Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Maritime Science Branch has collected grain size data from sediment and water column samples using bottle samples, sediment cores, and sediment grabs as part of numerous research projects not only in the Atlantic provinces, but also worldwide. The data collected...

Localization and contact information of DFO offices. Find, search and locate DFO offices within Canada.

Kelp features were taken from digitized survey source fieldsheets produced by the Canadian Hydrographic Service (CHS). The area covered by this dataset encompasses various surveyed areas along the western coast of North America in British Columbia coastal waters. CHS has an extensive collection...

This dataset is a compilation of numerous data files recovered as part of a data request in 2024 from a historical archive of DFO research data. Sediment and Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) samples were collected over more than a decade as part of Dr. Douglas Loring’s research program while...

Canadian tides and water level station information, benchmarks, observed water level data, and tidal predictions. The Canadian tide and water level data archive presently holds water level observations reported from over a thousand stations, with the earliest dating back to 1848. The number of...

Map of Canada showing locations of facilities selling nautical charts in both paper and digital formats.

CHS offers 500-metre bathymetric gridded data for users interested in the topography of the seafloor. This data provides seafloor depth in metres and is accessible for download as predefined areas.

Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas (EBSAs) are areas within Canada's oceans that have been identified through formal scientific assessments as having special biological or ecological significance when compared with the surrounding marine ecosystem. Failure to define an area as an...

The Science Branch of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) in the Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) region has been conducting multispecies research vessel (RV) surveys using a stratified random survey design since the early 1970s. The DFO RV survey dataset represents the longest time series of species...

This dataset includes five depth-attenuated relative wave exposure index layers in raster format. Relative Exposure Index (REI) values are calculated based on effective fetch (derived from fetch values) combined with modelled wind data. The output REI layers are attenuated by depth, resulting in...

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) has worked with partners and ocean users to develop a draft conservation network plan for the Scotian Shelf-Bay of Fundy Bioregion. This work led to the 2017 draft conservation network plan. The draft plan was updated after targeted consultations from 2021 to...

In July and August of 2019, a remotely piloted aircraft system (RPAS) project was undertaken in Canada’s western Arctic along the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk (ITH) and Dempster highways. The objective of this project was to test long-range RPAS missions for photogrammetric data acquisition and...

In July and August of 2019, a remotely piloted aircraft system (RPAS) project was undertaken in Canada’s western Arctic along the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk (ITH) and Dempster highways. The objective of this project was to test long-range RPAS missions for photogrammetric data acquisition and...

Water temperature and water level are significant environmental factors affecting ecology of anadromous fish. Large-scale freshwater monitoring networks remain sparse, yet environmental protocols rely heavily on water temperature and water levels to assist decision making on river closures. Our...

This project was completed by the Shellfish Section in the Newfoundland and Labrador Science Branch of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), in collaboration with industry partners. The Coastal Environmental Baseline program supported the Placentia Bay portion of project work for an ongoing...

This project was completed by the Coastal Environmental Baseline Program (Coastal and Freshwater Ecology Section) in the Newfoundland and Labrador Science Branch of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO). The nearshore fish and invertebrate community was sampled annually in Placentia Bay at 14 sites...

This project was completed by the Groundfish Section in the Newfoundland and Labrador Science Branch of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO). From 2018 to 2020, 14 year-round, acoustic receivers were deployed in Placentia Bay as a part of the Coastal Environmental Baseline Program to form 4 gates:...

This project was completed by the Coastal Environmental Baseline Program (Coastal and Freshwater Ecology Section) in the Newfoundland and Labrador Science Branch of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO). From 2020-2023, there were semi-annual deployments and retrievals of 3 moored CTDs in the bay....

This project was completed by the Pelagics Section in the Newfoundland and Labrador Science Branch of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO). As part of the Coastal Environmental Baseline Program, a historical research gillnet program was reinitiated in Placentia Bay. Four local fishers each set...

This project was completed by the Coastal Environmental Baseline Program (Coastal and Freshwater Ecology Section) in the Newfoundland and Labrador Science Branch of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO). From 2018 to 2022 baseline biological and physical data were collected in Placentia Bay using...