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.

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

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.

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.

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.

This dataset contains point distribution occurrences for fish species found in marine waters of Arctic Canada. It was used to create the distribution maps in the book Marine Fishes of Arctic Canada, edited by B.W. Coad and J.D. Reist (2018) and the DFO Data Report of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences Distributional Records for Marine Fishes of Arctic Canada (Alfonso et al. 2018). The database includes literature (Coad and Reist 2016) and museum records, anecdotal reports, personal communications and data from fisheries surveys and exploratory cruises. Development of the database began in 1998 and data entry ceased in 2016, although the database will be updated periodically. Consult the book (Coad and Reist 2018) and the Data Report (Alfonso et al. 2018) for further details in regards to the specific sources for each data point by species especially those from sources other than published literature.

PURPOSE:To track juvenile Atlantic salmon densities.DESCRIPTION:Indices of freshwater production are derived annually from electrofishing surveys in the Miramichi River of New Brunswick. Juvenile salmon abundances at sites, in terms of number of fish per habitat area sampled by age or size group (densities), are obtained using successive removal sampling or catch per unit effort sampling calibrated to densities. Sampling intensities vary among years and among rivers. PARAMETERS COLLECTED:Species counts (ecological); point (spatial).USE LIMITATION:To ensure scientific integrity and appropriate use of the data, we would encourage you to contact the data custodian.

Polar cod (Boreogadus saida), Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), and Greenland cod (Gadus macrocephalus) are prominent gadid species within the northwest Atlantic Ocean in terms of their ecological and socio-economic importance but it is unclear how climate-induced changes in ocean temperature may alter their distributions by the end of the century (2100). We used physiologically based species distribution models to predict how ocean warming will influence the availability of suitable habitat for early life-stages in these marine gadids. We applied CMIP5 ocean temperature projections to egg survival and juvenile growth models for Polar cod, Atlantic cod, and Greenland cod to create predicted suitability raster surfaces for these metrics across four climatology periods (1981–2005, 2026–2050, 2051–2075, 2076–2100). The analysis focused on the projected changes in temperature in ocean shelf areas where ocean depth is ≤400 m. We created an integrated habitat suitability index by combining the suitability surfaces for egg survival and growth potential to predict areas and periods where thermal conditions were suitable for both life stages. The resulting surfaces indicate that suitable thermal habitat for the juvenile life stages of all three species will shift poleward, but the magnitude of the shift and the overall area of thermally suitable habitat remaining will differ across species and life stages through time. Modelled layers are provided in NetCDF format by metric (egg survival, growth potential, habitat suitability). Data layers for Polar cod, Atlantic cod, and Greenland cod are included within each NetCDF file as variables across time. Note that in this study we refer to Gadus macrocephalus/ogac as Greenland cod since Gadus ogac is thought to be a junior synonym of Gadus macrocephalus (Carr et al., 1999). For more details on the methods and results for this analysis see Cote et al. (2021).References:Carr, S. M., Kivlichan, D. S., Pepin, P., & Crutcher, D. C. (1999). Molecular systematics of gadid fishes: implications for the biogeographic origins of Pacific species. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 77(1), 19–26. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjz-77-1-19Cote, D., Konecny, C. A., Seiden, J., Hauser, T., Kristiansen, T., & Laurel, B. J. (2021). Forecasted Shifts in Thermal Habitat for Cod Species in the Northwest Atlantic and Eastern Canadian Arctic. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8(November), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.764072

A research survey of scallops (mainly sea scallop Placopecten magellanicus, but also Icelandic Scallop Chlamys islandica) using a dredge was carried out by DFO (Fisheries and Oceans Canada) every 1 or 2 years since 1992 in the Magdalen Islands (fishing area 20). The main objective of this research survey was to assess Sea Scallop stocks. Another objective was to document taxa associated with scallop habitat according to a fixed random sampling plan. Occurrences for the year 2021 and 2022 are presented by species (or taxon) by station. Starting in 2021, catches were weighed, and specimens photographed, with information available upon request. The taxonomic and geographical validity of the data was checked and the World Register of Marine Species served as the taxonomic authority for naming all taxa recorded during the survey. Epibenthic invertebrates (mainly molluscs, echinoderms and crustaceans) as well as demersal fish were identified from the dredge catches. The historical dataset is available at the following link : https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/71732ad5-5c70-4dbf-916d-a94e1380c53bThe study area is located south of the Magdalen Islands and the sampling of scallop beds is carried out at depths of generally around 25 to 35 m. A random selection of sampling stations is carried out from a fixed station grid. Sampling is done along transects at these randomly drawn stations in the study area. Sampling is done with a lined Digby scallop dredge (20 mm mesh) over approximately 500 m along the seabed. The four baskets of the dredge are examined for all scallops, and starting in 2022, also for all fishes. One basket (first on the starboard side) is sorted and examined for associated species. Most specimens are counted by taxa. Those that are too small and numerous, or colonial, are noted for presence or relative abundance. Special cases are occasionally conserved for taxonomic analysis, for example, ascidians (to monitor for invasive species) and sponges (to document new species). The availability of photos and some conserved specimens enables future review. Changes are anticipated in the identifications, notably for Bryozoan, Hydrozoa, and Porifera, that are currently the focus of research efforts.

PURPOSE:Given the paucity of information on Arctic char along western Hudson Bay, in 2018, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) hosted an Arctic char workshop in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, bringing together local resource users, knowledge holders, and co-management groups (e.g., Hunters and Trappers Organizations, Regional Wildlife Organization) to identify and discuss community-based Arctic char research priorities across the Kivalliq region of Nunavut. Communities were especially interested in examining “what Arctic char were eating” and “why the colour of their muscle is different” along the western Hudson Bay coastline, and in the summer of 2018, a regional community-based Arctic char monitoring program was implemented across the region. DESCRIPTION:Climate-induced alterations to Arctic sea ice dynamics are influencing the availability and distribution of resources, and in turn, the nutrient and energy intake of opportunistic predators across the food web. These temporal changes in local prey communities likely influence the availability of carotenoid-rich prey types, as well as the foraging ecology of opportunistic predators that forage in the marine environment, such as anadromous Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus). Despite its socioeconomic importance across its range, anadromous Arctic char foraging ecology and its influence on muscle pigmentation, particularly in relation to sea ice dynamics, remains understudied. Here, over two years (2021, 2022) with contrasting sea ice dynamics, we investigated the foraging ecology of anadromous Arctic char and its influence on their muscle pigmentation at a southern (Rankin Inlet) and northern (Naujaat) location along western Hudson Bay using a combination of stomach contents, stable isotopes (δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N), highly branched isoprenoids, carotenoid spectrophotometry, and a standard muscle colour scale (DSM SalmoFan). Spatiotemporal variation in Arctic char diet occurred, where Rankin Inlet Arctic char generally consumed more fish and phytoplankton-based carbon sources, occupied a higher trophic position, and displayed a similar isotopic niche breadth compared to Arctic char in Naujaat. Invertebrates were higher in carotenoid concentration than fishes, and in association with a more invertebrate-based diet, Arctic char in Naujaat contained higher muscle carotenoid concentrations (e.g., astaxanthin) compared to Rankin Inlet Arctic char in 2021. In 2022, however, muscle carotenoid concentrations in Naujaat and Rankin Inlet Arctic char were more similar, as the diet of Arctic char in both locations was largely fish-based despite muscle colour remaining redder in Naujaat Arctic char. Overall, the observed plastic foraging ecology of Arctic char highlights this species' ability to adjust to inter-annual variability in environmental changes, which then impacts their muscle carotenoid concentration. Such inter-annual variation in Arctic char foraging ecology is anticipated to increase with unpredictable climate-driven environmental changes in the region, which could therefore negatively affect local resource users over the long term, resulting in socioeconomic impacts across the Arctic.Collection/sampling methodology:Arctic char were collected by angling and gillnetting (5.5” mesh, regularly checked) between June and August in the estuarine and marine environments near the communities of Rankin Inlet and Naujaat, Nunavut. In 2021, Naujaat Arctic char were collected by community fishers as part of a community-based sampling program. Concurrently, invertebrate prey types were opportunistically collected in the vicinity of Arctic char sampling sites using a conical zooplankton net (200-μm mesh; 10-minute tows) or obtained fresh from Arctic char stomachs. Additionally, marine fishes were opportunistically collected by angling or obtained fresh from Arctic char stomachs over both years in Rankin Inlet, while samples from the Naujaat area were collected in 2018 and 2019.The Kivalliq Wildlife Board (Rankin Inlet, NU) and Arviq Hunters and Trappers Association (Naujaat, NU) each supported this community-formulated research project and assisted with sample collections throughout the duration of the project. We would like to recognize and thank Sonny Ittinuar (Kivalliq Wildlife Board/Rankin Inlet Local Resource User), Clayton Tartak (Kivalliq Wildlife Board), Vincent L’Herault (ArctiConnexion), and Gail Davoren (University of Manitoba MSc co-supervisor) for their participation in the project. We would also like to thank Sonny Ittinuar, Poisey (Adam) Alogut, John-El, Peter, Quassa, and Goretti Tinashlu, who assisted in field work. USE LIMITATION:To ensure scientific integrity and appropriate use of the data, we would encourage you to contact the data custodian.