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.

11 tagged Blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus) were tracked during the daytime movements as well as the feeding behaviour in the St. Lawrence River estuary. Kernel density was applied to derminate the high density feeding areas of all individuals combined (30, 40, 50, 60, 75, 95 %).Doniol-Valcroze T, Lesage V, Giard J, Michaud R, 2012. Challenges in marine mammal habitat modelling: evidence of multiple foraging habitats from the identification of feeding events in blue whales. Endang Species Res, Vol. 17 : 255–268, doi : 10.3354/esr00427(English version only)

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.

Species characterization by environmental DNA (eDNA) is a method that allows the use of DNA released into the environment by organisms from various sources (secretions, faeces, gametes, tissues, etc.). It is a complementary tool to standard sampling methods for the identification of biodiversity. This project provides a list of fish and marine mammal species whose DNA has been detected in water samples collected between 2019 and 2021 using the mitochondrial marker MiFish (12S).The surveys were carried out in the summer of 2019 (July 14-18) and (July 30 - August 5), in the fall of 2020 (October 27-28) and in the summer-fall of 2021 (May 31 - June 3 ) and (August 24-25) between Forestville and Godbout (Haute-Côte-Nord). Sampling was carried out between 1-50 meters depth in 91 stations, with 1 to 3 replicates per station. Two liters of water were filtered through a 1.2 µm fiberglass filter. DNA extractions were performed with the DNeasy Blood and Tissues or PowerWater extraction kit (Qiagen). Negative field, extraction and PCR controls were added at the different stages of the protocol. The libraries were prepared either by Génome Québec (2019, 2020) or by the Genomics Laboratory of the Maurice-Lamontagne Institute (2021), then sequenced on a NovaSeq 4000 PE250 system by Génome Québec. The bioinformatics analysis of the sequences obtained was carried out using an analysis pipeline developed in the genomics laboratory. A first step made it possible to obtain a table of molecular operational taxonomic units (MOTU) using the cutadapt software for the removal of the adapters and the R package DADA2 for the filtration, the fusion, removal of chimeras and compilation of data. The MOTUs table was then corrected using the R package metabaR to eliminate the tag-jumping and take contaminants into consideration. Samples showing a strong presence of contaminating MOTUs were removed from the dataset. The MOTUs were also filtered to remove all remaining adapter sequences and also retain only those of the expected size (around 170 bp). Finally, taxonomic assignments were made on the MOTUs using the BLAST+ program and the NCBI-nt database. Taxonomic levels (species, genus or family) were assigned using a best match method (Top hit), with a threshold of 95%. Only assignments at the level of fish and marine mammals were considered, and the taxa detected were compared to a list of regional species, and corrected if necessary. The species detections of the different replicas have been combined.The file provided includes generic activity information, including site, station name, date, marker type, assignment types used for taxa identification, and a list of taxa or species. The list of taxa has been verified by a biodiversity expert from the Maurice-Lamontagne Institute.This project was funded by Fisheries and Oceans Canada's Coastal Environmental Baseline Data Program under the Oceans Protection Plan. This initiative aims to acquire baseline environmental data that contributes to the characterization of significant coastal areas and supports evidence-based assessments and management decisions to preserve marine ecosystems.Data were also published on SLGO platform : https://doi.org/10.26071/ogsl-2239bca5-c24a

The Coastal Biodiversity Trawl Survey for the Passamaquoddy Bay was conducted annually between July to October from 2009 to 2019. This survey was intended to monitor long-term change in local species presence, habitat utilization, and health. The sampling activities support coastal research in fisheries, aquaculture, marine protected areas, and ecosystem change. Data collected prior to 2013 are generally not recommended for comparative analysis due to changes in vessel, sampling effort, and protocols.

Marine classification schemes based on abiotic surrogates often inform regional marine conservation planning in lieu of detailed biological data. However, theses chemes may poorly represent ecologically relevant biological patterns required for effective design and management strategies. We used a community-level modeling approach to characterize and delineate representative mesoscale (tens to thousands of kilometers) assemblages of demersal fish and benthic invertebrates in the North-west Atlantic. Hierarchical clustering of species occurrence data from four regional annual multispecies trawl surveys revealed three to six groupings (predominant assemblage types) in each survey region, broadly associated with geomorphic and oceanographic features. Indicator analyses identified 3–34 emblematic taxa of each assemblage type. Random forest classifications accurately predicted assemblage dis-tributions from environmental covariates (AUC > 0.95) and identified thermal limits (annual minimum and maximum bottom temperatures) as important pre-dictors of distribution in each region. Using forecasted oceanographic conditions for the year 2075 and a regional classification model, we projected assemblage dis-tributions in the southernmost bioregion (Scotian Shelf-Bay of Fundy) under ahigh emissions climate scenario (RCP 8.5). Range expansions to the north eastare projected for assemblages associated with warmer and shallower waters of the Western Scotian Shelf over the 21st century as thermal habitat on the rela-tively cooler Eastern Scotian Shelf becomes more favorable. Community-level modeling provides a biotic-informed approach for identifying broadscale ecolog-ical structure required for the design and management of ecologically coherent, representative, well-connected networks of Marine Protected Areas. When com-bined with oceanographic forecasts, this modeling approach provides a spatial tool for assessing sensitivity and resilience to climate change, which can improve conservation planning, monitoring, and adaptive management.Cite this data as: O'Brien, J.M., Stanley, R.R.E., Jeffery, N.W., Heaslip, S.W., DiBacco, C., and Wang, Z. Demersal fish and benthic invertebrate assemblages in the Northwest Atlantic.Published: December 2024. Coastal Ecosystems Science Division, Maritimes region, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dartmouth NS.https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/14d55ea5-b17d-478c-b9ee-6a7c04439d2b

Basic biological data for all fish caught during the 2012 BSMFP expedition. Includes identification, weight, length (total, fork, and, standard), liver weight, gonad weight, sex and maturity level.

Benthic Marine Ecounits in coastal and offshore British Columbia. Benthic ecounits are intended to describe the sea bed and nearshore. Seven variables were selected to derive benthic ecounits: 1. Depth; 2. Slope; 3. Relief; 4. Temperature; 5. Exposure; 6. Current and 7. Substrate. CRIMS is a legacy dataset of BC coastal resource data that was acquired in a systematic and synoptic manner from 1979 and was intermittently updated throughout the years. Resource information was collected in nine study areas using a peer-reviewed provincial Resource Information Standards Committee consisting of DFO Fishery Officers, First Nations, and other subject matter experts. There are currently no plans to update this legacy data.

Since 2005, Fisheries and Oceans Canada has been collecting monitoring data for aquatic invasive species (e.g. https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/8d87f574-0661-40a0-822f-e9eabc35780d, https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/503a957e-7d6b-11e9-aef3-f48c505b2a29, https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/8661edcf-f525-4758-a051-cb3fc8c74423). This monitoring data, as well additional occurrence information from online databases and the scientific literature, have been paired with high resolution environmental data and oceanographic models in species distribution models that predict the present-day and future potential distributions of 12 moderate to high risk invasive species on Canada’s east and west coasts. Future distributions were predicted for 2075, under Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s fifth Assessment Report. Present-day and future richness of these species (i.e., hotspots) has also been estimated by summing their occurrence probabilities. This data set includes the occurrence locations of each species, the present-day and future species distribution modeling results for each species, and the estimated species richness. This research has been published in the scientific literature(Lyons et al. 2020).Lyons DA, Lowen JB, Therriault TW, Brickman D, Guo L, Moore AM, Peña MA, Wang Z, DiBacco C. (In Press) Identifying Marine Invasion Hotspots Using Stacked Species Distribution Models. Biological InvasionsCite this data as: Lyons DA., Lowen JB, Therriault TW., Brickman D., Guo L., Moore AM., Peña MA., Wang Z., DiBacco C. Data of: Species distribution models and occurrence data for marine invasive species hotspot identification. Published: November 2020. Coastal Ecosystems Science Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dartmouth, N.S. https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/1bbd5131-8b34-4245-b999-3b4c4259d74f

Considered the "king" of sea lions, the Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus) is the biggest of all sea lions and enjoys a lifespan of up to thirty years. In Canada, the Steller can be spotted along the rocky coast of British Columbia. This hefty mammal usually travels alone or in a small group, but wisely, it joins others for protection during the mating and birthing season. Little is known about its oceanic lifestyle; however, the good news for this sea-loving mammal is that since the Steller sea lion first became protected in 1970, the size of the adult population has more than doubled. Recent trends in the abundance of Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) in British Columbia were assessed based on a series of thirteen province-wide aerial surveys conducted during the breeding season (27-June to 06-July) between 1971 and 2013.