Area Based Management Plans (ABMP) are designated areas for the purposes of environmental protection. It must consider the impact of point and non-point source of waste, cumulative impact of the wastes, environmental management objectives and outcomes for the designated area, and ongoing monitoring and reporting.

The Planning for an Environmental Response (PIER) initiative falls under the umbrella of the Government of Canada's Oceans Protection Plan (OPP), whose goal is preserving marine ecosystems vulnerable to increased transportation and the development of the marine industry (https://pm.gc.ca/en/news/backgrounders/2016/11/07/canadas-oceans-protection-plan-preserving-and-restoring-canadas). The PIER was established in response to recommendations made in a 2013 report "A review of Canada's ship-source spill preparedness and response regime " by the Tanker Safety Expert Panel (https://tc.canada.ca/en/marine-transportation/marine-safety/tanker-safety-expert-panel). One of the recommendations calls on Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) to work with Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) to collect and compile information on sensitive species and environments for each Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) response area and make it publicly available.The PIERs’ main mandate is to acquire and update biological sensitivity data under its jurisdiction for preparation and response purposes in the event of an oil spill. With DFO-Science, PIER supports ECCC's National Environmental Emergencies Centre (NEEC) and the CCG in their preparations and responses through the sharing of data on biological sensitivities, the development of response tools and expert advice.In this vein, DFO published an analysis in 2018 that aimed to identify the most vulnerable components of the St. Lawrence in order to prioritize them during data collection if gaps were identified (Desjardins et al. 2018). This exercise highlighted the vulnerability of several biological components and important data gaps, particularly in coastal areas. As a result of this finding, the Quebec region PIEI team embarked on a collaborative project with the Université du Québec à Rimouski (UQAR) to map eelgrass beds, tidal marshes and macroalgal beds. In consultation with other DFO-Science data producers, this team has also created datasets adapted for response purposes, notably regarding bivalves and marine mammals. These layers may be used for oil spill preparedness and response by DFO-Quebec Region's Environmental Incident Coordinator, NEEC and CCG. Several of them, deemed relevant in the first 72 hours following a spill, have been transmitted to the NEEC.

The Planning for an Environmental Response (PIER) initiative falls under the umbrella of the Government of Canada’s Oceans Protection Plan (OPP), whose goal is preserving marine ecosystems vulnerable to increased transportation and the development of the marine industry. The PIERs’ main mandate is to acquire and update biological sensitivity data under its jurisdiction for preparation and response purposes in the event of an oil spill.This dataset contains all observations of marine organisms noted during the analysis of 2959 underwater images sampled over a large extent of the coastal zone (≤10 m) of the Estuary and the Gulf of St. Lawrence (Quebec region). The dataset includes 21 490 occurrences of 150 taxa and informal categories including macroalgae, invertebrates and fish. Underwater images were collected between 2017 and 2021 according to a directed sampling protocol whose primary goal was to map large seaweed and eelgrass beds. Images were normally recorded as videos using a GoPro Hero camera installed on a pole and placed near the seabed from a small boat. The collected data served primarily as ground-truth data to validate coasting zone mapping based on aerial photographs within the framework of the PIER's initiative.The two files provided (DarwinCore format) are complementary and are linked by the "eventID" key. The "event_information" file includes generic event information, including date and location. The "taxon_occurrence" file includes the original identifiers of the observed organisms (verbatimIdentification field), identification remarks and their taxonomy.Taxonomic names were verified on the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) to match recognized standards. The WoRMS match has been put in the scientificNameID field in the occurrence file. Data quality control was performed using the R packages obistools and worrms. All sampling locations were plotted on a map to perform a visual check confirming that the latitude and longitude coordinates were within the described sampling area.A visual dictionary was developed as an identification aid and accompanies this dataset (unilingual french only, the English version will be published soon). More data, including a visibility index, estimated macroalgae and eelgrass cover, substrate type and dominant macroalgae and animals were recorded but not included in this dataset. These data may be made available upon request.CreditsProvencher-Nolet, L., Paquette, L., Pitre, L.D., Grégoire, B. and Desjardins, C. 2024. Cartographie des macrophytes estuariens et marins du Québec. Rapp. Tech. Can. Sci. halieut. Aquat. 3617 : v + 99 p.Grégoire, B., Pitre, L.D., Provencher-Nolet, L., Paquette, L. and Desjardins, C. 2024. Distribution d’organismes marins de la zone côtière peu profonde du Québec recensés par imagerie sous-marine de 2017 à 2021. Rapp. tech. can. sci. halieut. aquat. 3616 : v + 78 p.

Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas (EBSAs) are areas within Canada's oceans that have been identified through formal scientific assessments as having special biological or ecological significance when compared with the surrounding marine ecosystem.Failure to define an area as an EBSA does not mean that it is unimportant ecologically. All areas serve ecological functions to some extent and require sustainable management. Rather, areas identified as EBSAs should be viewed as the most important areas where, with existing knowledge, regulators and marine users should be particularly risk averse to ensure ecosystems remain healthy and productive.Why are EBSAs identified?EBSA information is used to inform marine planning, including environmental assessment and the siting of marine-based activities, by:- Informing and guiding project-specific or regional environmental assessments;- Informing and guiding industries and regulators in their planning and operations, for example: EBSAs have been acknowledged and referred to (often as "Special Areas" or "Potentially Sensitive Areas") in oil and gas related assessments;- EBSA information has been provided to proponents of submarine cable projects to be used for route planning purposes;- Informing and guiding Integrated Oceans Management (IOM) process within five Large Ocean Management Areas (LOMAs) and twelve marine bioregions;- Serving as a basis for the identification of Areas of Interest (AOIs) and of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) (individually and in the context of planning bioregional networks of MPAs).How are EBSAs identified?The process used to identify EBSAs is generally comprised of two phases. The first phase involves compiling scientific data and knowledge of a marine area's ecosystems - notably fish species, marine mammals, sea birds, marine flora, marine productivity, physical and chemical conditions and geology. "Knowledge" includes experiential knowledge of long-time uses of the areas. In some cases (e.g., in the Arctic), substantial efforts are taken to collect traditional knowledge on ecosystems and environmental conditions from community members, fish harvests, hunters and individuals whose knowledge of the study area complement often helps fill scientific data gaps.In the second phase, the available information for a marine area (e.g. a bioregion) is assessed against five nationally-established science-based criteria including:- Uniqueness: How distinct is the ecosystem of an area compared to surrounding ones?- Aggregation: Whether or not species populate or convene to the study area?- Fitness consequence: How critical the area is to the life history of the species that use it (e.g. is it a spawning or feeding ground)?- Naturalness: How pristine or disturbed by human activities is the study area?- Resilience: What is the ability of the ecosystem to bounce back if it is disturbed?Progress to date and next stepsEBSAs have been identified for large portions of Canada's Atlantic and Pacific Oceans as well as most of the Arctic oceans. EBSAs will continue to be identified in priority areas as resources become available to carry out the process. The boundaries or locations of existing EBSAs may be modified to reflect both new knowledge and changing environmental conditions.

ENV - Environment and conservation (environment)Environmental resources, protection, and conservation. For example, resources describing pollution, waste storage and treatment, environmental impact assessment, environmental risk, and nature reserves. )

Environmental Monitoring Program data for aquaculture.

**PLEASE NOTE:** The Environmental Monitoring System will be replaced by the EnMoDS system on March 5th, 2026. The EMS results objects will not contain new data after Feb 26th, 2026. For recent data please refer to [EnMoDS spatial locations and location groups](https://catalogue.data.gov.bc.ca/dataset/f60fa4b5-e3d0-44ad-b5d8-778d29764e34). Environmental Monitoring Stations (EMS) spatial points coverage for the Province by LOCATION TYPES. The following spatial layers reference this as a data source: 1. Environmental Monitoring - All Stations 2. Environmental Monitoring Stations - Air Monitoring (Ambient Air Site) 3. Environmental Monitoring Stations - Air Monitoring (Air Permit) 4. Environmental Monitoring Stations - Water Sites (Water Monitoring) 5. Environmental Monitoring Stations - Water Sites (Water Permits) 6. Environmental Monitoring Stations - Water Sites (Well) 7. Environmental Monitoring Stations - Water Sites (Observation Well) 8. Environmental Monitoring Stations - Water Sites (Spring)

The Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators (CESI) program provides data and information to track Canada's performance on key environmental sustainability issues. The Air quality indicators track ambient concentrations of fine particulate matter, ground-level ozone, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and volatile organic compounds at the national, regional and urban levels and at local monitoring stations. The national and regional indicators are presented with their corresponding Canadian Ambient Air Quality Standard when available. Canadians are exposed to air pollutants on a daily basis, and this exposure can cause adverse health and environmental effects. 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

The Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators (CESI) program provides data and information to track Canada's performance on key environmental sustainability issues. The Air quality indicators track ambient concentrations of fine particulate matter, ground-level ozone, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and volatile organic compounds at the national, regional and urban levels and at local monitoring stations. The national and regional indicators are presented with their corresponding Canadian Ambient Air Quality Standard when available. Canadians are exposed to air pollutants on a daily basis, and this exposure can cause adverse health and environmental effects. 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

**PLEASE NOTE:** The Environmental Monitoring System will be replaced by the EnMoDS system on March 5th, 2026. The EMS results objects will not contain new data after Feb 26th, 2026. For recent data please refer to EnMoDS results. Environmental test results, including physical, chemical and biological analyses of samples taken from water, air, solid waste discharges and ambient monitoring sites throughout the province. Samples are collected by either ministry staff or permittees under the Environmental Management Act and then analyzed in public or private sector laboratories. Code information Support Tables are available on the EMS [website](https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content?id=90A61A67831A4D108859FF77E74C2D4A). The environmental monitoring locations are available in this [geographic dataset](https://catalogue.data.gov.bc.ca/dataset/634ee4e0-c8f7-4971-b4de-12901b0b4be6). You can view EMS data from surface water monitoring sites located throughout the province [here](https://governmentofbc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=0ecd608e27ec45cd923bdcfeefba00a7)