This polygon dataset identifies the habitat suitability rating for Flammulated Owl (FLOW) within the Cariboo Natural Resource Region. The habitat suitability rating is based on Biogeoclimatic Ecosystem Classification (BEC), forest age class, crown closure, tree species, harvest activity, silviculture activity, slope and aspect.

Summer, Winter Alpine, and Winter Forest-Dwelling habitat model for caribou in the Itcha, Ilgachuz, and Rainbow Mountains of West-Central BC. This habitat model was developed using telemetry from the Itcha-Ilgachuz, Rainbow, and Charlotte Alplands Herds. [Season] field should be used to split the data out into separate summer, winter alpine, and winter forest-dwelling habitat models. Model development is detailed in _Apps, C. D., T. A. Kinley, and J. A. Young. 2001. Multi-scale habitat modeling for woodland caribou in the Itcha, Ilgachuz, and Rainbow mountains of west-central British Columbia.Wildlife Section, Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection, Williams Lake, British Columbia, Canada_. See also: https://catalogue.data.gov.bc.ca/dataset/caribou-habitat-model-for-the-western-cariboo-region-2017-. __Note: The 2017 habitat model covers a similar area, but does not supersede the 2001 habitat model.__

Polygons denoting concentrations of sea pens, small and large gorgonian corals and sponges on the east coast of Canada have been identified through spatial analysis of research vessel survey by-catch data following an approach used by the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) in the Regulatory Area (NRA) on Flemish Cap and southeast Grand Banks. Kernel density analysis was used to identify high concentrations and the area occupied by successive catch weight thresholds was used to identify aggregations. These analyses were performed for each of the five biogeographic zones of eastern Canada. The largest sea pen fields were found in the Laurentian Channel as it cuts through the Gulf of St. Lawrence, while large gorgonian coral forests were found in the Eastern Arctic and on the northern Labrador continental slope. Large ball-shaped Geodia spp. sponges were located along the continental slopes north of the Grand Banks, while on the Scotian Shelf a unique population of the large barrel-shaped sponge Vazella pourtalesi was identified. The latitude and longitude marking the positions of all tows which form these and other dense aggregations are provided along with the positions of all tows which captured black coral, a non-aggregating taxon which is long-lived and vulnerable to fishing pressures.These polygons identify sponge grounds from the broader distribution of sponges in the Southern Gulf region as sampled by Western II A gear in the Gulf biogeographic zone. A 3 kg minimum threshold for the sponge catch was identified as the weight that separated the sponge ground habitat from the broader distribution of sponges with these research vessel tow data and gear type.

Summer/Fall and Winter/Forest-Dwelling 2017 habitat model for caribou in the Itcha Ilgachuz area. [Season] field should be used to split the data out into separate summer/fall and winter/forest-dwelling habitat models. Model development is detailed in _Apps, C., and N. Dodd. 2016.. Caribou habitat modeling and evaluation of forest disturbance influences across landscape scales in west-central British Columbia – March, 2016. Prepared for Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, Williams Lake, British Columbia_. See also: https://catalogue.data.gov.bc.ca/dataset/7ea6556b-c113-4194-92f2-7ddb55a340b6 __Note: The 2001 habitat model covers a similar area, but is not replaced by the 2017 habitat model.__

Polygons denoting concentrations of sea pens, small and large gorgonian corals and sponges on the east coast of Canada have been identified through spatial analysis of research vessel survey by-catch data following an approach used by the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) in the Regulatory Area (NRA) on Flemish Cap and southeast Grand Banks. Kernel density analysis was used to identify high concentrations and the area occupied by successive catch weight thresholds was used to identify aggregations. These analyses were performed for each of the five biogeographic zones of eastern Canada. The largest sea pen fields were found in the Laurentian Channel as it cuts through the Gulf of St. Lawrence, while large gorgonian coral forests were found in the Eastern Arctic and on the northern Labrador continental slope. Large ball-shaped Geodia spp. sponges were located along the continental slopes north of the Grand Banks, while on the Scotian Shelf a unique population of the large barrel-shaped sponge Vazella pourtalesi was identified. The latitude and longitude marking the positions of all tows which form these and other dense aggregations are provided along with the positions of all tows which captured black coral, a non-aggregating taxon which is long-lived and vulnerable to fishing pressures.These polygons identify sponge grounds from the broader distribution of sponges in the region as sampled by Western II A trawl gear in the Scotian Shelf biogeographic zone. A 2 kg minimum threshold for the sponge catch was identified as the weight that separated the sponge ground habitat from the broader distribution of sponges with these research vessel tow data and gear type.

This habitat quality model shows the probability of the presence of short-eared owls in southern Quebec during the nesting season. It is based on species presence data and a modeling of several environmental variables of interest to the species during the nesting period. The model is based on 64 ha analysis units, i.e. cells with a side length of 800 meters. For more details, for example on the study area, the data used and the modeling carried out, consult the following report [“Habitat quality model for the short-eared owl (Asio flammeus) in southern Quebec”] (https://cdn-contenu.quebec.ca/cdn-contenu/faune/documents/habitats/modele-qualite-habitat-hibou-marais.pdf).### What is an MQH?A habitat quality model (HQM) is a “rough representation” of the preferred habitat of a wildlife species. For general information, see the [“Habitat Quality Assessment”] page (https://www.quebec.ca/agriculture-environnement-et-ressources-naturelles/faune/gestion-faune-habitats-fauniques/habitats-fauniques/evaluation-qualite-habitats).### WARNINGThe MQH was developed primarily in order to determine the sectors with the best potential to shelter the target species, in order to prioritize inventories. The models developed have limitations and therefore cannot be used to confirm the absence of a species at a given location. Consult the [“The benefits and limitations of habitat quality models”] section (https://www.quebec.ca/agriculture-environnement-et-ressources-naturelles/faune/gestion-faune-habitats-fauniques/habitats-fauniques/evaluation-qualite-habitats#c159177) on the “Habitat Quality Assessment” page for general information or the [report] (https://cdn-contenu.quebec.ca/cdn-contenu/faune/documents/habitats/RA_modele-qualite-habitat_hibou_marais.pdf) for information specific to the short-eared owl MQH.**This third party metadata element was translated using an automated translation tool (Amazon Translate).**

Polygons denoting concentrations of sea pens, small and large gorgonian corals and sponges on the east coast of Canada have been identified through spatial analysis of research vessel survey by-catch data following an approach used by the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) in the Regulatory Area (NRA) on Flemish Cap and southeast Grand Banks. Kernel density analysis was used to identify high concentrations and the area occupied by successive catch weight thresholds was used to identify aggregations. These analyses were performed for each of the five biogeographic zones of eastern Canada. The largest sea pen fields were found in the Laurentian Channel as it cuts through the Gulf of St. Lawrence, while large gorgonian coral forests were found in the Eastern Arctic and on the northern Labrador continental slope. Large ball-shaped Geodia spp. sponges were located along the continental slopes north of the Grand Banks, while on the Scotian Shelf a unique population of the large barrel-shaped sponge Vazella pourtalesi was identified. The latitude and longitude marking the positions of all tows which form these and other dense aggregations are provided along with the positions of all tows which captured black coral, a non-aggregating taxon which is long-lived and vulnerable to fishing pressures.These polygons identify sea pen fields from the broader distribution of sea pens in the Southern Gulf region as sampled by Western II A trawl gear in the Gulf biogeographic zone. A 15 kg minimum threshold for the sea pen catch was identified as the weight that separated the sea pen field habitat from the broader distribution of sea pens with these research vessel tow data and gear type.

Polygons denoting concentrations of sea pens, small and large gorgonian corals and sponges on the east coast of Canada have been identified through spatial analysis of research vessel survey by-catch data following an approach used by the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) in the Regulatory Area (NRA) on Flemish Cap and southeast Grand Banks. Kernel density analysis was used to identify high concentrations and the area occupied by successive catch weight thresholds was used to identify aggregations. These analyses were performed for each of the five biogeographic zones of eastern Canada. The largest sea pen fields were found in the Laurentian Channel as it cuts through the Gulf of St. Lawrence, while large gorgonian coral forests were found in the Eastern Arctic and on the northern Labrador continental slope. Large ball-shaped Geodia spp. sponges were located along the continental slopes north of the Grand Banks, while on the Scotian Shelf a unique population of the large barrel-shaped sponge Vazella pourtalesi was identified. The latitude and longitude marking the positions of all tows which form these and other dense aggregations are provided along with the positions of all tows which captured black coral, a non-aggregating taxon which is long-lived and vulnerable to fishing pressures.These polygons identify sea pen fields from the broader distribution of sea pens in the region as sampled by Western II A trawl gear in the Scotian Shelf biogeographic zone. A 0.1 kg minimum threshold for the sea pen catch was identified as the weight that separated the sea pen field habitat from the broader distribution of sea pens with these research vessel tow data and gear type.

Polygons denoting concentrations of sea pens, small and large gorgonian corals and sponges on the east coast of Canada have been identified through spatial analysis of research vessel survey by-catch data following an approach used by the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) in the Regulatory Area (NRA) on Flemish Cap and southeast Grand Banks. Kernel density analysis was used to identify high concentrations and the area occupied by successive catch weight thresholds was used to identify aggregations. These analyses were performed for each of the five biogeographic zones of eastern Canada. The largest sea pen fields were found in the Laurentian Channel as it cuts through the Gulf of St. Lawrence, while large gorgonian coral forests were found in the Eastern Arctic and on the northern Labrador continental slope. Large ball-shaped Geodia spp. sponges were located along the continental slopes north of the Grand Banks, while on the Scotian Shelf a unique population of the large barrel-shaped sponge Vazella pourtalesi was identified. The latitude and longitude marking the positions of all tows which form these and other dense aggregations are provided along with the positions of all tows which captured black coral, a non-aggregating taxon which is long-lived and vulnerable to fishing pressures.These polygons identify large gorgonian coral fields from the broader distribution of large gorgonian corals in the region as sampled by Western II A trawl gear in the Scotian Shelf biogeographic zone. A 0.5 kg minimum threshold for the large gorgonian coral catch was identified as the weight that separated the large gorgonian field habitat from the broader distribution of large gorgonian corals with these research vessel tow data and gear type.

This data is intended to identify Canadian Alternate Exchange Areas described in https://tc.canada.ca/en/marine-transportation/marine-safety/list-canada-s-designated-alternate-ballast-water-exchange-area-fresh-waters-tp-13617e-2021. The data is not intended for navigation purposes.According to Canada’s Ballast Water Regulations, if your vessel enters waters under Canadian jurisdiction from somewhere other than the U.S. waters within the Great Lakes Basin, and it cannot conduct a ballast water exchange in the areas set out in paragraphs 14(1)(a) and (b) of the regulations, then it will have to conduct a ballast water exchange in one of the areas listed below:-Gulf of St. Lawrence-Atlantic Canada-Western Canada-Canadian Eastern Arctic-Canadian Western Arctic: If you bring your vessel to a Canadian port, offshore terminal or anchorage area in the Western Arctic ballast water must be exchanged in an area as far away from shore as possible, where the water is more than 100 meters deep.Legal Constraints: Users should be aware that the polygons depicting ballast water exchange areas are intended for illustration only and should not be used for navigational or legal purposes.