Bay and Channel (fresh and marine) features and associated names

The Beaufort Regional Environmental Assessment-Marine Fishes Project (2012-2014) and Canadian Beaufort Sea-Marine Ecosystem Assessment (CBS-MEA, 2017-present) conducted by Fisheries and Oceans Canada provide offshore surveys of marine fishes and ecosystems on the Canadian Beaufort Shelf and slope in August and early September. The projects focus on integrating oceanography, food web linkages, physical-biological couplings and spatial and inter-annual variability, within the context of ongoing climate-driven change including enhanced Ocean Acidification. Sampling was conducted from the F/V Frosti at stations along transects spanning 20-1000 m. Zooplankton was collected using a bongo or multi-net system in conjunction with oceanographic and biogeochemical sampling.

This shapefile dataset was designed using polygons extracted from the Cartography of Coastal Ecosystems of Maritime Quebec geodatabase (2022, Laboratory for Dynamics and Integrated Management of Coastal Zones, Fisheries and Oceans Canada), described in the paragraph below. It consists of polygons with eelgrass and incorporates attributes describing the vegetation cover, the composition of the seagrass beds, the associated ecosystem name, the imagery data that allowed photo-interpretation and the presence or absence of field data. A unique sequence number associated with each polygon makes it possible to trace the paired polygon of the geodatabase of coastal ecosystems to attribute values not detailed in this shapefile. The study area includes all of the estuarine and maritime coasts of Quebec, with the exception of certain sectors, including most of the Lower North Shore and Anticosti Island, with the exception of villages of Kegaska, la Romaine, Chevery, Blanc-Sablon and Port-Menier. Some islands off the estuary and gulf coasts are part of the region covered, such as Île d'Orléans, Isle-aux-Coudres, Île Verte and Île Bonaventure.The Mapping of Coastal Ecosystems of Maritime Quebec was carried out jointly by the Laboratory for Dynamics and Integrated Coastal Zone Management (LDGIZC) of the University of Quebec at Rimouski as part of the Coastal Resilience Project; and by the Fisheries and Oceans Canada team, as part of the Integrated Marine Response Planning Program (IMRP). A classification of coastal ecosystems was carried out on more than 4,200 km of coastal corridor, focusing on estuarine and maritime coasts of Quebec located between the limit of the upper foreshore and the shallow infralittoral (about 10m deep). The mapping method developed is based on semi-automated segmentation and a photo-interpretation of coastal ecosystems, using very high resolution multispectral photographs (RBVI) acquired between 2015 and 2020 by DFO. The classification of polygons is based on the assignment of predefined value classes for the biological and physical attributes under study (e.g., substrates, plant type, vegetation cover, geosystem, etc. ). Helicopter-born oblique photographs and field data helped to reduce the uncertainty associated with photo-interpretation. UQAR and DFO conducted field sampling campaigns targeting the mediolittoral (4,390 stations) and the lower mediolittoral and infralittoral zones (2,959 stations), respectively , which validated some of the attributes identified by photo-interpretation and provided detailed information on community structure . The geodatabase of the Mapping of coastal ecosystems is hosted and managed by UQAR on their SIGEC-Web cartographic platform: https://ldgizc.uqar.ca/Web/sigecwebCredits © DFO (2023, Fisheries and Oceans Canada)Provencher-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.Grégoire, B. 2022. Biodiversité du relevé côtier Planification pour une intervention environnementale intégrée dans l’estuaire et le golfe du Saint-Laurent (2017–2021). Observatoire global du Saint-Laurent. [Jeu de données]Jobin, A., Marquis, G., Provencher-Nolet, L., Gabaj Castrillo. M. J., Trubiano C., Drouet, M., Eustache-Létourneau, D., Drejza, S. Fraser, C. Marie, G. et P. Bernatchez (2021) Cartographie des écosystèmes côtiers du Québec maritime — Rapport méthodologique. Chaire de recherche en géoscience côtière, Laboratoire de dynamique et de gestion intégrée des zones côtières, Université du Québec à Rimouski. Rapport remis au ministère de l’Environnement et de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, septembre 2021, 98 p.

PURPOSE:From August 2nd to September 9th, 2013, Fisheries and Oceans Canada conducted a baseline survey of marine fishes and their habitats in the southern Canadian Beaufort Sea and Amundsen Gulf as part of the Beaufort Regional Environmental Assessment (BREA) called the Beaufort Sea Marine Fishes Project (BSMFP). Sampling was conducted from the F/V Frosti at 53 stations along 8 transects. Standardized sampling was conducted using benthic trawling nets. The BSMFP is the first research project to use a large research trawls to assess the biodiversity and abundance of offshore marine fishes in this area. In total, 48 species of fish were caught, one of which was a new occurrence in the Canadian Beaufort Sea, Lycodes lavalaei. DESCRIPTION:Basic biological data for all fish caught during the 2013 BSMFP expedition. Includes identification, weight, length (total, fork, and, standard), liver weight, gonad weight, sex and maturity level. PARAMETERS COLLECTED:familyspeciesweighttotal lengthfork lengthstandard lengthliver weightgonad weightsexmaturitySAMPLING METHODS:Various trawl types.

PURPOSE:From August 1st to September 11th, 2014, Fisheries and Oceans Canada conducted a baseline survey of marine fishes and their habitats in the southern Canadian Beaufort Sea and Amundsen Gulf as part of the Beaufort Regional Environmental Assessment (BREA) called the Beaufort Sea Marine Fishes Project (BSMFP). Sampling was conducted from the F/V Frosti at 54 stations along 14 transects. Standardized sampling was conducted at pre-determined depth stations (20-1500 m) using benthic trawling nets. The BSMFP is the first research project to use large research trawls to assess the biodiversity and abundance of offshore marine fishes in this area. In total, 42 species of fish were caught. This report contains information on fishing net deployments, catch per unit effort (CPUE), and basic biological data for all fishes caught.DESCRIPTION:Basic biological data for all fish caught during the 2014 BSMFP expedition. Includes identification, weight, length (total, fork, and, standard), liver weight, gonad weight, sex and maturity level. PARAMETERS COLLECTED:familyspeciesweighttotal lengthfork lengthstandard lengthliver weightgonad weightsexmaturitySAMPLING METHODS:Various trawl types.

GIS compilation of data used to perform the stacked cumulative chance of success (resource potential map) in Open file 9163. Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) has been tasked, under the Marine Conservation Targets (MCT) initiative announced in Budget 2016, with evaluating the petroleum resource potential for areas identified for possible protection as part of the Government of Canada's commitment to conserve 10% of its marine areas by 2020. As part of this initiative, NRCan's Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) conducted a broad regional study of the petroleum potential over the majority of the Magdalen Basin, which is the principal geological basin in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence. The GSC resource assessment is visually represented by a qualitative petroleum potential map. Disclaimer: A simplified colored version of the map is displayed on the Web Mapping Service (WMS). The correct version is available for download through the Federal Geospatial Platform (FGP) and GEOSCAN.

PURPOSE:The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) conducted a baseline survey of biological communities and habitat parameters in the offshore Canadian Beaufort Sea between 2012 and 2014, as part of the federally administered Beaufort Regional Environmental Assessment. The BREA-Marine Fishes Project (BREA-MFP) was the first comprehensive baseline study of offshore marine fish diversity and associated habitats in the Canadian Beaufort Sea. Knowledge gained during the BREA-MFP supports regulatory processes pertaining to offshore development and Oceans Management in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, and provides baseline context for studies of the effects of climate change and variability. The Canadian Beaufort Sea – Marine Ecosystem Assessment (CBS-MEA, 2017-2019 and 2021-2024) is building on system baselines and ecological knowledge derived from the BREA-MFP to develop a comprehensive research and monitoring approach for the offshore Canadian Beaufort Sea. This approach will enable us to better understand the relationship between oceanographic drivers and ecosystem responses. The CBS-MEA focuses on integrating oceanography, food web linkages, physical-biological couplings and spatial and inter-annual variabilities, while also expanding baseline coverage of species diversity, abundances, and habitat associations to areas of the Beaufort Sea and Canadian Archipelago that are previously unstudied in this context.DESCRIPTION:Between 2017 and 2019, and between 2021 and 2024, Fisheries and Oceans Canada conducted a baseline survey of marine fishes and their habitats on the Canadian Beaufort Shelf and slope in August and early September each year. Sampling was conducted from the F/V Frosti at over 150 stations along ten multi-year transects, and over 50 non-transect stations. 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. Presented here is the information on the sampling locations, and the sampling gear deployed at each station.

The Marine Biodiversity Observation Network Pole to Pole (MBON P2P) effort seeks to develop a framework for the collection, use and sharing of marine biodiversity data in a coordinated, standardized manner leveraging on existing infrastructure managed by the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS; IOC-UNESCO), the GEO Biodiversity Observation Network (GEO BON), and the Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS). The MBON Pole to Pole aims to become a key resource for decision-making and management of living resource across countries in the Americas for reporting requirements under the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), Aichi Targets of the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD), and the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).This collection corresponds to the species registered on rocky shores of the Musquash Harbour, Passamaquoddy Bay and Mispec Bay, New Brunswick, Canada, using the MBON P2P sampling protocol for rocky shores, with funding from the Government of Canada's Coastal Environmental Baseline Program.Citation: Reinhart B, Cooper A, Nason R, Jonah L (2025). MBON POLE TO POLE: ROCKY SHORE BIODIVERSITY OF MUSQUASH HARBOUR, PASSAMAQUODDY BAY AND MISPEC BAY. Version 1.7. Caribbean OBIS Node. Samplingevent dataset. https://ipt.iobis.org/mbon/resource?r=rockyshoresbayoffundynb&v=1.7

Marine Protected Areas require comprehensive monitoring to ensure objectives are achieved; however, monitoring natural ecosystems at scale is challenged by the biodiversity it aims to measure. Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding holds promise to address this monitoring challenge. We conducted paired sampling at 54 sites for fish and invertebrate assemblages in the Northwest Atlantic using groundfish trawls and eDNA metabarcoding of benthic seawater using four genetic markers (12S rRNA, 16S rRNA, 18S rRNA, and CO1). Compared to trawling, eDNA detected similar patterns of species turnover, larger estimates of gamma diversity, and smaller estimates of alpha diversity. A total of 63.6% (42/66) of fish species captured by trawling were detected by eDNA, along with an additional 26 species. Of the 24 missed detections by eDNA, 12 were inevitable as they lacked reference sequences. Excluding taxa assigned to higher than species level and those without a species name, 23.6% (17/72) of invertebrate species captured by trawling were detected by CO1, which detected an additional 98 species. We demonstrate that eDNA is capable of detecting patterns of community assemblage and species turnover in an offshore environment, emphasizing its strong potential for a non-invasive, comprehensive, and scalable tool for biodiversity monitoring supporting marine conservation programmes.Cite this data as: Jeffery, N., Rubidge, E., Abbott, C., Westfall, K., Stanley, R. (2024): Data of: eDNA metabarcoding enriches traditional trawl survey data for monitoring biodiversity in the marine environment.Published: August 2024. Coastal Ecosystems Science Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dartmouth, N.S. https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/43a91ba7-8025-4330-88db-db14022d729d

The Coastal Environmental Baseline Program is a multi-year Fisheries and Oceans Canada initiative designed to work with Indigenous and local communities and other key parties to collect coastal environmental data at a series of sites across Canada, to build a better understanding of existing marine ecological conditions. The program began data collection in 2019, and with the onset of Phase 2 in 2023, the Maritimes region study area was expanded and renamed ‘Northwest Fundy Shores’. A physical oceanography program was designed to align with the oceanographic interests and data needs of local interest holders. Starting in 2023, oceanographic parameters including water temperature, salinity, depth and turbidity have been monitored at a series of locations in Passamaquoddy Bay, the St. Croix River, and along the Bay of Fundy coast, including the Musquash estuary Marine Protected Area (MPA). This dataset includes seasonal CTD (conductivity, temperature and depth) and turbidity data starting in spring 2023. Instruments are maintained through the winter months at a limited number of sites. Data collection methods are primarily moored instruments on the bottom in water depths of 5-90 meters, and a few buoyant surface floats. Overall, this dataset captures seasonal dynamics in near-shore marine environments in Passamaquoddy Bay, the St Croix River, the Bay of Fundy and the Musquash MPA. Cite this data as: Coastal Environmental Baseline Program (Maritimes Region), Northwest Fundy Shores conductivity, temperature and depth data. Published in May 2025. Coastal Environmental Baseline Program. Coastal Ecosystems Science Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, St. Andrews, N.B. 14-02-2025