California and Steller sealion haulout sites. Coastal Resource Information Management System (CRIMS) is a legacy dataset of BC coastal resource data that was acquired in a systematic and synoptic manner from 1979 and was intermittently updated throughout the years. Resource information was collected in nine study areas using a peer-reviewed provincial Resource Information Standards Committee consisting of DFO Fishery Officers, First Nations, and other subject matter experts. There are currently no plans to update this legacy data.

The Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators (CESI) program provides data and information to track Canada's performance on key environmental sustainability issues. The Greenhouse gas emissions from large facilities indicator reports total greenhouse gas emissions from the largest greenhouse gas emitters in Canada for the 2024 reporting year. The Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program ensures that the greenhouse gas emissions from Canada's largest emitters are tracked and reported. This mandatory reporting contributes to the development, implementation and evaluation of climate change and energy policies and strategies in Canada. Greenhouse gas emissions data reported through the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program are used to inform the development of estimates of greenhouse gas emissions in Canada in the National Inventory Report, and to support regulatory initiatives. Information is provided to Canadians in a number of formats including: static and interactive maps, charts and graphs, HTML and CSV data tables and downloadable reports. See the supplementary documentation for the data sources and details on how the data were collected and how the indicator was calculated.Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators: https://www.canada.ca/environmental-indicators

Species characterization by environmental DNA (eDNA) is a method that allows the use of DNA released into the environment by organisms from various sources (secretions, faeces, gametes, tissues, etc.). It is a complementary tool to standard sampling methods for the identification of biodiversity. This project provides a list of invertebrates species whose DNA has been detected in water samples collected at 2018 using the marker COI.The surveys were carried out in the summer of 2018 from August 11 to 14, between Forestville and Godbout (Haute-Côte-Nord). Sampling was carried out between 9-52 meters depth in 40 stations with one sample par station. Two liters of water were filtered through a 1.2 µm fiberglass filter. DNA extractions were performed with the DNeasy Blood and Tissue extraction kit (Qiagen). Negative field, extraction and PCR controls were added at the different stages of the protocol. Libraries at the COI locus were prepared by Genome Quebec and sequenced on an Illumina MiSeq PE250 system. The bioinformatics analysis of the sequences obtained was carried out using an in-house analysis pipeline as reported in Bourret et al. 2022. A first step made it possible to obtain a molecular operational taxonomic unit table (MOTU) using the cutadapt software for the removal of the adapters and the DADA2 R package for the filtration, fusion, chimera removal and data compilation. The MOTUs table was subsequently corrected by taking into account the negative controls, where the number of observations in the latter was removed from the linked samples. Singleton MOTUs have also been removed. Finally, the taxonomic assignments were carried out on the MOTUs using the IDTAXA classifier (present in the DECIPHIER R package) using a training set trained on the COI reference bank for Golf St-Laurent (GSL-rl v1.0, https://github.com/GenomicsMLI-DFO/MLI_GSL-rl) and a threshold of 40. Detections with an “Unreliable due to gaps” category were reported at the genus level only.The file provided includes generic activity information, including site, station name, date, marker type, assignment types used for taxa identification, and a list of taxa or species. The list of taxa has been verified by a biodiversity expert from the Maurice-Lamontagne Institute.This project was funded by Fisheries and Oceans Canada's Coastal Environmental Baseline Data Program under the Oceans Protection Plan. This initiative aims to acquire baseline environmental data that contributes to the characterization of significant coastal areas and supports evidence-based assessments and management decisions to preserve marine ecosystems.Data are also available on SLGO platform : https://doi.org/10.26071/ogsl-cd4c205b-f63b

The Department of Fisheries established a survey of demersal juvenile Atlantic cod (*Gadus morhua*) in the nearshore (<10 m deep) in 1959. This survey aimed to characterize the distribution and abundance of juvenile Atlantic cod and was based upon Norway's Flodevigen sampling program which has been conducted continuously since 1919. A 25 m seine was used to sample juvenile Atlantic cod nursery locations on the Avalon Peninsula and Northeast coast of the island of Newfoundland in September and October. The survey continued until 1964 and became known as the Fleming survey, after original initiator Alistair Fleming. The survey was reinstated by Memorial University of Newfoundland from 1992 to 1997. Multiple tows were conducted at a subset of the original 55 Fleming sites located in St. Mary's Bay, Trepassey Bay, the Southern Shore, Conception Bay, Trinity Bay, Bonavista Bay, Gander Bay, New World Island, Fortune Harbour, Badger Bay, Halls Bay and Green Bay.This data set includes several different subsets, some of which span both Fleming Survey periods (1959-1964 and 1992-1997):I. JuvCodCatch60s90s:Catches of juvenile Atlantic cod (1959-1964, 1992-1997) from the first two consecutive tows at each site. This is a summary based on JuvCodLengths90s and FlemingSurveyData60s;II. JuvCodLength90s:Lengths of all individual juvenile Atlantic cod caught for each site (1992-1997);III. SiteEnvData60s90s:Station data for Fleming data 1992-1997;IV. FlemingSurveyData60s:Fleming survey data from 1959-1964 (note there are three record types pertaining to: station data "type 1"; general species catch data including juvenile Atlantic cod grouped by age class ("1+", "Zeroes", and "Total") "type 2; and juvenile Atlantic cod (species 223) listed in length bins "type 3"; andV. FlemingBycatch60s92to96:Bycatch data from 1959-1964 & 1992-1996 from first two tows at each site. This is a summary based partly on the FlemingSurveyData60s set.

The Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators (CESI) program provides data and information to track Canada's performance on key environmental sustainability issues. Canada's conserved areas indicators report the amount and proportion of Canada's terrestrial (land and freshwater) and marine area that is recognized as conserved. Well-managed conserved areas are one way to protect wild species and their habitats for present and future generations. Habitat conservation is a measure of human response to the loss of biodiversity and natural habitat. As the area conserved in Canada increases, more lands and waters are withdrawn from direct human development stresses, thereby contributing to biodiversity conservation and improving the health of ecosystems. In turn, healthy ecosystems provide benefits such as clean water, mitigation of climate change, pollination and improved human health. Information is provided to Canadians in a number of formats including: static and interactive maps, charts and graphs, HTML and CSV data tables and downloadable reports. See the supplementary documentation for the data sources and details on how the data were collected and how the indicator was calculated.Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators: https://www.canada.ca/environmental-indicators

“4VSW” missions focus on the eastern half of the Scotian Shelf, and occur primarily in March, but sets in both February, and April are also present in the data. These missions use a unique stratification scheme intended to optimize the abundance estimates of cod. Collected data includes total catch in numbers and weights by species. Length frequency data is available for most species, as are the age, sex, maturity and weight information for a subset of the individual animals. Other data such as ageing material, genetic material, and stomach contents are often also collected, but are stored elsewhere.Cite this data as: Clark, D., Emberley, J. Data of Maritimes 4VSW Research Vessel Survey. Published January 2021. Population Ecology Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dartmouth, N.S. https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/a851ce30-e216-4d7d-a29c-05631eef140e

The Common Attribute Schema for Forest Resource Inventories (CASFRI) is a Canadian forest resource inventory data repository. Forest resource inventory datasets in CASFRI are harmonized to a common data model so that data collected by different agencies following different standards can be used together. Participating provincial, territorial and federal government departments and agencies share current and historical map-based forest resource inventory datasets through CASFRI so that their data are available to users who’s areas of interest span multiple jurisdictions. CASFRI was originally developed by academic researchers (Cumming et al., https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfr-2014-0102). This flavour of CASFRI (CASFRIv5) was developed anew in collaboration with academic researchers at the University of Laval to provide a government version of CASFRI that is findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable. It uses the most up-to-date forest inventory data provided by participating provincial, territorial, and federal government departments and agencies. CASFRIv5 is hosted on the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers’ data portal, the National Forest Information System (http://nfis.org).

Layer that includes the known information on the american shad breeding areas in the St. Lawrence River and Estuary according to a literature review of documents produced between 1976 and 1997.Additional InformationAmerican shad's breeding areas were produced according to a literature review of the following documents:Blais, J.-P. et V. Legendre. 1976. La ouananiche, Salmo salar, du lac Tremblant, Québec. Québec, Ministère du Loisir, de la Chasse et de la Pêche, Direction régionale de Montréal, Rapp. tech. 06-11, 116 p.Boulet, M., J. Leclerc et P. Dumont. 1995. Programme triennal d'étude sur le suceur cuivré. Québec, Ministère de l'Environnement et de la Faune, Service de l'aménagement et de l'exploitation de la faune, Montréal, Rapp. d'étape, 61 p.Boulet, M., Y. Chagnon et J. Leclerc. 1996. Recherche et caractérisation des aires de fraye des suceurs cuivré et ballot au bief d'aval du barrage de Saint-Ours (rivière Richelieu) en 1992. Québec, Ministère de l'Environnement et de la Faune, Service de l'aménagement et de l'exploitation de la faune, Longueuil, Rapp. trav. 06-38, xi + 37 p.Dumont, P. et R. Fortin. 1977. Relations entre les niveaux d'eau printaniers et la reproduction du Grand Brochet du Haut-Richelieu et de la baie Missisquoi. Université du Québec à Montréal, Département des sciences biologiques, pour le Bureau international Champlain Richelieu, Comité d'impact sur l'environnement, x + 108 p.Dumont, P. et S. Desjardins. 1989. Lettre adressée à M. André Poulin du Département de géographie, Université de Sherbrooke, au sujet de la faune et les habitats de la portion aval de la rivière aux Brochets. Québec, Ministère du Loisir, de la Chasse et de la Pêche, Direction régionale de Montréal. Dumont, P., J. Leclerc et L. Bouthillier. 1989a. Données d'inventaire, baie Brazeau, rivière des Outaouais, été 1989. Québec, Ministère du Loisir, de la Chasse et de la Pêche, Service de l'aménagement et de l'exploitation de la faune, Montréal. [Données non publiées].Environnement Illimité inc. 1994. Centrale Les Cèdres - Nouvel aménagement. Avant-projet phase 2, études environnementales. Description du milieu biologique. Volumes 1 et 2. Rapport préparé pour la Vice-Présidence Environnement Hydro-Québec, Service production, réfection et localisation, 241 p. + annexes.Fournier, P. et L.-M. Soyez. 1988. Étude de l'utilisation faunique printanière du marais de Rosemère. Québec, Ministre du Loisir, de la Chasse et de la Pêche, Service de l'aménagement et de l'exploitation de la faune, Montréal, 13 p.Gagnon, M., Y. Ménard et J.-F. La Rue. 1993. Caractérisation et évaluation des habitats du poisson dans la zone de transition saline du Saint-Laurent. Rapp. tech. can. sci. halieut. aquat. 1920: viii + 104 p.Gendron, M. 1986. Rivière-des-Prairies. Aménagement d'un haut-fond, printemps 1986. Groupe de recherche SEEEQ ltée pour la Direction Environnement d'Hydro-Québec, 103 p.Gendron, M. 1987. Rivière-des-Prairies. Suivi de l'aménagement d'un haut-fond, printemps 1987. Le Groupe de recherche SEEEQ ltée pour la Direction Environnement d'Hydro-Québec, 60 p.Gendron, M. 1988. Rivière-des-Prairies. Suivi de l'aménagement du haut-fond, synthèse 1982-1988. Le Groupe de recherche SEEEQ ltée pour le Service de recherche en environnement et santé publique, Vice-Présidence Environnement, Hydro-Québec, 95 p.Guay, G. et M. Couillard. 1985. Étude de l'utilisation printannière et autonmale des rapides de Lachine par les poissons. Environnement Illimité inc. pour le Secrétariat Archipel, 167 pages + annexes.Laramée, P. 1983. La vie printanière dans les rapides de Lachine : Reproduction des poissons. Éco-Recherches inc. pour Vice-Présidence Environnement Hydro-Québec et le Secrétariat Archipel, 30 p. + 7 annexes. Leclerc, J. 1983. La montaison de l'Alose savoureuse dans la rivière des Mille Iles en 1983. Rapport réalisé par Bio-Conseil inc. pour le compte du Service des études hydrauliques et écologiques, Ministère de l'Environnement du Québec, 45 p.Letendre, M., B. Dumas et M. Beaudoin. 1990. Inventaire de la rivière des Prairies, au niveau de l'île de Pierre. Québec, Ministère du Loisir de la Chasse et de la Pêche, Service de l'aménagement et de l'exploitation de la faune, Montréal. [Travaux en cours].Provost, J., L. Verret et P. Dumont. 1984. L'Alose savoureuse au Québec : synthèse des connaissances biologiques et perspectives d'aménagement d'habitats. Canada, Ministère des Pêches et Océans, Direction de la recherche sur les pêches, Laboratoire de Québec, Rapport manuscrit canadien des sciences halieutiques et aquatiques no 1793, xi + 114 p.Thérrien, J., H. Marquis, G Shooner et P. Bérubé.1991. Caractérisation des habitats recherchés pour la fraie des principales espèces de poisson du fleuve Saint-Laurent (Cornwall à Montmagny). Étude réalisée pas le Groupe Environnement Shooner inc. Pour le compte du Ministère des Pêches et des Océans du Canada. 16 p.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) conducts an annual summer multidisciplinary scientific survey with a bottom trawl in the Estuary and the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence since 1984. Over the years, this survey has been conducted on four vessels: the MV Lady Hammond (1984-1990), the CCGS Alfred Needler (1990-2005), the CCGS Teleost (2004-2021) and the CCGS Cabot (2022-current). It is important to note that the objectives, the methods used and the identification of the species during these surveys have improved over time in response to DFO requests and mandates. The data are therefore not directly comparable between these surveys. The specificities of the missions onboard the MV Lady Hammond are described below.Objectives:1. Assess groundfish populations abundance and condition2. Assess environmental conditions3. Conduct a biodiversity inventory of benthic and demersal megafauna4. Monitor the pelagic ecosystem5. Collect samples for various research projectsSurvey descriptionThe survey covers the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence, that is the divisions 4R, 4S and the northern part of division 4T of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO). A stratified random sampling strategy is used for this survey and the fishing gear used on the MV Lady Hammond is a bottom trawl Western IIA. Standard trawling tows last 30 minutes, starting from the time the trawl touches the sea floor. Towing speed is 3.5 knots.DataFor each fishing tow, the catch is sorted and weighed by taxa; individuals are counted and biological data are collected on a sub-sample. For fish, crab and squid, size and weight are measured by individual and, for some species, sex, gonad maturity, and the weight of certain organs (stomach, liver, gonads) are also evaluated. The soft rays of the anal fin are counted for redfish and otoliths are collected for redfish and Atlantic cod. Invertebrates are weighted and counted (no individual measurements).The biological data are divided into 4 files: a “Metadata” file containing set information, a “Catches” file containing catches per set for fish taxa, a “Carbio” file containing biological and morphometric measurements per individual and a “Freql” file containing the length frequency of fish. It's important to note that this is raw data. Only sets considered successful are retained. In each set, all species are kept, with a few exceptions. For more information please contact the data management team (gddaiss-dmsaisb@dfo-mpo.gc.ca).

Since 1988, the governments of Canada and Quebec have been working together to conserve, restore, protect and develop the St. Lawrence River under the St. Lawrence Action Plan (SLAP). One of the projects identified under the theme of biodiversity conservation is the development of an integrated plan for the conservation of the natural environments and biodiversity of the St. Lawrence River.The identification of priority sites for conservation has been the first step of this planning exercise. Conservation planning of natural environments requires a reliable, accurate and up-to-date image of the spatial distribution of ecosystems in the study area. In order to produce an Atlas of Priority Sites for Conservation in the St. Lawrence Lowlands, an updated cartography of the land cover of this vast territory was undertaken.This project required obtaining reliable information on the natural environments of the St. Lawrence Lowlands. Although several land cover mapping projects have been conducted for specific types of habitats, it was particularly important to obtain a homogeneous product that would cover the entire territory and that would provide the most detailed information on its various thematic components: agricultural, aquatic, human-modified and forest environments, wetlands as well as old fields and bare ground. The methodology used to produce the land cover mapping of the St. Lawrence Lowlands thus relied mainly on combining and enhancing the best existing products for each theme. This project was made in collaboration with MDDELCC as part of the St. Lawrence Action Plan (SLAP).