From August 5th to September 3rd, 2012, Fisheries and Oceans Canada conducted a baseline survey of marine fishes and their habitats on the Canadian Beaufort Shelf and slope. Sampling was conducted from the F/V Frosti at 28 stations along four transects. Standardized sampling was conducted at pre-determined depth stations (20-40, 75, 200, 350, 500, 750, and 1000 m) using a variety of sampling equipment including benthic fishing trawls, plankton nets, sediment cores, and CTD and water sample profiles. A specialized CTD probe (UCTD) was deployed at an additional 30 locations while the ship was underway. Presented here is the information on the sampling locations, and the sampling gear deployed at each station.

From August 2nd to September 9th, 2013, Fisheries and Oceans Canada conducted a baseline survey of marine fishes and their habitats on the Canadian Beaufort Shelf and slope. Sampling was conducted from the F/V Frosti at 64 stations along ten transects. Standardized sampling was conducted on the transects at pre-determined depth stations (20-40, 75, 200, 350, 500, 750, and 1000 m) using a variety of sampling equipment including benthic fishing trawls, plankton nets, sediment cores, and CTD and water sample profiles. A specialized CTD probe (UCTD) was deployed at an additional 72 locations while the ship was underway.Presented here is the information on the sampling locations, and the sampling gear deployed at each station.

In place since fall 1994, the sentinel fisheries program is the result of a collaboration between Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and Quebec and Newfoundland commercial fishermen's associations. Under this program, contracts are awarded by tender to fishermen’s associations to carry out fishing activities according to scientific protocols developed by DFO. The main objective of this survey is to collect data that will be used to calculate abundance indices for the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence Atlantic cod stock.Description of fixed gears surveyThe fixed gear sentinel fisheries of the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence are conducted in the sub-division 3Pn and the divisions 4R, 4S of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) using fixed gillnets or longlines (other fishing gears were also used at the start of the program). Fishing activities with nets must have a mesh size of 5 ½ inches (140mm) and are limited to a maximum of 6 to 20 nets depending on the region and capture and the target immersion time is between 19 to 24 hours. Longline fishing activities, for its part, must be carried out with traditional J #16 or C #12 hooks. The maximum number of hooks varies from 500 to 1000, depending on the catch, and the target immersion time is 4 to 6 hours. Data are collected by observers at sea or by technicians.DataFor each fishing activity, the total catch is sorted and weighed by species. For each species other than Atlantic cod, the number of individuals caught is noted. Atlantic cod are then measured at the fork (cm). Other biological data such as weight (total, gonad, liver and stomach), age, sex and maturity can then be collected on a subsample of cod.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, a “Freql” file containing the length frequency of fish.The data collected as part of this program is available below. It is important to note, however, that 1) only traits deemed successful have been retained; 2) historical data may contain inaccuracies; 3) the most recent survey is not available for validation purposes.

In 2009, Fisheries and Oceans Canada published the Policy on Managing the Impacts of Fishing on Sensitive Benthic Areas. To support the implementation of this policy, a Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat (CSAS) process was initiated to: assess the distribution of fishing effort in Canada’s Atlantic and Eastern Arctic waters from 2005-2014, evaluate the overlap between fishing effort and Significant Benthic Areas (SiBAs), and identify areas of potential conservation concern. Although Research Document 2018/15 (Koen-Alonso et al. 2018), detailing this work, has not been updated since publication, the methodology outlined within it is still used to generate updated fishing effort layers as new data becomes available. This record illustrates cumulative fishing effort in Canada’s Atlantic and Eastern Arctic waters from 2005-2023, and is based on commercial logbook and vessel monitoring system (VMS) data. Fishing effort has been standardized into percentiles, whereby the top 20th percentile of intensity (cell values ≥20) represent cells containing the most intense fishing activities.

In place since fall 1994, the sentinel fisheries program is the result of a collaboration between Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and Quebec and Newfoundland commercial fishermen's associations. Under this program, contracts are awarded by tender to fishermen’s associations to carry out fishing activities according to scientific protocols developed by DFO. The main objective of this survey is to collect data that will be used to calculate abundance indices for various fish stocks, including cod, Greenland halibut, Atlantic halibut and rockfish.Description of mobile surveyThe mobile gear sentinel fisheries of the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence are conducted in the sub-division 3Pn and the divisions 4R, 4S and the northern part of the division 4T of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO). This program follows a stratified random survey plan according to depth strata, NAFO divisions and the type of substrate at the bottom. A standard tow is 30 minutes long and made at a speed of 2.5 knots. The fishing gear is a 300 Star Balloon trawl mounted on a Rock Hopper footgear. The trawl mesh size is 145 mm with a liner of 40 mm in the codend. Unless conditions at sea compromise safety during fishing activity, a retaining cable must be used to standardize the horizontal opening between vessels and the various depths fished. Data are collected by observers at sea or by technicians.The data contained in this program are divided into 4 different projects.-The summer series, carried out during the month of July-The fall series, which covers the period from 1995 to 2002-The winter series, to study the mixing between the different stocks-The CRP (Cod reproductive potential) series, which targets the reproductive potential.DataFor each trait, the total catch is sorted and weighed for each species. The number of individuals caught for each unmeasured fish species is noted. Biological data such as length, weight (sampled, per individual, gonad, liver and stomach), age, sex and maturity migth then be collected on a subsample of many species such as Atlantic halibut, Greenland halibut, lumpfish and Atlantic cod, using a variety of protocols. 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, a “Freql” file containing the length frequency of fish.The data collected as part of this program is available below. It is important to note, however, that 1) only traits deemed successful have been retained; 2) historical data may contain inaccuracies; 3) the most recent survey is not available for validation purposes.

Dataset of species/gear type commercial fisheries from 2012 to 2021 in the Eastern Canada Regions. Only fish harvested from the NL, Maritimes, Gulf, Quebec and Eastern Arctic regions are included (Species Sought).The data was obtained from Statistical Services, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and consists of commercial species/gear type landings data from 2012 to 2021 taken from Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) Subareas 0, 2, 3, 4 and 5 and fished in the NL, Maritimes, Gulf, Quebec and Eastern Arctic regions. The layer was created by overlaying a 2 minute hexagonal grid (approx. 10km2 cell) on species/gear type commercial fisheries point data and summing the total landings by weight reported for each cell over the ten year period. Therefore, the value of each grid cell is equal to the total species/gear type landings in kg from 2012 to 2021 for the area, and may represent many fishing events from several vessels over the ten year period. All landings are from Canadian vessels greater than 35-ft, and does not include information pertaining to international fishing vessels (i.e., St. Pierre). Individuals should exercise caution when interpreting this data. Data has not been altered and is mapped from the original logbook entry for each record prior to amalgamation. Data may contain errors such as inaccurate or nonviable coordinates, landed weights and/or species identification. For example, cases of fishing events reported in a NAFO Division with corresponding coordinates falling outside that particular NAFO Division or fishing events which appear to be located on a land mass due to rounding errors in the original entries. Such cases were excluded from the dataset. Only one location is given for each fishing event; therefore, a fishing activity that would normally cover a large area (i.e., trawling) is only shown in a single location. Some species may not include all records or locations where activity is taking place due to regional differences in permissions for mapping, or because the fishery is only partially georeferenced (e.g. Lobster). The locations/areas shown should only be used as an estimation of fishing intensity and a general guide of where particular species/gear type fishing occurs. This dataset has been privacy screened to comply with the Government of Canada's privacy policy. Privacy assessments were conducted to identify NAFO unit areas containing data with less than five vessel IDs, license IDs and fisher IDs. If this threshold was not met, catch weight locations have been withheld from these statistical areas to protect the identity or activity of individual vessels or companies. In some instances, permissions were obtained to map species or gears with a limited number of vessels, licenses, or fisher ids. The withheld areas are indicated by the unit area that has been removed and given a weight of -9999.

Fishing event (e.g., day, time, location, catch effort), and associated biological data from the Standardized Inlet Survey component of the annual Sablefish Research and Assessment Survey on the British Columbia coast.IntroductionDFO and the Canadian Sablefish Association undertake a collaborative fishery-independent annual research survey under a joint agreement. The survey employs longline trap gear to obtain catch rate data, gather biological samples, capture oceanographic measurements, and collect tag release and recapture data.Data summaries are provided here for standardized sets conducted at fixed stations within mainland inlets. The design of the sablefish survey has developed over time by incorporating and discontinuing components, including individual experimental studies (not available on OpenData). This Standardized Inlet Survey component differs in methodology from the other two survey components: (1) Offshore stratified random survey (2003 – present; available on OpenData using link below), and(2) Standardized trap survey – offshore indexing and offshore tagging (1990 – 2010; not yet available on OpenData). For the Standardized Inlet Survey, sets are allocated to five specific polygons in each of the following four inlet areas: Portland Inlet, Gil Island, Finlayson Channel, and Dean/Burke Channel. All four inlets were surveyed consistently between 2003 and 2019. No inlets were surveyed in 2020, and a single inlet was surveyed each year since 2021. Survey procedures are standardized and documented in Canadian Technical Reports of Fisheries and Aquatic sciences.Data tables provided for the Standardized Inlet Survey include (i) Effort, (ii) Catch, and (iii) Biological Information.Inlet EffortThis table contains information about annual survey trips and fishing events (sets). Trip-level information includes the year the survey took place, a unique trip identifier, the vessel that conducted the survey and the trip start and end dates (the dates the vessel was away from the dock conducting the survey). Set-level information includes the inlet name, date, time, location and depth that fishing took place, soak time, and number of traps deployed. All successful fishing events are included, where successful sets are those that met survey design specifications.Inlet CatchThis table contains the catch information from successful fishing events. Catch is identified to species or to the lowest taxonomic level possible. Catch is recorded as fish counts and / or weight. The unique trip identifier and set number are included so that catches can be related to the fishing event information (including capture location) for each set.Inlet Biological InformationThis table contains the biological data for sampled catches. Data may include any or all of length, weight, sex, maturity and age. Most of the sampled catch is Sablefish; however, some biological information has been collected for other species. Age structures are collected and are archived until required for analyses; therefore, all existing structures have not been aged. Tissue samples (usually a fin clip) may be collected for genetic (DNA) analysis for specific species. Tissue samples may be archived until required for analysis; for more information please see the data contacts. The unique trip identifier and set number are included so that samples can be related to the fishing event and catch information.

Fish stocking data for recreational fishing purposes. Contains: * stocking data for the past 10 years for species where the purpose of the stocking event was to promote recreational fishing. This is a subset of data from the fish stocking information system. This data can also be obtained through the [Fish ON-Line application](http://www.ontario.ca/fishonline). For information on where stocking occurs for research or rehabilitation purposes, contact a local Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry district office. Related datasets: * [Ontario waterbody location identifer](https://data.ontario.ca/dataset/ontario-waterbody-location-identifier)

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) conducted a winter multidisciplinary scientific surveys with a bottom trawl the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence and Cabot Straight from 1978 to 1994. 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. Collect samples for various research projectsSurvey descriptionThis winter survey covers the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence, that is the divisions 4R, 4S and 3Pn 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 Gadus Atlantica is an Engel 145 Otter trawl. 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 subsample. 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 Greenland halibut 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 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).

Data layers show commercial fishery footprints for directed fisheries using bottom and pelagic longlines for groundfish and large pelagics respectively, and traps for hagfish, LFA 41 and Grey Zone lobster, snow crab, and other crab on the Scotian Shelf, the Bay of Fundy, and Georges Bank in NAFO Divisions 4VWX and Canadian portions of 5Y and 5Z. Bottom longline and trap fishery maps aggregate commercial logbook effort (bottom longline soak time and logbook entries) per 2-minute grid cell using 2002–2017 data. Pelagic longline maps aggregate speed-filtered vessel monitoring system (VMS) track lines as vessel minutes per km2 on a base-10 log scale using 2003–2018 data. The following data layers are included in the mapping service for use in marine spatial planning and ecological risk assessment: 1) multi-year and quarterly composite data layers for bottom longline and trap gear, and 2) multi-year and monthly composite data layers for pelagic longline gear. Additional details are available online: S. Butler, D. Ibarra and S. Coffen-Smout, 2019. Maritimes Region Longline and Trap Fisheries Footprint Mapping for Marine Spatial Planning and Risk Assessment. Can. Tech. Rep. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 3293: v + 30 p. http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2019/mpo-dfo/Fs97-6-3293-eng.pdf