Fisheries and Oceans Canada

A derivative of DFO’s benthic species survey for the Strategic Program for Ecosystem-based Research and Advice (SPERA) (open data record ID: e736c0f0-b19e-4842-903d-28bfc756d48a), this benthic survey funded through the Canadian Healthy Oceans Network (CHONeII) looks at the presence/absence and...

The data in this layer represents habitat suitability of soft-shelled clams (Mya arenaria) in the DFO Maritimes region, and was developed using an interdepartmental approach. Substrate classification data as well as bathymetric data for the Region were used to identify potential habitat for...

The St. Anns Bank Marine Protected Area was established in June 2017. Data describing the spatial-temporal patterns and drivers of species movement is essential for evaluating species composition and to gauge the protective capacity of the MPA. Since 2015, an acoustic telemetry receiver array has...

Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s (DFO) National Biofouling Monitoring Program (BMP) has conducted annual field surveys to monitor the introduction, establishment, spread, species richness, and relative abundance of native and non-indigenous species (NIS) since 2006. Standardized monitoring protocols...

This report outlines the results of a project that created a series of maps tracking inshore historical Lobster fishing district boundaries from 1899 to present. This work has been part of Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s (DFO) Blue Economy Lobster Team (BELT) pilot project on the Lobster fishery....

Species distribution models (SDMs) are tools that combine species observations of occurrence, abundance, or biomass with environmental variables to predict the distribution of a species in unsampled locations. To produce accurate predictions of occurrence, abundance or biomass distribution, a...

The Government of Canada continues to strive to be ever more open and transparent. This means a government that is open by default providing better digital capacity and services for Canadians. Under a modernized Fisheries Act, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) has made available an online...

A coastal surficial substrate layer for the coastal Scotian Shelf and Bay of Fundy. To create the layer, previous geological characterizations from NRCan were translated into consistent substrate and habitat characterizations; including surficial grain size and primary habitat type. In areas...

Climatological monthly-mean temperature and salinity data were computed for each of the 27 Line P stations (https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/science/data-donnees/line-p/index-eng.html). For any particular station, data were accepted as belonging to that station if the location was within 10 km of the...

Ocean physical conditions in the Maritimes Region in 2019 were characterized by cooler surface temperatures, continued warmer bottom temperatures and weaker stratification compared to recent years. Deep nutrient inventories were lower than normal over most of the region, with the exception of the...

Likelihood of presence of Snow Crab in the Bay of Fundy and Port Hawkesbury areas. The Coastal Oceanography and Ecosystem Research section (DFO Science) reviewed science sources and local knowledge sources to estimate where Snow Crab are seasonally present and delineate these areas. As of March...

Temperature logger data was collected from two Vemco miniloggers attached to range-testing moorings for an array of acoustic receivers at a depth of approximately 300 metres in the Gully MPA. The data covers 2021 through 2022. Cite this data as: Jeffery, N., Heaslip, S., and Stanley, R. Data...

Harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) are found along temperate and Arctic marine coastlines of the Northern Hemisphere. They are found in coastal waters of the northern Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, as well as those of the Baltic and North Seas. In Canada, they may be found off the coastal waters of...

The assessment of the status of eelgrass (Zostera marina) beds at the bay-scale in turbid, shallow estuaries is problematic. The bay-scale assessment (i.e., tens of km) of eelgrass beds usually involves remote sensing methods such as aerial photography or satellite imagery. These methods can fail...

Tow, catch, and length frequency for fish caught during the August sentinel surveys in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence (NAFO Division 4T). Abundance indices and spatial distribution patterns of commercial groundfish. Note: Due to delays caused by logistic complexities and Covid the project...

Many cetacean species were depleted in Canadian Pacific waters by commercial whaling, which ended in 1967. Although some populations have since shown evidence of recovery, there is limited information about the current abundance and geographic distribution of many species, particularly in...

This dataset contains the abundance (per m²) and the biomass (mg dry per m²) of macrofauna (≥ 500µm) in eelgrass and adjacent bare soft sediments, collected at sites in the Atlantic of Nova Scotia from 2009 to 2013. Cite this data as: Wong M.C. Data of Benthic invertebrates in seagrass and bare...

The Department of Fisheries established a survey of demersal juvenile Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) in the nearshore (<10 m deep) in 1959. This survey aimed to characterize the distribution and abundance of juvenile Atlantic cod and was based upon Norway's Flodevigen sampling program which has...

Catch, effort, location (latitude and longitude), and associated biological data from groundfish multi-species longline surveys in the northern portion of the inlets and protected waters east of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Introduction The Inside North Hard Bottom Longline (HBLL)...

The assessment of the status of eelgrass (Zostera marina) beds at the bay-scale in turbid, shallow estuaries is problematic. The bay-scale assessment (i.e., tens of km) of eelgrass beds usually involves remote sensing methods such as aerial photography or satellite imagery. These methods can fail...