survey is one of a set of long-term and coordinated surveys that together cover most of the nearshore, hard-bottom habitat of coastal British Columbia. The other surveys are the Inside North HBLL survey, Outside South HBLL survey, and Outside North HBLL survey.The Inside South HBLL survey was first conducted in 2005. Starting in 2009, this survey has been repeated every second year, with the exception that no surveys were conducted in 2017, and the 2020 survey was postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The objective of these surveys is to provide fishery-independent abundance indices and associated biological data for the assessment of nearshore rockfishes and other groundfish species that live on untrawlable, hard bottom habitats. The surveys follow a random depth-stratified design and the sampling units are 2 km by 2 km blocks. The surveys use size 13/0 circle hooks, baited with frozen squid. The Inside South HBLL Survey is conducted by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and takes place on the Canadian Coast Guard Research Vessel Neocaligus. This survey covers the southern portion of the inlets and protected waters east of Vancouver Island, including Desolation Sound, the Strait of Georgia and southern Gulf Islands in Pacific Fishery Management areas (PFMAs) 14 – 20, 28, and 29.EffortThis table contains information about the survey trips and fishing events (sets) that are part of this survey series. Trip-level information includes the year the survey took place, a unique trip identifier, the vessel that conducted the survey and the trip start and end dates (the dates the vessel was away from the dock conducting the survey). Set-level information includes the date, time, location and depth that fishing took place, soak time, hook spacing, and numbers of hooks counted. All successful fishing events are included, regardless of what was caught.CatchThis table contains the catch information from successful fishing events. Catches are identified to species or to the lowest taxonomic level possible. From 2005 to 2018, all catches are counted, and most catches are weighed; some catches are too small (“trace” amounts) or too large (e.g. very large Big Skate) to weigh. From 2020 onwards, catches are recorded as counts only. The unique trip identifier and set number are included so that catches can be related to the fishing event information (including capture location).BiologyThis table contains the available biological data for catches which were sampled. Data may include any or all of length, sex, weight, age. Different length types are measured depending on the species. Age structures are collected when possible for species where validated aging methods exist and are archived until required for an assessment; therefore, all existing structures have not been aged at this time. Tissue samples (usually a fin clip) may be collected for genetic (DNA) analysis for some individuals of particular species. Genetic samples may be archived until required for analysis; for more information please see the data contacts. The unique trip identifier and set number are included so that samples can be related to the fishing event and catch information.

During the period of 1987 to 1994, Robin J. LeBrasseur and N. Brent Hargreaves lead a juvenile salmon predation research project in Alberni Inlet and Barkley Sound BC. This dataset contains the research survey catch data and individual fish examinations data.

Emerald Basin on the Scotia Shelf off Nova Scotia, Canada, is home to a globally unique population of the glass sponge Vazella pourtalesi. Through the analysis of both in situ photographs and trawl catch data from annual multispecies bottom-trawl surveys, we examined community composition, species density, and abundance of epibenthos and fish associated with V. pourtalesi compared to locations without this sponge. Using generalized linear models and analysis of similarities, the importance of V. pourtalesi in enhancing species density and abundance of the associated epibenthic community was assessed against that of the hard substrate on which it settles. Our results indicated that the megafaunal assemblage associated with V. pourtalesi was significantly different in composition and higher in species density and abundance compared to locations without V. pourtalesi. Analysis of similarity of trawl catch data indicated that fish communities associated with the sponge grounds are significantly different from those without V. pourtalesi, although no species were found exclusively on the sponge grounds. Our study provides further evidence of the role played by sponge grounds in shaping community structure and biodiversity of associated deep-sea epibenthic and fish communities. The mechanism for biodiversity enhancement within the sponge grounds formed by V. pourtalesi is likely the combined effect of both the sponge itself and its attachment substrate, which together comprise the habitat of the sponge grounds. We also discuss the role of habitat provision between the mixed-species tetractinellid sponges of the Flemish Cap and the monospecific glass sponge grounds of Emerald Basin. Please refer to the following citation for additional details on the data:Hawkes N, Korabik M, Beazley L, Rapp HT, Xavier JR, Kenchington E (2019) Glass sponge grounds on the Scotian Shelf and their associated biodiversity. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 614:91-109. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12903Cite this data as: Hawkes, Nickolas; Korabik, Michelle; Beazley, Lindsay; Rapp, Hans Tore; Xavier, Joana; Kenchington, Ellen (2019) Glass sponge grounds on the Scotian Shelf and their associated biodiversity. Published September 2023.Ocean Ecosystems Science Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dartmouth, N.S. https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/83c8e9af-ad3a-40bc-b1b7-d1ed4a069330

Description:These commercial whale watching data are comprised of two datasets. First, the ‘whale_watching_trips_jun_sep_british_columbia’ data layer summarizes commercial whale watching trips that took place in 2019, 2020 and 2021 during the summer months (June to September). The second data layer, ‘wildlife_viewing_events_jun_sep_british_columbia’ contains estimated wildlife viewing events carried out by commercial whale watching vessels for the same years (2019, 2020 and 2021) and months (June to September). Commercial whale watching trips and wildlife viewing events are summarized using the same grid, and they can be related using the unique cell identifier field ‘cell_id’. The bulk of this work was carried out at University of Victoria and was funded by the Marine Environmental Observation, Prediction and Response (MEOPAR) Network under the ‘Whale watching AIS Vessel movement Evaluation’ or WAVE project (2018 – 2022). The aim of the WAVE project was to increase the understanding of whale watching activities in Canada’s Pacific region using vessel traffic data derived from AIS (Automatic Identification System). The work was finalized by DFO Science in the Pacific Region. These spatial data products of commercial whale watching operations can be used to inform Marine Spatial Planning, conservation planning activities, and threat assessments involving vessel activities in British Columbia.Methods:A list of commercial whale watching vessels based in British Columbia and Washington State and their corresponding MMSIs (Maritime Mobile Service Identity) was compiled from the whale watching companies and Marine Traffic (www.marinetraffic.com). This list was used to query cleaned CCG AIS data to extract AIS positions corresponding to commercial whale watching vessels. A commercial whale watching trip was defined as a set of consecutive AIS points belonging to the same vessel departing and ending in one of the previously identified whale watching home ports. A classification model (unsupervised Hidden Markov Model) using vessel speed as the main variable was developed to classify AIS vessel positions into wildlife-viewing and non wildlife viewing events. Commercial whale watching trips in the south and north-east of Vancouver Island were limited to a duration of minimum 1 hour and maximum 3.5 hours. For trips in the west coast of Vancouver island the maximum duration was set to 6 hours. Wildlife-viewing events duration was set to minimum of 10 minutes to a maximum of 1 hour duration. For more information on methodology, consult metadata pdf available with the Open Data record.References:Nesdoly, A. 2021. Modelling marine vessels engaged in wildlife-viewing behaviour using Automatic Identification Systems (AIS). Available from: https://dspace.library.uvic.ca/handle/1828/13300.Data Sources:Oceans Network Canada (ONC) provided encoded AIS data for years 2019, 2020 and 2021, within a bounding box including Vancouver Island and Puget Sound used to generate these products. This AIS data was in turn provided by the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) via a licensing agreement between the CCG and ONC for the non-commercial use of CCG AIS Data. More information here: https://www.oceannetworks.ca/science/community-based-monitoring/marine-domain-awareness-program/ Molly Fraser provided marine mammal sightings data collected on board a whale watching vessels to develop wildlife-viewing events classification models. More information about this dataset here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308597X20306709?via%3DihubUncertainties:The main source of uncertainty is with the conversion of AIS point locations into track segments, specifically when the distance between positions is large (e.g., greater than 1000 meters).

The blue shark (Prionace glauca), is a species found in Atlantic Canadian waters which is commonly encountered in commercial and recreational fisheries. Pop-up Satellite Archival Tags (PSAT) and Smart Position and Temperature tag (SPOT) from Wildlife Computers were applied to blue sharks from 2004 to 2008 to collect data on depth (pressure), temperature and ambient light level (for position estimation). Deployments were conducted in Canada on commercial and recreational vessels from mid-August to early October, but mostly in September. A variety of tag models were deployed: PAT 4 (n=16), Mk10 (N=28), and SPOT3 (N=2) and 39 of 46 tags reported. The blue sharks tagged ranged in size from 124 cm to 251 cm Fork Length (curved); 30 were female, 15 were male and 1 was unknown sex. Time at liberty ranged from 4 – 210 days and 16 tags remained on for the programmed duration. Raw data transmitted from the PSAT’s after release was processed through Wildlife Computers software (GPE3) to get summary files, assuming a maximum swimming speed of 2m/s, NOAA OI SST V2 High Resolution data set for SST reference and ETOPO1-Bedrock dataset for bathymetry reference. The maximum likelihood position estimates are available in .csv and .kmz format and depth and temperature profiles are also in .csv format. Other tag outputs as well as metadata from the deployments can be obtained upon request from: warren.joyce@dfo-mpo.gc.ca or heather.bowlby@dfo-mpo.gc.ca.

This record contains data on bowhead whale locations reported in Harwood, L.A. and P. Norton. 1996. Aerial survey data from the southeast Beaufort Sea, Mackenzie River estuary and west. Amundsen Gulf, July 1992. Canadian Data Report of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences No. 964

The Scotian Shelf population of northern bottlenose whales (Hyperoodon ampullatus) is listed as Endangered under Canada’s Species at Risk Act. Partial critical habitat was identified for this population in the Recovery Strategy first published in 2010 (Fisheries and Oceans Canada 2016), and three critical habitat areas were designated along the eastern Scotian Shelf, encompassing the Gully, Shortland Canyon, and Haldimand Canyon (shapefile available online: https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/db177a8c-5d7d-49eb-8290-31e6a45d786c). However, the Recovery Strategy recognized that additional areas may constitute critical habitat for the population and recommended further studies based on acoustic and visual monitoring to assess the importance of inter-canyon areas as foraging habitat and transit corridors for northern bottlenose whales.In a subsequent study of the distribution, movements, and habitat use of northern bottlenose whales on the eastern Scotian Shelf (Stanistreet et al. in press), several sources of data were assessed and additional important habitat was identified in the inter-canyon areas located between the Gully, Shortland Canyon, and Haldimand Canyon (DFO 2020). A summary of the data inputs, analyses, and limitations is provided below.Year-round passive acoustic monitoring conducted with bottom-mounted recorders at two inter-canyon sites from 2012-2014 revealed the presence and foraging activity of northern bottlenose whales in these areas throughout much of the year, with a seasonal peak in acoustic detections during the spring. Detections from acoustic recordings collected during vessel-based surveys provided additional evidence of species occurrence in inter-canyon areas during the summer months. Photo-identification data collected in the Gully, Shortland, and Haldimand canyons between 2001 and 2017 were used to model the residency and movement patterns of northern bottlenose whales within and between the canyons, and demonstrated that individuals regularly moved between the three canyons as well as to and from outside areas. Together, these results indicated a strong degree of connectivity between the Gully, Shortland, and Haldimand canyons, and provided evidence that the inter-canyon areas function as important foraging habitat and movement corridors for Scotian Shelf northern bottlenose whales. The inter-canyon habitat area polygon was delineated using the 500 m depth contour and straight lines connecting the southeast corners of the existing critical habitat areas, but these boundaries are based on limited spatial information on the presence of northern bottlenose whales in deeper waters. More data are needed to determine whether this area fully encompasses important inter-canyon habitat, particularly in regard to the deeper southeastern boundary. Similarly, the full extent of important habitat for Scotian Shelf northern bottlenose whales remains unknown, and potential critical habitat areas outside the canyons and inter-canyon areas on the eastern Scotian Shelf have not been fully assessed. See DFO (2020) for further information.References:DFO. 2020. Assessment of the Distribution, Movements, and Habitat Use of Northern Bottlenose Whales on the Scotian Shelf to Support the Identification of Important Habitat. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Sci. Advis. Rep. 2020/008. https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/csas-sccs/Publications/SAR-AS/2020/2020_008-eng.html Fisheries and Oceans Canada. 2016. Recovery Strategy for the Northern Bottlenose Whale, (Hyperoodan ampullatus), Scotian Shelf population, in Atlantic Canadian Waters [Final]. Species at Risk Act Recovery Strategy Series. Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Ottawa. vii + 70 pp. https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/species-risk-public-registry/recovery-strategies/northern-bottlenose-whale-scotian-shelf.html Stanistreet, J.E., Feyrer, L.J., and Moors-Murphy, H.B. In press. Distribution, movements, and habitat use of northern bottlenose whales (Hyperoodon ampullatus) on the Scotian Shelf. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. [https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2022/mpo-dfo/fs70-5/Fs70-5-2021-074-eng.pdf]Cite this data as: Stanistreet, J.E., Feyrer, L.J., and Moors-Murphy, H.B. Data of: Northern bottlenose whale important habitat in inter-canyon areas on the eastern Scotian Shelf. Published: June 2021. Ocean Ecosystems Science Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dartmouth, N.S. https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/9fd7d004-970c-11eb-a2f3-1860247f53e3

Data set covers metrics and metadata related to wild collected copepods Calanus spp. (C. hyperboreus, C. glacialis, C. finmarchicus) and Metridia longa: - body size in prosome length [PL]- dry weight [DW]- lipid content (oil sac area [OSA] and oil sac volume [OSV])Spatial coverage: North Atlantic sampling sites- Scotian Shelf (SS)- Gulf of Saint Lawrence (GSL)- Gulf of Maine-Georges Bank-Nantucket Shoals (GoM)- Newfoundland shelf (NFL)Cite this data as: Helenius LK, Head EJH, Jekielek P, Orphanides CD, Pepin P, Plourde S, Ringuette M, Walsh HJ, Runge JA, Johnson CL. Calanus spp. size and lipid content metrics in North Atlantic, 1977-2019. Published September 2022. Ocean Ecosystem Science Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dartmouth, N.S. https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/72e6d3a1-06e7-4f41-acec-e0f1474b555b

The Base Hydrography Point Event layer contains hydrographic point features representing the locations of water or water related features captured through the 1:20000 Provincial Base Mapping Project, the 1:50000 Resource Access Mapping Program, the Alberta Vegetation Inventory Program and the Federal Government National Topographic Data Base 1:50000 mapping.