The Eastern Arctic dataset comes from the Petroleum and Environmental Management Tool (PEMT). The online tool was decommissioned in 2019 and the data was transferred to Open Data in order to preserve it.The PEMT was originally developed in 2009 to help guide development in the Canadian Arctic by Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC). The online tool mapped the sensitivities of a variety of Arctic features, ranging from whales to traditional harvesting, across the Arctic. The tool was intended to aid government, oil and gas companies, Aboriginal groups, resource managers and public stakeholders in better understanding the geographic distribution of areas which are sensitive for environmental and socio-economic reasons. The study area is located east of Baffin Island, Nunavut and encompasses marine habitat in Baffin Bay and Davis Strait. The boundaries of the study area are based on NOGB leasing grids applied in the Eastern Arctic, under which exploration and production licenses may be issued. Although portions of the study area hold high oil and gas potential and several small oil fields and substantial reserves of gas have been found since the 1960s in the north Baffin region, exploration for oil and gas has been limited to seismic operations and geological field work.DISCLAIMER: Please refer to the PEMT Disclaimer document or the Resource Constraints - Use Limitation in the Additional Information section below.Note: This is one of the 3 (three) datasets included in the PEMT application which includes the Beaufort Sea and Mackenzie Delta and High Arctic datasets.

The Global Ice-Ocean Prediction System (GIOPS) produces global sea ice and ocean analyses and 10 day forecasts daily. This product contains time-mean sea ice and ocean forecast fields interpolated to two grids. One of the grids is a 0.2° resolution regular latitude-longitude grid covering the global ocean (north of 80° S). The other grid is in north-polar stereographic projection with a 5-km spacing at the standard parallel 60° N and covers the Arctic Ocean and the neighbouring sub-polar seas. Data is available for 50 depths. The data files are in netCDF format and comply with the Climate and Forecast Conventions.

In 2018, Fisheries and Oceans Canada initiated the Multidisciplinary Arctic Program (MAP) – Last Ice, the first ecosystem study of the poorly characterized region of the Lincoln Sea in the Marine Protected Area of Tuvaijuittuq, where multiyear ice still resides in the Arctic Ocean. MAP-Last Ice takes a coordinated approach to integrate the physical, biochemical, and ecological components of the sea ice-ocean connected ecosystem and its response to climate and ocean forcings. The cross-disciplinary program establishes baseline ecological knowledge for Tuvaijuittuq and, in particular, for its unique multiyear ice ecosystem. The database provides baseline data on the abundance of bacteria and viruses in multi- and first-year ice and in surface waters of the Lincoln Sea in Tuvaijuittuq, and their relation to bio-physical conditions. The data were collected during the 2018 spring field campaign of the MAP-Last Ice Program, at an ice camp offshore of Canadian Forces Station (CFS) Alert.

In 2018, Fisheries and Oceans Canada initiated the Multidisciplinary Arctic Program (MAP) – Last Ice, the first ecosystem study of the poorly characterized region of Tuvaijuittuq, where multiyear ice still resides in the Arctic Ocean. The program MAP-Last Ice takes a coordinated approach to integrate the physical, biochemical, and ecological components of the sea ice-ocean connected ecosystem and its response to climate and ocean forcings. This program provides baseline ecological knowledge for Tuvaijuittuq and, in particular, for its unique multiyear ice ecosystem. The database provides baseline data on fatty acid composition and stable isotopes signatures of sea ice communities in multi- and first-year ice in Tuvaijuittuq. The data were collected during the 2018 spring field campaign of the MAP-Last Ice Program, offshore of Canadian Forces Station (CFS) Alert, in the Lincoln Sea.

This resource documents a dataset of epifauna occurrences collected in 2021 during The Knowledge and Ecosystem-Based Approach in Baffin Bay (KEBABB) program developed by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) in collaboration with university partners. The overall objective of KEBABB is to characterize the variability and trends in physical, chemical, and biological oceanographic conditions and food webs supporting fisheries in the connected ecosystems of western Baffin Bay and Lancaster Sound. In 2021, DFO expanded the KEBABB program to Barrow Strait (KEBABS-Knowledge and Ecosystem-Based Approach in Barrow Strait), a key productive area of the Tallurutiup Imanga National Marine Conservation Area. The study took place in the Eastern Canadian Arctic (mainly in Baffin Bay, Davis Strait and Barrow Strait). Sampling is done along transects at fixed stations in the study area. Catches are collected with a 1.5 m Agassiz trawl (5 mm mesh net) for 3 minutes bottom-contact time at a target speed of 1.5 knots and with a 3 m benthic beam trawl (6.4 mm mesh net) for 15 minutes bottom-contact time at a target speed of 3 knots. A total of 16 stations were sampled for epifauna in 2021 between 85-850 m depth. Epibenthic invertebrates are identified to the lowest possible taxonomic level and photographed. All unknown specimens are frozen. In the lab, the identifications are validated or refined with the photos and the frozen specimens.The data are presented in Darwin Core and are separated in two files:The “Activité_épifaune_KEBABB_epifauna_event_en” file which contains information about missions, stations and deployments, which are presented under a hierarchical activity structure.The “Occurrence_épifaune_KEBABB_epifauna_en” file that contains the taxonomic occurrences.Further details on sampling can be found in the following report: Pućko, M., Charette, J., Tremblay P., Brulotte S., St-Denis B., Ciastek S., Hedges, K., Kuzyk, Z., Roy V., and Michel, C. 2022. An ecosystem-based approach in the eastern Arctic: KEBABB/S (Knowledge and Ecosystem-Based Approach in Baffin Bay/Barrow Strait) 2021 expedition report. Can. Manuscr. Rep. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 3250: viii + 58 p. https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2022/mpo-dfo/Fs97-4-3250-eng.pdfUSE LIMITATION:To ensure scientific integrity and appropriate use of the data, we would encourage you to contact the data custodian.

Records of marine mammal sightings (N = 5,324) collected by ASOs and submitted to Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) between 1979-2024, across three DFO regions: the Arctic, Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Maritimes. Methods for initial data compilation are provided in the associated technical report "Marine mammal records collected by the at-sea observer (ASO) program in Arctic, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Maritimes regions: a summary of challenges and opportunities for future research." Cite this data as: Feyrer, L.J., Colbourne, N., Lawson, J.W., Moors-Murphy, H.B., Ferguson, S. Dataset update to Marine mammal records collected by the At-Sea Observer program in Arctic, Newfoundland and Labrador and Maritimes regions. Published: February 2025. Ocean Ecosystems Science Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dartmouth, N.S.

The Ocean Data Inventory database is an inventory of all of the oceanographic time series data held by the Ocean Science Division at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography. The data archive includes about 5800 current meter and acoustic doppler time series, 4500 coastal temperature time series from thermographs, as well as a small number (200) of tide gauges. Many of the current meters also have temperature and salinity sensors. The area for which there are data is roughly defined as the North Atlantic and Arctic from 30° - 82° N, although there are some minor amounts of data from other parts of the world. The time period is from 1960 to present. The database is updated on a regular basis.

Seamounts have been identified as Ecologically or Biologically Significant Areas (EBSAs) due to their unique oceanography and ecology; they frequently serve as sites for fisheries and as habitat for a number of species of conservation concern. A mix of isolated seamounts and seamount complexes are distributed throughout Canada’s Pacific offshore waters, although only a subset of these are named. We used several pre-existing spatial databases and predictive models to map all named seamounts within Canada’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), all named seamounts fished by Canada in international waters, and any predicted (modelled) unnamed seamounts in the EEZ. These data are intended to inform marine planning initiatives in BC by providing collaborative, peer-reviewed scientific data at scales relevant to a BC coast-wide analysis.

Moored instrument time series data include current velocity, temperature, salinity, oxygen, fluorescence, transmissivity, turbidity, and particle capture of carbon, nitrogen, and silicon as well as sediment trap, ice drift and ice draft data.These data were collected by researchers from the Institute of Ocean Sciences, Sidney, BC, from locations ranging from the North Pacific, the Beaufort Sea, and across the Canadian Arctic Archipelago to Baffin Bay.

This layer details Important Areas (IAs) relevant to important geographic features in the Strait of Georgia (SOG) 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, invertebrates, and other vertebrates.Though data collection is considered complete, the emergence of significant new data may merit revisiting of IAs on a case by case basis.