Commercial Whale Watching in British Columbia

Commercial Whale Watching in British Columbia These commercial whale watching data are comprised of two datasets. First, the ‘whale_watching_trips_jun_sep_british_columbia’ data layer summarizes commercial whale watching trips that took place in 2019, 2020 and 2021 during the summer months (June to September). The second data layer, ‘wildlife_viewing_events_jun_sep_british_columbia’ contains estimated wildlife viewing events carried out by commercial whale watching vessels for the same years (2019, 2020 and 2021) and months (June to September). Commercial whale watching trips and wildlife viewing events are summarized using the same grid, and they can be related using the unique cell identifier field ‘cell_id’. The bulk of this work was carried out at University of Victoria and was funded by the Marine Environmental Observation, Prediction and Response (MEOPAR) Network under the ‘Whale watching AIS Vessel movement Evaluation’ or WAVE project (2018 – 2022). The aim of the WAVE project was to increase the understanding of whale watching activities in Canada’s Pacific region using vessel traffic data derived from AIS (Automatic Identification System). The work was finalized by DFO Science in the Pacific Region. These spatial data products of commercial whale watching operations can be used to inform Marine Spatial Planning, conservation planning activities, and threat assessments involving vessel activities in British Columbia. 2023-07-18 Fisheries and Oceans Canada normaserra@gmail.com Nature and EnvironmentBritish ColumbiaAIS (Automatic Identification System)Marine MammalsWhales Commercial whale watching in British ColumbiaFGDB/GDB https://pacgis01.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/FGPPublic/Commercial_Whale_Watching_in_British_Columbia/Whale_Watching_Activities_BritishColumbia.gdb.zip Data DictionaryHTML https://pacgis01.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/FGPPublic/Commercial_Whale_Watching_in_British_Columbia/Data_Dictionary_EN_FR_Whale_Watching.htm Commercial Whale Watching in British Columbia -- GIS Hub metadata EnglishPDF https://pacgis01.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/FGPPublic/Commercial_Whale_Watching_in_British_Columbia/Whale_watching_GISHub_metadata_EN.pdf Commercial Whale Watching in British Columbia -- GIS Hub metadata FrenchPDF https://pacgis01.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/FGPPublic/Commercial_Whale_Watching_in_British_Columbia/Whale_watching_GISHub_metadata_FR.pdf Commercial Whale Watching in British ColumbiaESRI REST https://gisp.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/arcgis/rest/services/FGP/Commercial_Whale_Watching_in_British_Columbia/MapServer Commercial Whale Watching in British ColumbiaESRI REST https://gisp.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/arcgis/rest/services/FGP/Commercial_Whale_Watching_in_British_Columbia/MapServer

These commercial whale watching data are comprised of two datasets. First, the ‘whale_watching_trips_jun_sep_british_columbia’ data layer summarizes commercial whale watching trips that took place in 2019, 2020 and 2021 during the summer months (June to September). The second data layer, ‘wildlife_viewing_events_jun_sep_british_columbia’ contains estimated wildlife viewing events carried out by commercial whale watching vessels for the same years (2019, 2020 and 2021) and months (June to September). Commercial whale watching trips and wildlife viewing events are summarized using the same grid, and they can be related using the unique cell identifier field ‘cell_id’.

The bulk of this work was carried out at University of Victoria and was funded by the Marine Environmental Observation, Prediction and Response (MEOPAR) Network under the ‘Whale watching AIS Vessel movement Evaluation’ or WAVE project (2018 – 2022). The aim of the WAVE project was to increase the understanding of whale watching activities in Canada’s Pacific region using vessel traffic data derived from AIS (Automatic Identification System). The work was finalized by DFO Science in the Pacific Region.

These spatial data products of commercial whale watching operations can be used to inform Marine Spatial Planning, conservation planning activities, and threat assessments involving vessel activities in British Columbia.

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Contact Information

Delivery Point: Institute of Ocean Sciences 9860 West Saanich Road P.O. Box 6000

City: Sidney

Administrative Area: British Columbia

Postal Code: V8L 4B2

Country: Canada

Electronic Mail Address: normaserra@gmail.com

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