Acoustic telemetry allows detailed observations of the movement behaviour of many species and as tags get smaller, smaller organisms may be tagged. The number of studies using acoustic telemetry to evaluate marine invertebrate movement is growing, but novel attachment methods include unknowns about the effects of tagging procedures on individual survival and behaviour. This study compared methods of tag attachment on green sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis) to determine the feasibility of using acoustic transmitters to track echinoid movement. Four tagging methods were compared in the lab and tag retention, urchin condition, and survival analysed. Two tagging methods (Dyneema® fishing line and T-bar tags) were evaluated in the field using an existing acoustic telemetry array. Urchins were tagged and the study area revisited one week and 2 months post-release by scuba divers to estimate movement and tag retention. The best methods in the lab, with high tag retention, survival, and minimal effects on urchin condition, were fishing line methods. T-bar tags, although showing high tag retention, caused significant mortality and had deleterious long-term effects on urchin condition and behaviour. After 2 months in the field, as in the lab, fishing line was a more effective tagging method. Urchins tagged with fishing line showed increased estimates of space occupancy compared to T-bar-tagged urchins and a single fishing-line tagged individual was found by divers in good health after 80 days. Combined, these laboratory and field results demonstrate the feasibility of using acoustic telemetry to observe urchin movement. Results strongly suggest that surgical attachment methods that minimize injuries at the attachment site should be prioritized for echinoid tagging studies. Together, lab and field tests indicate that acoustic telemetry is a promising method to examine marine echinoid movement over ecologically relevant spatial and temporal scales.The data available includes the laboratory data (tag retention, survival, diameter, wet weight, gonad weight and condition/righting time) and the field data (metadata and acoustic telemetry detections for tagged individuals, results of diver searches and 2-day estimates of movement measured in the field). Data from the laboratory experiment and diver observations in the field have been verified and undergone a control for quality. Acoustic telemetry detections are raw detection files (unfiltered); see the published article for a description of how the data were treated for analyses (https://doi.org/10.1186/s40317-022-00309-8).

The St. Anns Bank Marine Protected Area was established in June 2017. Data describing the spatial-temporal patterns and drivers of species movement is essential for evaluating species composition and to gauge the protective capacity of the MPA. Since 2015, an acoustic telemetry receiver array has been deployed and re-deployed annually in St. Anns Bank Marine Protected Area. Each receiver detects tagged fish that swim past and records hourly bottom temperature. Here we provide the bottom temperature data recorded on 46 receivers. Note that in 2021 the array design (mooring positions) changed. Please visit the Ocean Tracking Network data portal for more details (https://members.oceantrack.org/project?ccode=SABMPA).Cite this data as: Pettitt-Wade, H., Jeffery, N.W., Stanley, R.E. Data of: Bottom temperature data from St. Anns Bank MPA acoustic telemetry receivers deployed 2015 to 2022Published: January 2024. Coastal Ecosystems Science Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dartmouth, N.S.https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/910b8e22-2fd1-4ba1-8db6-d16763c7a625

Greenland halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides) occupy deep waters off Newfoundland and Labrador and are a commercially important species. The Groundfish Section, Fisheries and Oceans Canada – Newfoundland and Labrador Region implemented an acoustic tagging program to better understand the movement and habitat use for this species. This program began in 2021, and was further developed as a results of two DFO Competitive Science Research Fund project between 2022-2026.Fish were caught via trawl or longline, VEMCO acoustic transmitters surgically implanted, and released at site of capture. Detections occurred from acoustic receivers deployed by the Groundfish section and/or from receiver arrays associated with the Oceans Tracking Network (e.g. Northern Cod Acoustic Telemetry Array [NCAT]). Raw detection data are downloaded from receivers and sent to the Ocean Tracking Network for formatting and archiving. Data provided here summarize reported detections from 2021-2024 as part of a master’s project at Memorial University of Newfoundland. Release locations, number and location of detections, defined movement class, and detection duration are summarized by individual. Location information includes the position of the receiver the fish was detected at, and the North Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) Divisions where fish were detected in.

This project was completed by the Groundfish Section in the Newfoundland and Labrador Science Branch of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO). From 2018 to 2020, 14 year-round, acoustic receivers were deployed in Placentia Bay as a part of the Coastal Environmental Baseline Program to form 4 gates: Bar Haven (2 receivers), Centre Channel (1 receiver), Eastern Channel (6 receivers), and Western Channel (5 receivers). Additionally, 162 transmitters were deployed in Atlantic cod in the 3Ps region (2019-2022). Over the deployment period these receivers recorded a total of 2 094 024 detections from 63 unique transmitters including 45 Cod tagged through the Groundfish acoustic telemetry program. Most cod detected were tagged in Placentia Bay (43 fish) and many were detected at multiple receivers or multiple years (37 fish). Passive data collection for this project may extend up to 2030. This record contains the locations of the acoustic receivers in Placentia Bay, NL.

The project (Quoddy Region Pelagics Telemetry) will support the assessment of the effects of aquaculture on the distribution and abundance of pelagic fishes (salmon, mackerel, herring) and large predators (shark, marine mammals) in Passamaquoddy Bay and the Bay of Fundy, an area of intense finfish culture. An acoustic receivers network is placed yearly (from April to December) across various passageways, locations of project-specific interest, and at aquaculture sites in the region. Tagged pelagic species will be tracked through the network to provide information on migration routes, movement speed, survival rates and suspected predators, and determine interaction and residence at aquaculture sites. The network was utilized for monitoring the passage of: hatchery-reared wild salmon (n=340) released in the Magaguadavic River in 2018, 2019 and 2021, wild alewives (n=30) from the St. Croix River in 2021, and farmed Atlantic salmon released in the wild (n=99) in 2021. The receiver network has more recently supported adjacent projects on the use of the region by white shark and porbeagle as well as the residence of mackerel, herring, and sculpin at farm sites. The receivers additionally support other researchers with detection of striped bass, Inner Bay of Fundy Atlantic salmon, sturgeon, and many other species. Placement of the network will continue into 2025 inclusive with the longer-term goal to eventually deploy an array covering the entrance to the Bay of Fundy.Cite this data as: Trudel, M., Wilson, B., Black, M. 2023. Assessing bay-scale impacts of aquaculture operations on the distribution and abundance of pelagic fishes and large predators. Accessed via the Ocean Tracking Network OBIS IPT in January 2025 (version 3.1). https://doi.org/10.14286/xfa6sr

Locations are indicated based on the information available. If coordinates were not available, the approximate location is indicated using the description associated with the record. Note that effort is not accounted for in this dataset, nor is effort equally distributed throughout the area captured. Data derived from satellite or acoustic tagging are not included in this dataset. Note that not all records are confirmed. DFO Science reviews records and reports and classifies them as either confirmed or unconfirmed, based on the available information (e.g., pictures, videos, descriptions).

A novel, bay – scale (i.e. tens of km) survey method was employed to examine algal populations on the southwestern shore of Cape Breton, Canada, for the purposes of potential economic exploitation. Since traditional remote sensing methods were unlikely to be successful in these waters, underwater video and acoustic methods were applied. A transponder positioned towfish housing video camera and sidescan sonar was hauled along predetermined transects perpendicular to shore to provide information on bottom type and algal cover. The towfish data were used to ground truth echosounder data (bottom type and macrophyte canopy height) collected along 5, 10 and 20 m depth contours. The survey area was divided into six zones comprising a range of exposure, depth and bottom types. Destructive quadrat samples were collected at each depth plus shore stations to provide biomass estimates. Over thirty five taxa were enumerated, indicating depths and zones of common occurrence. Ascophyllum was abundant at some of the shore stations. The genera Chondrus, Cystoclonium, Desmarestia, Fucus, Phyllophora, Polysiphonia, and Saccharina were common at 5 m. Desmarestia and Saccharina dominated at 10 m with wet weights sometimes over 1 kg·m-2. Agarum dominated at 20 m. The towfish / echosounder grid sampling system was relatively coarse in order to cover the 140 km2 survey area within 12 days. As a result, the survey did not produce spatially detailed information. However, adequate information was gathered to describe the general characteristics of bottom type and algal cover by zone and for focusing further exploration--Abstract, p. vi.Cite this data as: Vandermeulen H. Data of: A Novel Video and Acoustic Survey of the Seaweeds of Isle Madame. Published: August 2021. Coastal Ecosystems Science Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dartmouth, N.S. https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/ebdd8f91-9131-45f0-8aec-aba9f65e3fae

The dataset includes timeseries of horizontal current speed and direction, vertical current speed, water depth, and temperature at instrument depth from Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) moorings. Data were collected as part of a multiyear effort lead by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) to support sustainable aquaculture regulation in the Coast of Bays, an area of the south coast of Newfoundland. This dataset is the third of a series aiming to provide an oceanographic knowledge baseline of the Coast of Bays, Newfoundland. It consists of 73 ADCP timeseries varying in length from about 26 days to 235 days collected between 2009 and 2014. Analyses from this dataset were presented during a Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat (CSAS) meeting which took place in St John’s in March 2015 (http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/csas-sccs/schedule-horraire/2015/03_25-26b-eng.html) and from which a Science Advisory Report (http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/csas-sccs/Publications/SAR-AS/2016/2016_039-eng.html), Proceedings (http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/csas-sccs/Publications/Pro-Cr/2017/2017_043-eng.html) and several research documents were published.

The initial objective of this dataset was to study the seasonal movement patterns of harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) in the St. Lawrence Estuary and Sable Island. This study was part of a larger program that studied the foraging behavior of the species.Ten harbour seals were captured using gillnets from 1994 to 1998 at three sites in the St. Lawrence Estuary (Bic, n=1 individual; île Blanche, n=1; Métis-sur-Mer, n=5) and one site on Sable Island (n=3 individuals). The individuals were equipped with a satellite-linked time-depth recorder (Type3.10, Wildlife Computers) equipped with an Argos tag and placed on the back of the neck. For most individuals, satellite tracking began in September and continued until the following spring. Seasonal dive patterns for these same individuals are available in the following publication: Seasonal dive patterns of harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) from the St. Lawrence Estuary and Sable Island, 1994 – 1998 https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/b4812613-4cdd-4fdc-b8bc-5e08ffc87eb6The dataset consists of series of geographic locations of ten harbor seals with associated dates and times and movement speeds calculated from successive locations.The location data were only filtered based on the validity class provided by Argos. Class Z locations were excluded.

PURPOSE:Used as an abundance index for use in stock assessment.DESCRIPTION:Since 1991, an annual fishery-independent acoustic survey of early fall (September-October) concentrations of Herring has been conducted in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence (sGSL). The standard annual survey area occurs in the 4Tmno areas where both NAFO Div. 4T Herring spawning components aggregate in the fall. The survey uses a random stratified design of parallel transects within predefined strata. Surveys are conducted at night and use two vessels: an acoustic vessel to quantify the fish schools' biomass using a hull-mounted 120 KHz split-beam transducer, and a fishing vessel to sample aggregates of fish with a pelagic trawl (details in LeBlanc et al. 2015; see also LeBlanc and Dale 1996).Trawl samples are used to separate the estimated biomass by spawning component and age, determine species composition, and size distribution for the estimation of the target strength (LeBlanc and Dale 1996; LeBlanc et al. 2015).A standardized abundance index is generated from this acoustic survey. This index includes catch-at-age data since 1994.This survey also provides the age-disaggregated acoustic abundance index for ages 2 to 10 for spring spawners and fall spawners. PARAMETERS COLLECTED:Size and age measurement (biological); acoustic tracking (ecological); species counts (ecological)SAMPLING METHODS:Please consult the research documents listed in the supplementary citation list for sampling details.USE LIMITATION:To ensure scientific integrity and appropriate use of the data, we would encourage you to contact the data custodian.