A compendium of reports that provide information about aquatic and terrestrial animals and plants, soils, surface water, groundwater and their accompanying data files and maps

The blue whale (Balaenopterus musculus) is a wide-ranging cetacean that can be found in all oceans, inhabiting coastal and oceanic habitats. In the North Atlantic, little is known about blue whale distribution and genetic structure, and if whether animals found in Icelandic waters, the Azores, or Northwest Africa are part of the same population as those from the Northwest Atlantic. In the Northwest Atlantic, seasonal movements of blue whales and habitat use, including the location of breeding and wintering areas, are poorly understood.The behaviour of remotely-monitored animals can be inferred from a time series of location data. This is because animals tend to demonstrate stochasticity in their movement paths as a result of spatial variation in environmental characteristics, such as topography or prey density (Curio 1976; Gardner et al. 1989; Turchin 1991; Wiens et al. 1993). Predators are expected to decrease travel speed and/or increase turning frequency and turning angle when a suitable resource, e.g., food patch, is encountered (Turchin 1991), otherwise known as area-restricted search (ARS). In contrast, animals in transit or travelling tend to move at faster and more regular speeds, with infrequent and smaller turning angles (Kareiva and Odell 1987; Turchin 1998).Based on satellite telemetry to track the seasonal movements of 24 blue whales from eastern Canada in 2002 and from 2010 to 2015, it was possible to estimate trajectories and locations where ARS behaviour of blue whales was inferred at a 4h time interval.To assess blue whale movements and behavior, a Bayesian switching statespace model (SSSM) was applied to Argos-derived telemetry data (Jonsen et al. 2005; Jonsen et al. 2013). An SSSM essentially estimates animal location at fixed time intervals, movement parameters and behavioral patterns.Two important sources of uncertainty can be measured separately: estimation error resulting from inaccurate observations (Argos location error) and process variability linked to the stochasticity of the movement process (behavior mode estimation) (Jonsen et al. 2003; Patterson et al. 2008).The points visible on land are the result of errors in the Argos geographic position calculation. They have been deliberately left unchanged to assess the performance of the model, which was able to clean up some positions, but not all.Lesage, V., Gavrilchuk, K., Andrews, R.D., and Sears, R. 2016. Wintering areas, fall movements and foraging sites of blue whales satellite-tracked in the Western North Atlantic. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2016/078. v + 38 p.

This layer details Important Areas (IAs) relevant to key vertebrate species, other than fish and cetaceans, in the West Coast Vancouver Island (WCVI) ecoregion. This data was mapped to inform the selection of marine Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas (EBSA). Experts have indicated that these areas are relevant based upon their high ranking in one or more of three criteria (Uniqueness, Aggregation, and Fitness Consequences). The distribution of IAs within ecoregions is used in the designation of EBSAs.Canada’s Oceans Act provides the legislative framework for an integrated ecosystem approach to management in Canadian oceans, particularly in areas considered ecologically or biologically significant. DFO has developed general guidance for the identification of ecologically or biologically significant areas. The criteria for defining such areas include uniqueness, aggregation, fitness consequences, resilience, and naturalness. This science advisory process identifies proposed EBSAs in Canadian Pacific marine waters, specifically in the Strait of Georgia (SOG), along the west coast of Vancouver Island (WCVI, southern shelf ecoregion), and in the Pacific North Coast Integrated Management Area (PNCIMA, northern shelf ecoregion).Initial assessment of IAs in PNCIMA was carried out in September 2004 to March 2005 with spatial data collection coordinated by Cathryn Clarke. Subsequent efforts in WCVI and SOG were conducted in 2009, and may have used different scientific advisors, temporal extents, data, and assessment methods. WCVI and SOG IA assessment in some cases revisits data collected for PNCIMA, but should be treated as a separate effort.Other datasets in this series detail IAs for birds, cetaceans, coral and sponges, fish, geographic features, and invertebrates.Though data collection is considered complete, the emergence of significant new data may merit revisiting of IAs on a case by case basis.

These data consist of the Recreational Shark Fishing Tournament landings database (1993-2022 inclusive) and the Canadian Dart tag database (2006 onwards; updated annually). Both were collected by the Maritimes Science Division of Fisheries and Oceans Canada. The landings records include biological sampling from 4266 animals and the dart tag records include 4138 tagging and 97 recapture events to date. Potential users should consult Bowlby et al. (2022) for the description, management history, and technical details pertaining to these data. Information is focused on Blue Sharks because they were the primary species captured at recreational tournaments.Cite this data as: Bowlby, H., Joyce, W. Recreational Shark Fishing Tournament Landings Data and Canadian Dart Tag Database. Published January 2023 . Population Ecology Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dartmouth, N.S. https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/4309f1f7-6779-416d-9660-c02f0f99b482

The purpose of this dataset is to give an accurate representation of the boundaries of lands closed to hunting in Manitoba.The purpose of this dataset is to give an accurate representation of the boundaries of lands closed to hunting in Manitoba. These are defined as lands where hunting and trapping are either prohibited, or special restrictions are in place for certain species and areas are defined within the General Hunting Regulation (351/87), Moose Conservation Closure Regulation (122/2011), Hunting Seasons and Bag Limits Regulation (165/91), and Trapping of Wild Animals Regulation (245/90) of The Wildlife Act (C.C.S.M c. W130). Hunting and trapping prohibitions or restrictions are implemented in certain areas to ensure the conservation of species or enhance public safety. Fields included (Alias (Field Name): Field description) FID (OBJECTID): Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated Id (Id): The number assigned to each restricted area (not currently being used) Name (Name): Name given to the restricted area Restrictions (Restrictions): Description of the restriction applied to the restricted area Director of Surveys Plan (D_of_S): Director of Surveys Plan number which pertains to the boundary of the restricted area Regulation (Regulation): The regulation title defined in The Wildlife Act Shape_Area (Shape_Area): Area of the feature in internal units squared Shape_Length (Shape_Length): Length of the feature in internal units

The data in this dataset represent an amalgamation of sea turtle sighting, stranding, and entrapment events, mainly near Newfoundland and Labrador (NL), Canada.This document summarises the detection events data for Leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), Loggerhead (Caretta caretta), and Green (Chelonia mydas) Turtles that has been collected from opportunistic and systematic survey sources, plus stranding and entrapment records, in the waters of NL from 1946 to 2023. To a much lesser extent there are also detection records for the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence. Scotian Shelf, and northeastern U.S. waters.These detection records are mostly derived from opportunistic reports, so there are rarely data for a report that includes measures of the observer effort expended to make the detection, and rarely associated imagery. During DFO aerial surveys there are measures of effort in most cases, enabling the turtle sightings reports to be used in habitat modelling (e.g., Mosnier et al. 2018).Most of the information variables (such as “Date”, “Latitude”, “Longitude”, “Number of Animals”) have been obtained from the detection report. In some cases data for variables such as “Location Reliability”, “ID Reliability”, “Platform”, and “Strand or Entrapment Outcome” were derived from interpretation of the comments associated with the report, if available. For description of the variables in the dataset see the Data Dictionary.References:Mosnier, A., Gosselin, J.-F., Lawson, J., Plourde, S., and Lesage, V. 2018. Predicting seasonal occurrence of leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) in eastern Canadian waters from turtle and sunfish (Mola mola) sighting data and habitat characteristics. Can. J. Zool. 97: 464-478. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2018-0167

This dataset delineates areas for which registration is granted to one or more licensed trappers for the trapping of fur bearing animals under the BC Wildlife Act. Traplines are designated by a regional manager of the recreational fisheries and wildlife programs. The Wildlife Act regulates who may set a trap for, hunt, kill, take or capture a fur bearing animal within a trapline.

This table contains data on whole and partial condemnation and slaughtering from 2015 to 2022.This table contains data on whole and partial condemnation and slaughtering from 2015 to 2022. The data is also classified by its Slaughter Class: Cattle, Swine, Chiken,  Spent layer hens, Ducks, Geese, Rabbits, Spent Breeder hens, 5 kg and under, Bison, Elk, Goats, Horses, Lambs, Llama/Alpaca, Mature turkey, over 11 kg, over 5 but no more than 7 kg, over 7 but no more than 9 kg, over 9 but no more than 11 kg, Sheep, and Wild boars.Field Names (Field Alias): Field description.SlaughterFigureID (SlaughterFigureID): unique indexed number assigned to each record in the database. BodyPart (BodyPart): code for the different body parts affected in partial condemnations. CondemnationReasonCode (CondemnationReasonCode): code for all the different reasons for condemnation. CondemnationType (CondemnationType): This identifies whether the condemnations are either Whole or Partial. SlaughterYear (SlaughterYear): Year when the slaughter occurred. NumberSlaughtered (NumberSlaughtered): Total number of animals slaughtered during the indicated period of time. NumberCondemned (NumberCondemned): Total number of animals condemned (whole) or total  number of parts of animals condemned (partial) during the indicated period of time. SlaughterClass (SlaughterClass): Species or class of the animal or part of the animal condemned. Quarter (Quarter): Number of the quarter.                   - January to March – 1                     - April to June – 2                     - July to September – 3                     - October to December - 4 QuarterYear (Quarter/Year): Corresponding quarter and year.

In British Columbia, there are over 100 Livestock Districts, Bull Control Areas and Pound Districts established by regulation under the Livestock Act. Livestock Districts, with minor exceptions, are areas where livestock may run at large within the district boundaries. Bull Control Areas are areas within Livestock District, in which Bull Control Committees may make rules respecting the number, breed, breeding, quality and age of bulls allowed to run at large. Pound Districts are areas where keepers, peace officers and others may impound animals at large, and allow for the sale of unclaimed impounded animals and the reimbursement of the keeper. The regulations are published in the British Columbia Gazette Part II. The current Index of Current B.C. Regulations provides a complete list. Search Orders in Council from http://BCLaws.ca to view related Orders in Council including metes and bounds descriptions.

The Fish Pathology Program (FPP) located at the Pacific Biological Station in Nanaimo has been assessing the health of aquatic animals since the early 1970’s. Utilizing traditional diagnostic methods, the FPP has supported internal and external clients to provide clinical data and management advice on the health of aquatic animals. The dataset contains information from diagnostic fish health cases coming from the Salmonid Enhancement Program, Research, Public and I&T submissions. Data contained in the database includes pathogen findings from submitted cases from all of the Pacific Region.The publication of The Fish Health Database will comply with public release recommendations documented in recommendation twenty two, made in volume three of the Final Report (October 2012) submitted by the Cohen Commission of Inquiry into the Decline of the Sockeye Salmon in the Fraser River.