Layers that present various important parameters such as inventories, presence, sightings, distribution, relative occurrence or catch rates, critical habitat, breeding and feeding areas, potential spawning and haul-out sites for the different species with status under the Species at Risk Act (SARA).The act classifies those species as being either extirpated, endangered, threatened, or of special concern. Under SARA, Fisheries and Oceans Canada must produce recovery strategies and action plans for aquatic species listed as endangered or threatened. The act is part of Canada’s strategy to protect hundreds of wild plants and animal species from becoming extinct, and to help in their recovery.The different species represented by the layers are the following:1. American shad (Alosa sapidissima)2. Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus)3. Atlantic wolffish (Anarhichas lupus)4. Beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas)5. Blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus)6. Copper redhorse (Moxostoma hubbsi)7. Eelgrass (Zostera marina)8. Grey seal (Halichoerus grypus)9. Harbor seal (Phoca vitulina)10. Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae)11. Lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens)12. Lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus)13. Northern wolffish (Anarhichas denticulatus)14. Rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax)15. Sea pens (Pennatulacea)16. Seaweed17. Smooth skate (Malacoraja senta)18. Sponges19. Spotted wolffish (Anarhichas minor)20. Striped bass (Morone saxatilis)21. Thorny skate (Amblyraja radiata)22. Winter skate (Leucoraja ocellata)

PURPOSE:Scope the distribution of Smallmouth Bass in the Miramichi River Watershed using eDNADESCRIPTION:This dataset contains the results of work undertaken from 2019 to 2024 to scope the extent of the spread of Smallmouth Bass in parts of the Miramichi River Watershed using an eDNA-based species-specific qPCR approach.USE LIMITATION:To ensure scientific integrity and appropriate use of the data, we would encourage you to contact the data custodian.

The project (Quoddy Region Pelagics Telemetry) will support the assessment of the effects of aquaculture on the distribution and abundance of pelagic fishes (salmon, mackerel, herring) and large predators (shark, marine mammals) in Passamaquoddy Bay and the Bay of Fundy, an area of intense finfish culture. An acoustic receivers network is placed yearly (from April to December) across various passageways, locations of project-specific interest, and at aquaculture sites in the region. Tagged pelagic species will be tracked through the network to provide information on migration routes, movement speed, survival rates and suspected predators, and determine interaction and residence at aquaculture sites. The network was utilized for monitoring the passage of: hatchery-reared wild salmon (n=340) released in the Magaguadavic River in 2018, 2019 and 2021, wild alewives (n=30) from the St. Croix River in 2021, and farmed Atlantic salmon released in the wild (n=99) in 2021. The receiver network has more recently supported adjacent projects on the use of the region by white shark and porbeagle as well as the residence of mackerel, herring, and sculpin at farm sites. The receivers additionally support other researchers with detection of striped bass, Inner Bay of Fundy Atlantic salmon, sturgeon, and many other species. Placement of the network will continue into 2025 inclusive with the longer-term goal to eventually deploy an array covering the entrance to the Bay of Fundy.Cite this data as: Trudel, M., Wilson, B., Black, M. 2023. Assessing bay-scale impacts of aquaculture operations on the distribution and abundance of pelagic fishes and large predators. Accessed via the Ocean Tracking Network OBIS IPT in January 2025 (version 3.1). https://doi.org/10.14286/xfa6sr

The porbeagle shark (Lamna nasus), is a species found in Atlantic Canadian waters which is encountered in commercial and recreational fisheries. Pop-up Satellite Archival Tags (PSAT) from Wildlife Computers were applied to porbeagle sharks from 2005 to 2021 to collect data on depth (pressure), temperature and ambient light level (for position estimation). Deployments were conducted in Canada and the Faroe Islands on commercial, recreational and scientific charters, typically in summer and fall but some over winter when the porbeagle commercial fishery was active in Canada. A variety of tag models were deployed: PAT 4 (n=1), Mk10 (N=41), and MiniPAT (N=15) and 51 of 57 tags reported. One individual shark was recaptured and the physical tag was returned. The porbeagle sharks tagged ranged in size from 76 cm to 249 cm Fork Length (curved); 42 were female, 15 were male. Time at liberty ranged from 4 – 356 days and 14 tags remained on for the programmed duration. Raw data transmitted from the PSAT’s after release was processed through Wildlife Computers software (GPE3) to get summary files, assuming a maximum swimming speed of 2m/s, NOAA OI SST V2 High Resolution data set for SST reference and ETOPO1-Bedrock dataset for bathymetry reference. The maximum likelihood position estimates are available in .csv and .kmz format and depth and temperature profiles are also in .csv format. Other tag outputs as well as metadata from the deployments can be obtained upon request from: warren.joyce@dfo-mpo.gc.ca or heather.bowlby@dfo-mpo.gc.ca.

In 2018 and 2019 Fisheries and Oceans Canada conducted a project to relocate American Eel (Anguilla rostrata) from Port Dalhousie Harbour to mitigate potential impacts of in-water construction prior to and during an essential harbour revitalization project. American Eel are designated as Endangered under the Province of Ontario’s Endangered Species Act and were confirmed to be present in the area during initial sampling efforts of this project. While a combination of passive eel traps and boat electrofishing were used to capture eels, this dataset includes passive capture data only. A total of four eels were captured using eel traps and all individuals were relocated to Hamilton Harbour. Only two of the four eels captured were large enough to be tagged with acoustic transmitters, both of which eventually returned to Port Dalhousie from Hamilton Harbour. All other fish species captured in the traps were identified, counted and released at Port Dalhousie.

Since 1985, research surveys targeting scallops—primarily the sea scallop (Placopecten magellanicus) and, to a lesser extent, the Icelandic scallop (Chlamys islandica)—have been conducted by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) at one- or two-year intervals around the Magdalen Islands (fishing area 20A). The main objective of this survey is to assess the status of sea scallop stocks. The study area is situated south of the Magdalen Islands, where scallop beds are typically sampled at depths ranging from approximately 25 to 35 m. Sampling stations are randomly selected from a predetermined fixed grid, with sampling conducted along transects at these randomly assigned locations within the study area. Each station is sampled using a lined Digby scallop dredge (20 mm mesh size), towed for roughly 500 m across the seabed.This publication includes three files: the file biometriePetoncle_20, which contains detailed biometric data (species, size, weights and sex) from 1998 to 2024; the file taillePetoncle_20, which provides the size of the individuals sampled from 2009 to 2024; and the file traitPetoncle_20 which contains the abundances and densities per tow from 2009 to 2024. Data on abundances and densities per tow from 1998-2008 is available upon request.This dataset is updated every one to two years as data becomes available. A cleaning of aberrant data has been carried out. However, there is missing data in various columns of the dataset – use the data with caution. If you have any questions please contact DFO.DataManagementSAISB-GestionDonneesDAISS.MPO@dfo-mpo.gc.ca or the author. For certain time periods, associated species are identified and semi-quantitatively counted directly on the sorting table, and the results are presented in the following publications: - https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/6529a4b0-f863-4568-ac71-1fa26cf68679- https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/71732ad5-5c70-4dbf-916d-a94e1380c53b 

A research survey on Stimpson's surfclam (Mactromeris polynyma) was conducted from June 15 to June 26 2017 in the Estuary of the St. Lawrence River on the Forestville deposit (Fishing Area 1A). The primary objective of this survey was to investigate the spatial distribution of pre-commercial (< 80 mm) and commercial (≥ 80 mm) sizes of Stimpson's surfclams as well as to assess the abundance and diversity of benthic species associated with the sandy habitat of the Stimpson's surfclam. Only benthic species data associated with Stimpson's surfclam habitat are presented in this dataset.Data were collected according to a systematic sampling design consisting of 77 stations, between 7 and 45 m depth. Stations were spaced 200 m apart and dispersed along a total of 18 transects perpendicular to the bathymetry. Transects were parallel and spaced 500 m apart. Specimens were collected using a hydraulic dredge of the "New England" type with a total length of 2.29 meters and a total width of 1.68 meters, of which 1.35 meters was knife width. The dredge was lined with a 19 millimeter mesh Vexar™ to harvest small individuals. The hauls were made at a speed of 0.2-0.3 knots for a duration of 2 to 3 minutes. Start and end positions were recorded to calculate the distance traveled at each tow using the geosphere library in R. The average tow distance was approximately 25 m. The area covered at each stroke was the product of the width of the dredge blade and the distance.The three 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 "additional_information_event_and_occurrence" file includes sample size, sampling protocol and sampling effort, among others. The "taxon_occurrence" file includes the taxonomy of the species observed, identified to the species or lowest possible taxonomic level. For abundance and biomass estimates, contact Virginie Roy (virginie.roy@dfo-mpo.gc.ca).For quality controls, all taxonomic names were checked against the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) to match recognized standards. The WoRMS match was placed in the "scientificNameID" field of the occurrence file. Special cases were noted in "identificationRemarks" and selected specimens were confirmed using field photos. Data quality checks were performed using the R obistools and worrms libraries. All sampling locations were spatially validated.

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

Nekton assemblages in Zostera marina beds and adjacent bare soft-sediments were sampled on the south and eastern shore of Nova Scotia. Sampling gear used were visual snorkel transects and a benthic beam trawl. Fish were identified and size either measured (trawl) or estimated in situ (snorkel transects). Surveys were conducted in mid-July to Aug in summer of 2013 and 2014 across multiple sampling sites. Multiple replicate transects were conducted at each site. Raw abundances from observations were transformed into young of year (YOY) equivalent abundance, and then into density of each species calibrated to account for the sampling equipment and day/night differences.Cite this data as: Wong, M. C. Data of: Fish and large decapods in eelgrass (Zostera marina) beds on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada. Published: April 2020. Coastal Ecosystems Science Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dartmouth, N.S. https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/dbc56f11-4a97-45e7-99f4-71966b51630c

Historical finds of Fenusa pumila