Gulf of St. Lawrence observer at sea program
The Gulf of St. Lawrence At-Sea Observer Program is part of the Fisheries Monitoring Policy of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) (https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/reports-rapports/regs/sff-cpd/fishery-monitoring-surveillance-des-peches-eng.htm#toc13). Its purpose is to ensure accurate verification of fishing activities at sea by an independent third party, and to provide DFO with scientific data on catches. The fishing industry and DFO depend on the proper communication of this information for fisheries management, monitoring and scientific research activities.
Biological data on fish and marine invertebrates collected by the At-Sea Observer Program is one of the sources of information used by DFO to assess the status of these resources. Biological data protocols are the subject of an annual consultation with the biologists responsible for assessing each of the exploited stocks.
This dataset contains the sum of weight data for species caught, by NAFO (Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization) sub-division and by year from 1999-2023, from commercial species directed fisheries for stock assessments in the Quebec region. It also includes length frequencies for species caught when required by protocol.
To preserve the confidentiality of the fishing industry, data are only presented when fishing activity has been observed on a minimum of 5 vessels in a given NAFO area. The data presented are raw and should be interpreted with caution. They may contain errors such as spatial coordinates, landing weights or inaccurate or unreliable species identifications. A brief review of the taxonomy was carried out by DFO taxonomist cited as collaborator. His comments can be found in the “REMARK_IDENT” column preceded by the code “Claude_Nozere”.
- Publisher - Current Organization Name: Fisheries and Oceans Canada
- Licence: Open Government Licence - Canada
Data and Resources
-
At-sea observer dataCSVEnglish French dataset CSV
-
Data dictionaryCSVEnglish French guide CSV
-
NAFO Sub DivisionsCSVEnglish French guide CSV
-
NAFO subdivisions web serviceESRI RESTEnglish web_service ESRI REST
-
NAFO subdivision web serviceESRI RESTFrench web_service ESRI REST
Contact Information
Delivery Point: Institut Maurice-Lamontagne, 850, route de la Mer
Administrative Area: Quebec
Country: Canada
Electronic Mail Address: gddaiss-dmsaisb@dfo-mpo.gc.ca