Identification of a potential spawning site for lumpfish during an ichtyofauna inventory conducted in the eelgrass in Sept-Îles bay by Calderón (1996).Purpose:The 1996 document by par Isabel Calderón has been achieved by the "Corporation de protection de l'environnement de Sept-Îles" with the support of Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) as part of the "Biodiversity" program, St. Lawrence Vision 2000 (Canada).Source:Calderón, I. 1996. Caractérisation des habitats du poisson de la baie de Sept-Îles - Phase II. Corporation de protection de l'environnement de Sept-Îles. 37 pages.

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are one among a number of spatial management tools, and are defined as areas that are established for the long-term, and managed through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long-term conservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural values.Currently, Fisheries and Oceans Canada has a number of MPAs designated under the Oceans Act and Areas of Interest for new MPAs at various stages of progress towards designation. These areas are ecologically significant, with species and/or features that require special management consideration.  An Oceans Act MPA can be established for any of the six conservation purposes outlined in the Act:• The conservation and protection of commercial and non-commercial fishery resources, including marine mammals, and their habitats;  • The conservation and protection of endangered or threatened marine species, and their habitats;  • The conservation and protection of unique habitats;  • The conservation and protection of marine areas of high biodiversity or biological productivity; • The conservation and protection of any other marine resource or habitat as is necessary to fulfill the mandate of the Minister; and• The conservation and protection of marine areas for the purposes of maintaining ecological integrity

A source protection area (SPA) is an area of land and water governed by a Source Protection Authority, an agency, person or body. This dataset defines the geographic boundaries where each SPA's terms of reference, assessment reports and source protection plans must be developed. *[SPA]: source protection area

Macroalgae dominated areas with a vegetated cover above 25%, located in the coastal zone of the Estuary and the Gulf of St. Lawrence (Quebec)This dataset was designed for Environment and Climate Change Canada's (ECCC) National Environmental Emergencies Center (NEEC) for oil spill preparedness and response. The polygons of this layer were selected from the surface geodatabase of coastal ecosystems from the UQAR-MPO project Mapping coastal ecosystems of the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence. Are represented in this dataset exclusively the polygons whose plant dominance corresponds to a class of macroalgae and presenting a semi-vegetated (25-75%) or vegetated (75-100%) cover. The study area includes all of the estuarine and maritime coasts of Quebec, with the exception of certain sectors, including most of the Lower North Shore and Anticosti Island, with the exception of villages of Kegaska, la Romaine, Chevery, Blanc-Sablon and Port-Menier. Some islands off the estuary and gulf coasts are part of the region covered, such as Île d'Orléans, Isle-aux-Coudres, Île Verte and Île Bonaventure.The mapping of coastal ecosystems was carried out jointly by the Laboratory for Dynamics and Integrated Coastal Zone Management (LDGIZC) of the University of Quebec at Rimouski as part of the Coastal Resilience Project (https: //ldgizc.uqar.ca/Web/projets/projet-resilience-cotiere) funded by the MELCC; and by the Fisheries and Oceans Canada team, as part of its Integrated marine response planning (IMRP) component of the Oceans Protection Plan (OPP),with the objective of updating the Marine Oil Spill Preparedness and Response Regime of Canada. The master geodatabase of coastal ecosystems is hosted and distributed by UQAR on their SIGEC-Web mapping platform: https://ldgizc.uqar.ca/Web/sigecwebThe macroalgae characterization was mainly carried out from the photo-interpretation of RGBI aerial photos acquired by the DFO (2015-2022) and oblique helicopter photos acquired by UQAR in 2017. Data from 3155 sampling stations, conducted aboard small boats during DFO field campaigns (2017-2023) were used to detail the nature of algal communities and validate the photo-interpretation.Credits © UQAR-MPO (2025, Laboratoire de dynamique et de gestion intégrée des zones côtières, Pêches et Océans Canada)RéférenceProvencher-Nolet, L., Paquette, L., Pitre, L.D., Grégoire, B. and Desjardins, C. 2024. Cartographie des macrophytes estuariens et marins du Québec. Rapp. Tech. Can. Sci. halieut. Aquat. 0000 : v + 99 p.Grégoire, B., Pitre, L.D., Provencher-Nolet, L., Paquette, L. and Desjardins, C. 2024. Distribution d’organismes marins de la zone côtière peu profonde du Québec recensés par imagerie sous-marine de 2017 à 2021. Rapp. tech. can. sci. halieut. aquat. 0000 : v + 78 p.Grégoire, B. 2022. Biodiversité du relevé côtier Planification pour une intervention environnementale intégrée dans l’estuaire et le golfe du Saint-Laurent (2017–2021). Observatoire global du Saint-Laurent. [Jeu de données]Jobin, A., Marquis, G., Provencher-Nolet, L., Gabaj Castrillo. M. J., Trubiano C., Drouet, M., Eustache-Létourneau, D., Drejza, S. Fraser, C. Marie, G. et P. Bernatchez (2021) Cartographie des écosystèmes côtiers du Québec maritime — Rapport méthodologique. Chaire de recherche en géoscience côtière, Laboratoire de dynamique et de gestion intégrée des zones côtières, Université du Québec à Rimouski. Rapport remis au ministère de l’Environnement et de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, septembre 2021, 98 p.

This dataset was designed for Environment and Climate Change Canada's (ECCC) National Environmental Emergencies Center (NEEC) for oil spill preparedness and response. The polygons from this layer come mainly from the coastal ecosystems geodatabase as part of the Mapping of coastal ecosystems of the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence project. This layer represents semi-vegetated and vegetated zones of which eelgrass is the dominant vegetation. The study area includes all of the estuarine and maritime coasts of Quebec, with the exception of certain sectors, including most of the Lower North Shore and Anticosti Island, with the exception of villages of Kegaska, la Romaine, Chevery, Blanc-Sablon and Port-Menier. Some islands off the estuary and gulf coasts are part of the region covered, such as Île d'Orléans, Isle-aux-Coudres, Île Verte and Île Bonaventure.The Mapping of coastal ecosystems of the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence was carried out jointly by the Laboratory for Dynamics and Integrated Coastal Zone Management (LDGIZC) of the University of Quebec at Rimouski as part of the Coastal Resilience Project (https: //ldgizc.uqar.ca/Web/projets/projet-resilience-cotiere) funded by the MELCC; and by the Fisheries and Oceans Canada team, as part of its Integrated marine response planning (IMRP) component of the Oceans Protection Plan (OPP), with the objective of updating the Marine Oil Spill Preparedness and Response Regime of Canada. The master geodatabase of coastal ecosystems is hosted and distributed by UQAR on their SIGEC-Web mapping platform: https://ldgizc.uqar.ca/Web/sigecwebThe characterization of eelgrass beds was mainly carried out using photo-interpretation of RVBI aerial photos acquired by DFO (2015-2020) and oblique photos taken by helicopter by UQAR in 2017. This dataset also includes the information from validation stations visited by UQAR (2018-2020). Data from sampling stations, carried out aboard small boats during DFO field campaigns (2017-2021), were also used to validate and refine the photo-interpretation.This dataset also includes eelgrass beds characterized in the Basse-Côte-Nord (MRC Le Golfe-de-Saint-Laurent) by the Agence Mamu Innu Kaikusseht (AMIK) as part of the project ''Involvement of Innu communities in the protection of species at risk and their habitats 2010-2011''. These data were produced during aerial overflights at low altitude (200m and 400m) of the foreshore, as 2 observers circumscribed and documented the covering of eelgrass beds.Credits © UQAR-MPO-AMIK (2023, Laboratoire de dynamique et de gestion intégrée des zones côtières, Pêches et Océans Canada, Agence Mamu Innu Kaikusseht) Provencher-Nolet, L., Paquette, L., Pitre, L.D., Grégoire, B. and Desjardins, C. 2024. Cartographie des macrophytes estuariens et marins du Québec. Rapp. Tech. Can. Sci. halieut. Aquat. 3617 : v + 99 p.Grégoire, B., Pitre, L.D., Provencher-Nolet, L., Paquette, L. and Desjardins, C. 2024. Distribution d’organismes marins de la zone côtière peu profonde du Québec recensés par imagerie sous-marine de 2017 à 2021. Rapp. tech. can. sci. halieut. aquat. 3616 : v + 78 p.Grégoire, B. 2022. Biodiversité du relevé côtier Planification pour une intervention environnementale intégrée dans l’estuaire et le golfe du Saint-Laurent (2017–2021). Observatoire global du Saint-Laurent. [Jeu de données]Nadeau, V., Le Breton, S. 2011. Inventaire aérien des herbiers de zostère de la Basse-Côte-Nord du Golfe du Saint-Laurent. Agence Mamu Innu Kaikusseht. 25 p.Jobin, A., Marquis, G., Provencher-Nolet, L., Gabaj Castrillo. M. J., Trubiano C., Drouet, M., Eustache-Létourneau, D., Drejza, S. Fraser, C. Marie, G. et P. Bernatchez (2021) Cartographie des écosystèmes côtiers du Québec maritime — Rapport méthodologique. Chaire de recherche en géoscience côtière, Laboratoire de dynamique et de gestion intégrée des zones côtières, Université du Québec à Rimouski. Rapport remis au ministère de l’Environnement et de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, septembre 2021, 98 p.

PURPOSE:Eastern Beaufort Sea beluga whales form one of the largest summering aggregations of the species in the Mackenzie Estuary. In 2010, the Tarium Niryutait Marine Protected Area (TNMPA) was designated to protect beluga whales and their habitats As a part of ongoing ecological monitoring efforts in the TN MPA, passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) was implemented in 2011 to act as continuous monitoring method, filling the temporal gaps associated with historical aerial surveys. Beginning in 2014, PAM effort increased each year, and oceanographic sensors were added to moorings to (1) better understand oceanographic conditions within the TN MPA and (2) examine the environmental parameters that drive beluga movement and habitat use patterns within the estuary. Several studies using this dataset have been completed, and others are ongoing. However, much more can be done with the acoustic and environmental data. The purpose of this report is to outline deployment methods and instrument settings for moorings to support the full use of the data collected. DESCRIPTION:Each summer, Eastern Beaufort Sea beluga whales form one of the largest aggregations of the species in the Mackenzie Estuary. In 2010, the Tarium Niryutait Marine Protected Area (TNMPA) was designated in the estuary to protect beluga whales and their habitats. As a part of ongoing ecological monitoring efforts in the TN MPA, passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) was implemented in 2011 to act as continuous monitoring method, filling the temporal gaps associated with historical aerial surveys. Beginning in 2014, PAM effort increased each year, and oceanographic sensors were added to each PAM mooring to (1) better understand oceanographic conditions (i.e., temperature, salinity, turbidity, and wave conditions) within the TN MPA and (2) to examine the environmental parameters that drive beluga movement and habitat use patterns within the estuary. Moorings have been deployed with varying configurations of oceanographic sensors in Kugmallit Bay since 2015, but typically record water temperature, salinity, depth, and wave conditions. In 2018, the program was expanded to the Niaqunnaq parcel of the MPA (Shallow Bay), and in 2021 it was expanded again to the Okeevik parcel of the MPA. These observatories have provided new knowledge about drivers of beluga habitat use in the TN MPA, in particular in Kittigaryuit, but more recently in Niaqunnaq and Okeevik.

The layer presents the information on the distribution of eelgrass (Zostera marina) beds in James Bay, Chaleur Bay, Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence according to a literature review of documents produced between 1987 and 2009. Additional InformationEelgrass's inventory was produced according to a literature review of the following documents:Calderón, I. 1996. Caractérisation de la végétation et de la faune ichtyenne de la baie de Sept-Îles. Document réalisé par la Corporation de protection de l'environnement de Sept-Îles pour Pêches et Océans Canada. 26p. + 5 annexes.Comité côtier Les Escoumins à la Rivière Betsiamites. 2004. Inventaire de localisation des bancs de zostère marine dans la zone côtière Les Escoumins à la rivière Betsiamites. 9 p.Comité ZIP Côte-Nord du Golfe. 2001. Inventaire du potentiel côtier et marin de la Basse-Côte-Nord. Version préliminaire de rapport sous forme de CD-ROM, Sept-Îles, mars 2001.Comité ZIP de la rive nord de l’estuaire. 2008. Guide d’intervention en matière de protection et de mise en valeur des habitats littoraux d’intérêt de la rive nord de l’estuaire maritime (fiches 14 à 20). 8 p. + 7 fiches + annexe.Conseil Régional de l’Environnement Gaspésie et des Îles-de-la-Madeleine (2004). Inventaire et étude des bancs de zostère marine sur le territoire couvert par les comités de gestion intégrée de la zone côtière de l’Est du Québec. CONSORTIUM GAUTHIER & GUILLEMETTE - G.R.E.B.E. 1992. Description et cartographie des habitats côtiers de la Baie de Hannah jusqu'à la rivière au Castor. Rapport présenté à Hydro-Québec, Complexe Nottaway-Broadback-Rupert (NBR), Vol. 2, Annexe cartographique.Giguère, M., C. Duluc, S. Brulotte, F. Hazel, S. Pereira et M. Gaudet. 2006. Inventaire d’une population d'huître américaine (Crassostrea virginica) dans le Bassin aux Huîtres aux Îles-de-la-Madeleine en 2005. Rapport manuscrit. vi + 21 p.Grant, C. et L. Provencher, 2007. Caractérisation de l’habitat et de la faune des herbiers de Zostera marina (L.) de la péninsule de Manicouagan (Québec). Rapp. tech. can. sci. halieut. aquat. 2772 : viii + 65 p. Groupe Environnement Littoral. 1992. Complexe NBR. La zostère marine. Rapport présenté à la vice-présidence Environnement d'Hydro-Québec. 9 p. + 2 cartes.Harvey, C. et D. Brouard. 1992. Étude exploratoire du barachois de Chandler: aspects biophysiques et contamination. Rapport présenté à Environnement Canada, Direction de la protection de l'environnement région du Québec. 39 p. et annexes.Hazel, François, 2002. Données de terrain prises par F. Hazel, Septembre 2002.Ellefsen, H.-F. 2009. Communication personnelle de Hans-Frédéric Ellefsen (MPO).Jacquaz et coll. 1990. Étude biophysique de l'habitat du poisson de quatre barachois de la baie des Chaleurs.Kedney, G. et P. Kaltenback. 1996. Acquisition de connaissances et mise en valeur des habitats du banc de Portneuf. Document réalisé par la firme Pro Faune pour le Comité touristique de Rivière-Portneuf. 50 pages et 5 annexes.Lalumière, R. 1987. Répartition de la zostère marine (Zostera marina) sur la côte est de la baie James; été 1987. Rapport produit par Gilles Shooner et Associés inc. pour la Société d’énergie de la Baie James. 30 p. et annexes.Lalumière, R., L. Belzile et C. Lemieux. 1992. Étude de la zostère marine le long de la côte nord-est de la baie James (été 1991). Rapport présenté au Service écologie de la SEBJ. 31 p. + carte.Leblanc, J. 2002. Communication personnelle de Judith Leblanc (MPO).Lemieux, C. 1995. Acquisition de connaissances des habitats côtiers dans la région de Rimouski (1995). Rapport du Groupe-Conseil GENIVAR présenté au Ministère des Pêches et des Océans du Canada, Division de la Gestion de l’Habitat du Poisson, 52 pages + 2 annexes.Lemieux, C. et R. Lalumière. 1995. Acquisition de connaissances des habitats côtiers du barachois de Saint-Omer. Rap. du Groupe conseil Genivar inc. pour la DGHP, MPO, 44 pages + 3 ann.Martel, Marie-Claude, Lizon Provencher, Cindy Grant, Hans-Frédéric Ellefsen et Selma Pereira, 2009. Distribution and description of eelgrassbeds in Québec. Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat, Research Document 2009/050. 45p. Morin, D. 2009. Communication personnelle de Danièle Morin (MRNF).Naturam Environnement. 1999. Caractérisation biophysique, socio-économique et détermination des enjeux dans un secteur potentiel pour l’identification d’une zone de protection marine pilote: portion ouest de la MRC Manicouagan. Baie-Comeau. 311 p. Pelletier, Claudel. 2003. Communication personnelle de Claudel Pelletier, FAPAQ, lettre en date du 24 février 2003.Pereira, S. 2009. Communication personnelle de Selma Pereira (MPO).Vaillancourt, M.-A. et C. Lafontaine. 1999. Caractérisation de la Baie Mitis. Jardins de Métis et Pêches et Océans Canada. Grand-Métis. 185 p.

The Coastal Environmental Baseline Program is a multi-year Fisheries and Oceans Canada initiative designed to work with Indigenous and local communities and other key parties to collect coastal environmental data at six pilot sites across Canada (Port of Vancouver, Port of Prince Rupert, Lower St. Lawrence Estuary, Port of Saint John, Placentia Bay, and Iqaluit). The goal of the Program is to gather local information in these areas in effort to build a better understanding of marine ecological conditions. The Maritimes region has developed a habitat classification program to align with the oceanographic interests and data needs of local communities and stakeholders, with the goal of sharing this information via open data. In 2020, a habitat survey in the lower Musquash Marine Protected Area (MPA) was undertaken to further develop this project, using an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) equipped with high-frequency (450 kHz) side scan sonar to build a habitat map of the MPA. This dataset includes mosaicked series of sonar images (raw & position-corrected versions), covering roughly 6 km2 of marine and intertidal areas in the Musquash MPA. Doppler Velocity logs and mission-specific files for each survey are also included, along with detailed methodological documentation. These data were generated from 17 separate survey missions that were completed in August, September and October 2020.

As part of the Musquash Marine Protected Area (MPA) Monitoring Plan, this project was implemented to establish a baseline for infaunal biodiversity for this area. Data collection began in 2010 and contributed monitoring information for productivity, biodiversity, and habitat indicators within the Musquash Harbour. A 1500 cubic centimetre ponar benthic grab was deployed at 30 random stations distributed over three strata (channel, intertidal and subtidal). Samples were to be collected up to three times per year to account for seasonality and annual variation. Once collected the benthic samples were analyzed for changes in grain size, carbon content (Loss on ignition), species abundance/diversity and biomass.Cite this data as: Cooper, J.A., and Blanchard, M. Musquash Benthic Infauna. Published in September 2023. Coastal Ecosystem Science Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, St. Andrews, NB.For additional information please see:Cooper, A., Abbott, M., Allard, K., Chang,, B., Courtenay, S., Doherty, P., Greenlaw, M., Ipsen, E., Koropatnick, T., Law, B., Losier, R., Martin, J., Methven, D., and Page, F. 2014. Musquash Estuary Marine Protected Area (MPA): Data Assessment. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2014/001. v + 57 p.Cooper, J.A., Jones, O. and Blanchard, M. 2023. Review of Baseline Monitoring within the Musquash Estuary Marine Protected Area. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2023/028. viii + 56 p.Oceans and Coastal Management Division (OCMD). 2015. Musquash Estuary Marine Protected Area Ecosystem Monitoring Plan (2014-2019). Can. Manuscr. Rep. Fish Aquat. Sci. 3077: v+17 pp.DFO. 2022. 2021 Review of Musquash Marine Protected Area Monitoring. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Sci. Advis. Rep. 2022/016.

Polygon features showing various zones of protection around drinking water system intakes/wellheads. A drinking water system is any domestic system servicing anything other than a single-family dwelling, as defined in the Drinking Water Protection Act. Zone of protection is a broad term that represents a wide variety of areas as they have been delineated in their corresponding report. The methods and processes used to delineate these zones vary based on several factors including, but not limited to, population, vulnerability, hydrologic/hydrogeologic parameters, etc. For the use of this dataset, the term Protection Zone means that protection measures should be considered and/or implemented in these areas due to the importance of these areas supplying drinking water to their water system users. Protection Zone does not mean that protection measures have been implemented in these areas, nor that protection measures are not required beyond the boundary of these areas. This is one of three Drinking Water Sources datasets (along with the DWS - Intakes/Wellheads points dataset, and DWS - Source Areas polygons dataset). Note: these polygons have unique Protection Zone IDs used to relate them to the Intakes/Wellhead points.