Three marine spatial planning areas are delineated in Eastern Canada to define the spatial extents of marine spatial plans being led by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO): the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence (EGSL), the Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) Shelves, and the Scotian Shelf and Bay of Fundy. The EGSL planning area includes the St. Lawrence River estuary from northeast of Île d’Orléans, Quebec, the Saguenay River estuary, and the entire Gulf of St. Lawrence as far north as the Strait of Belle Isle (NAFO Divisions 4RST). The NL Shelves planning area includes areas off southern, eastern and northern Newfoundland, part of the Churchill River and Lake Melville, as well as off the Labrador coast to the extent of the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) (NAFO Divisions 2GHJ and 3KLNOP). The Scotian Shelf and Bay of Fundy planning area includes DFO Maritimes’ administrative region off the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia to the extent of the EEZ, the Bay of Fundy and the Canadian portion of the Gulf of Maine (NAFO Divisions 4VWX, 5Ze, and the Canadian portion of 5Y). The French EEZ for St. Pierre et Miquelon is excluded from the three planning areas. These planning areas are derived from Federal Marine Bioregions (https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/23eb8b56-dac8-4efc-be7c-b8fa11ba62e9) that were developed by a Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat process using ecosystem-based management principles to define 13 ecological bioregions that have informed but not directed DFO implementation of marine spatial planning.

This report describes an analysis of Maritimes Region inshore lobster logbook data reported at a grid level, including Bay of Fundy Disputed Zone data reported at the coordinate level. Annual and composite (2015–2019) grid maps were produced for landings, number of trap hauls, and the same series standardized by grid area, as well as maps of catch weight per number of trap hauls as an index of catch per unit effort (CPUE). Spatial differences in fishing pressure, landings, and CPUE are indicated, and potential mapping applications are outlined. Mapping the distribution and intensity of inshore lobster fishing activity has management applications for spatial planning and related decision support. The lack of region-wide latitude and longitude coordinates for inshore lobster effort and landings limits the utility of commercial logbook data for marine spatial planning purposes.

Fisheries landings and effort mapping of the inshore lobster fishery on the DFO Maritimes Region statistical grid (2012-2014). This report describes an analysis of Maritimes Region inshore lobster logbook data reported at a grid level, including Bay of Fundy Grey Zone data reported at the coordinate level. Annual and composite (2012–2014) grid maps were produced for landings, number of license-days fished, number of trap hauls, and the same series standardized by grid area, as well as maps of catch weight per number of trap hauls as an index of catch per unit effort (CPUE). Spatial differences in fishing pressure, landings, and CPUE are indicated, and potential mapping applications are outlined. Mapping the distribution and intensity of inshore lobster fishing activity has management applications for spatial planning and related decision support. The lack of region-wide latitude and longitude coordinates for lobster effort and landings limits the utility of commercial logbook data for marine spatial planning purposes.

The Marine Geoscience for Marine Spatial Planning (MGMSP) program, implemented byNatural Resources Canada (NRCan), is an initiative with the goal of offering innovativeregional geoscience products to support the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) intheir Marine Spatial Planning endeavors. To develop spatial management plans for variousexpansive bioregions across Canada, the DFO has undertaken the task of creatingcomprehensive ocean management strategies. Presently, the MGMSP program isconcentrating its efforts on two significant bioregions, namely the Scotian Shelf andNewfoundland and Labrador Shelves bioregions.In pursuit of this objective, the work presented in this report has focused on theassimilation and gridding of numerous disparate bathymetry datasets sourced fromauthoritative and reliable channels. The purpose of this comprehensive data gatheringapproach is to establish a unified bathymetric grid, with a consistent spatial resolution,which can be utilized in both oceanographic modeling and geological interpretation. Bycollating information from a diverse range of sources, we aim to create a comprehensiveand reliable foundation that will enable accurate and informed decision-making in the fieldof marine spatial planning, as well as enhance the accuracy and reliability of subsequentanalyses and simulations.

The joint Natural Resources Canada/Department of Fisheries and Oceans Marine Spatial Planning Program requires the highest resolution marine based bathymetric elevation data and adjacent land based topographic elevation data that are available. This digital elevation model of Canada's west coast compiles the best data available from multiple government agencies to create a regional model gridded at 10 meter spacing. The transitions between the marine and terrestrial areas are seamless creating a continuous surface of elevations for scientific research and mapping.

The rationale for developing this product was the recognized need for a standard and adaptable marine grid that could be used for planning or analysis purposes across projects. This nested grid has five spatial resolutions: 8km, 4km, 2km, 1km, and 500m. It covers the extent of the EEZ on the Canadian Pacific coast, and further east in order to encompass the Fraser River Delta and Puget Sound to account for ecological importance.

The Automatic Identification System (AIS) is a global, satellite-based and terrestrial-based ship tracking system that uses shipborne equipment to remotely track vessel identification and positional information and is typically required on vessels of 300 gross tonnage or more on an international voyage, of 500 gross tonnage or more not on an international voyage, and passenger ships of all sizes. AIS tracking technologies are primarily used in support of real-time maritime domain awareness and for maritime security and safety of life at sea. This report describes a geographic information system (GIS) analysis of 2019 AIS data to produce yearly and monthly vessel density maps of all vessel classes combined and yearly density maps of each vessel class. The year 2019 was selected to portray shipping densities in a pre-COVID 19 pandemic depiction of the maritime transport sector in the Northwest Atlantic. Vessel density map applications include use in spatial analysis and decision support for marine spatial planning.In 2023 the process was applied to the years 2013 through to 2022 and were made available using the same processes that were applied to the original 2019 datasets.

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

Human activities occurring on land can impact marine coastal ecosystems. Baseline information on the locations and intensity of these activities are critical components of any impact assessment or spatial planning approach seeking to mitigate stress and protect or restore coastal ecosystems. As part of a wider project, land use maps were created for 109 coastal watersheds draining into the Scotian Shelf Bioregion – a biophysical subdivision of Canada’s marine waters in the Maritimes Region of Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Information was compiled from various national and provincial publicly available spatial data sources. Each map provides basic statistics on areal values of different land cover types (such as forested areas, pervious or impervious surfaces, agricultural areas, peatlands, parks and protected areas, wetlands and freshwater bodies), human population density, building locations, and locations of major riverine pour points. This project was funded by Fisheries and Oceans Canada through a Strategic Program for Ecosystem-based Research and Advice (SPERA) grant. Source Guijarro-Sabaniel, J., Kelly, N.E. 2022. Land Use Atlas for Coastal Watersheds in the Maritimes Region. Can. Tech. Rep. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 3494: viii + 135 p. Associated publication Kelly, N.E., Guijarro-Sabaniel, J. and Zimmerman, R., 2021. Anthropogenic nitrogen loading and risk of eutrophication in the coastal zone of Atlantic Canada. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 263, p.107630. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2021.107630Cite this data as: Guijarro-Sabaniel, J. Kelly, N.E. Land use atlas for coastal watersheds in the Maritimes Region. Published May 2022. Coastal Ecosystems Science Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dartmouth, N.S.

Significant climate change impacts are highly likely in all Canadian marine and freshwater basins, with effects increasing over time (DFO 2012). Climate models project that ecosystems and fisheries across Canada will be disrupted into the foreseeable future (Lotze et al. 2019; Bryndum-Buchholz et al. 2020; Tittensor et al. 2021; Boyce et al. 2024). Despite its imminence, climate change is infrequently factored into Canada’s primary marine conservation strategies, such as spatial planning (O’Regan et al. 2021) or fisheries management (Boyce et al. 2021; Pepin et al. 2022). The Climate Risk Index for Biodiversity (CRIB) was developed to assess climate risk for marine species in a quantitative, spatially explicit, and scalable manner, supporting climate-informed decision-making. It has been used to evaluate climate risks for marine life globally (Boyce et al. 2022), regionally (Lewis et al. 2023; Boyce et al. 2024; Keen et al. 2023), for fisheries (Boyce et al. 2024), and in support of spatial conservation planning (Keen et al. 2023). This dataset contains climate vulnerability and risk estimates from the CRIB framework adapted to consider warming at both the sea surface and its bottom for 145 marine species of conservation or fisheries interest across Canada’s marine territory. Climate risk is available at a 0.25-degree resolution under two contrasting emission scenarios to 2100. For each species, location, and scenario, 12 climate indexes, three vulnerability dimensions, and an overall vulnerability and risk score are provided. The accompanying report describes the data, methods, and workflow used to calculate risk. This report also guides the interpretation of these data to inform and support climate-informed decision-making in Canada.