Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s (DFO’s) conditions of licence for marine finfish aquaculture contain monitoring and intervention requirements to minimize the potential exposure of wild and farmed fish to sea lice. Licence holders must submit a Health Management Plan to DFO that includes sea lice...

Mortality at salmon aquaculture facilities is closely monitored. If the amount of dead fish at a farm exceeds thresholds outlined in conditions of licence, a mortality event is said to have occurred and must be reported to DFO within 24 hours of discovery. Facility managers and veterinarian(s)...

This report provides a summary of fish health events reported by aquaculture companies to Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO). A fish health event is any suspected or active disease that occurs within an aquaculture facility that requires the involvement of a veterinarian and warrants mitigation...

Fisheries and Oceans Canada requires operators of active marine finfish aquaculture sites in British Columbia to monitor for benthic (seabed) impacts. The benthic monitoring program is designed to limit the location, area, and intensity of impact created by fish farms to the seabed and to support...

This report provides a summary of sea lice mitigation events reported by marine finfish aquaculture companies in British Columbia to Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO). A sea lice mitigation event is any measure that is used to bring the sea lice abundance at a facility below the threshold of...

Microsatelite frequencies by stock for several pacific marine species of fish.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada's (DFO’s) Atlantic Salmon Watch Program (ASWP) was established in 1991 to study the abundance, distribution and biology of Atlantic salmon in British Columbia and its adjacent waters. The ASWP relies on voluntary reports from Indigenous, recreational and commercial...

The Pacific Region ERAF provides a comprehensive approach for assessing all threats to marine ecosystems by evaluating cumulative risk from multiple activities to multiple ecosystem components for ecosystem-based management (EBM), improving upon international and national best practices in risk...

The Atmospheric Forcing Index (AFI) utilizes standardized scores of the first component from a principal components analysis on the Aleutian Low Pressure Index (ALPI), Pacific Interdecadal Oscillation Index, and the northwesterly atmospheric circulation anomalies for the North Pacific (December...

List of Publications from the Pacific Biological Station and related staff (not including (IOS)).

The Pacific Region ERAF provides a comprehensive approach for assessing all threats to marine ecosystems by evaluating cumulative risk from multiple activities to multiple ecosystem components for ecosystem-based management (EBM), improving upon international and national best practices in risk...

For health auditing purposes, a farm is considered active once three pens of fish have been present for 30 days, following entry of the first pen of fish at the farm. Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) applies a computerized selection system to randomly select active salmon farms within the fish...

This index measures the relative intensity of the Aleutian Low pressure system of the north Pacific (December through March). It is calculated as the mean area (km²) with sea level pressure <= 100.5 kPa and expressed as an anomaly from the 1950-1997 mean. A positive index value reflects a...

The Pacific Region ERAF provides a comprehensive approach for assessing all threats to marine ecosystems by evaluating cumulative risk from multiple activities to multiple ecosystem components for ecosystem-based management (EBM), improving upon international and national best practices in risk...

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) issues licences under Section 56 of the Fishery (General) Regulations to authorize the intentional release and transfer of live aquatic organisms into fish-bearing waters or fish-rearing facilities. The federal-provincial Introductions and Transfers Committee...

The Pacific Region ERAF provides a comprehensive approach for assessing all threats to marine ecosystems by evaluating cumulative risk from multiple activities to multiple ecosystem components for ecosystem-based management (EBM), improving upon international and national best practices in risk...

This index is the cumulative summation of negative northwesterly atmospheric circulation frequency anomalies: Z (westerly), M1, (northwesterly), and M2 (southwesterly) for December through March. An increasing trend in Pacific Circulation Index (PCI) reflects increased westerly and southwesterly...

This study constitutes the first quantitative assessment of winter use of the northern Strait of Georgia by killer whales, which presents a substantial contribution to the limited knowledge of killer whale habitat use in British Columbia during the winter. Passive acoustic monitoring revealed...

The smallest marine mammals in North America, sea otters occupy chilly coastal waters in the central and north Pacific Ocean. Averaging 1.2 metres in length, male sea otters typically weigh about 45 kilograms. Females are slightly smaller. Otters have large, flat heads, large teeth to crush...

Data from: Stredulinsky et al. (2021) Family feud: permanent group splitting in a highly philopatric mammal, the killer whale (Orcinus orca). Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00265-021-02992-8. Group cohesion and demographic parameters were derived...