AndreaBozzo/ceres-open-data-index huggingface dataset:
Maritimes Coastal Biodiversity Monitoring Program – Beach Seining

Monitoring programs are an important component of Marine Protected Area (MPA) management, providing requisite information on the state of, and changes in, protected ecosystems. Monitoring is required to gauge the efficacy of MPAs towards their conservation objectives and provides information needed to evaluate the benefits provided to biodiversity from restricted access. However, in Nova Scotia’s coastal zone, there is a lack of baseline data, including fish diversity and community structure in macrophyte beds, which makes monitoring intractable. In 2017, the Eastern Shore Islands was identified as a coastal Area of Interest (AOI) for the potential establishment of an MPA. In 2018 an overview was conducted, detailing the spatial and temporal ecological attributes of the AOI. This information revealed a unique coastal ecosystem associated with a dense archipelago and relatively natural seascape. The abundance of plant and algal biogenic habitats within the area was assumed to host a diversity of juvenile fish species. The primary objective of this project is to begin development of a long-term biodiversity monitoring program in the Eastern Shore Islands and other coastal Areas of Interest for conservation planning. We propose implementing this program with the use of direct (beach seines, scuba diving, and stable isotope sampling) and indirect (environmental DNA - eDNA) sampling. Environmental DNA (eDNA) is a useful tool to examine marine biodiversity in a non-invasive way, on a small spatial scale. eDNA can be easily collected and filtered and is becoming increasingly cost efficient to sequence and may be a useful marine protected area monitoring tool. While eDNA generally yields comparable results to traditional sampling techniques in terms of biodiversity captured, little is known on how eDNA signals fluctuate across years (or even days to weeks). We will compare species detections using eDNA metabarcoding to visual surveys (scuba and seine nets) to census eelgrass beds across the coastal zone, providing a baseline and time series of species diversity on which to base long-term monitoring. This project will generate inventories of eelgrass bed locations, and fish and invertebrate diversity within eelgrass beds. We additionally collect fish length distribution data to examine seasonal and inter-annual trends in size structure over time. The data generated from direct and indirect sampling will provide a comprehensive and ongoing catalog of species diversity and community structure in coastal eelgrass beds, as well as best-practices for sampling eDNA in the coastal environment.

Cite this data as: Jeffery, N.W., Pettitt-Wade, H., Van Wyngaarden, M., and Stanley, R.R.E.  Maritimes Coastal Biodiversity Monitoring Program – Beach Seining.
Published: December 2023. Coastal Ecosystems Science Division, Maritimes region, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dartmouth NS. 
https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/dbbcb23a-d018-4b70-b8ec-89997aded770

Organization: Fisheries and Oceans Canada | Pêches et Océans Canada
Aerial photos from the Aug 19th, 2015 survey of the Western Hudson Bay beluga population

PURPOSE:
An aerial survey of the Western Hudson Bay beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) population was conducted on August 19th, 2015 to provide a population estimate. Surveys were flown in a DeHavilland Twin Otter (DH-6) fitted with four bubble windows and an optical glass-covered camera hatch at the rear underbelly of the plane. A Global Positioning System (GPS) unit logged the position, altitude, speed, and heading of the aircraft each second. Surveys were initially flown at a target ground speed of 100 knots (185 km/h), and target altitudes of 1,000 ft (305 m) for visual surveys and 2,000 ft (610 m) for photographic surveys. After the second day of flying, the target ground speed was adjusted to 110 knots (204 km/h).

Complete coverage of the two photographic strata was achieved using a Nikon D810 camera fitted with a 25 mm lens. The camera was mounted at the rear of the aircraft and directed straight down with the longest side perpendicular to the track line. The camera was connected to a GPS unit to geo-reference photographs, and to a laptop computer to control exposure settings and photo interval. At an altitude of 2,000 ft (610 m), the 25 mm lens captured a ground area of approximately 875 m x 585 m. The photograph interval was set to maintain an overlap of 20 to 40 % between consecutive photos, and with a transect spacing of 600 m, the lateral overlap between photos from adjacent transects was approximately 30 %.
            

DESCRIPTION:
Aerial surveys of summering Western Hudson Bay (WHB) beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) were conducted on August 19th, 2015 to update the previous population abundance. The survey area comprised five strata (three visual and two photographic) encompassing high use areas around three river estuaries where recurring aggregations of WHB beluga are found during the summer months. This metadata covers the photographic data related to the survey. The photographic surveys completely covered high density aggregations in the Churchill River and near the mouth of the Seal River.

Organization: Fisheries and Oceans Canada | Pêches et Océans Canada
Species distribution models and occurrence data for marine invasive species hotspot identification

Since 2005, Fisheries and Oceans Canada has been collecting monitoring data for aquatic invasive species (e.g. https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/8d87f574-0661-40a0-822f-e9eabc35780d, https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/503a957e-7d6b-11e9-aef3-f48c505b2a29, https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/8661edcf-f525-4758-a051-cb3fc8c74423). This monitoring data, as well additional occurrence information from online databases and the scientific literature, have been paired with high resolution environmental data and oceanographic models in species distribution models that predict the present-day and future potential distributions of 12 moderate to high risk invasive species on Canada’s east and west coasts. Future distributions were predicted for 2075, under Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s fifth Assessment Report. Present-day and future richness of these species (i.e., hotspots) has also been estimated by summing their occurrence probabilities. This data set includes the occurrence locations of each species, the present-day and future species distribution modeling results for each species, and the estimated species richness. This research has been published in the scientific literature(Lyons et al. 2020).

Lyons DA, Lowen JB, Therriault TW, Brickman D, Guo L, Moore AM, Peña MA, Wang Z, DiBacco C. (In Press) Identifying Marine Invasion Hotspots Using Stacked Species Distribution Models. Biological Invasions

Cite this data as: Lyons DA., Lowen JB, Therriault TW., Brickman D., Guo L., Moore AM., Peña MA., Wang Z., DiBacco C. Data of: Species distribution models and occurrence data for marine invasive species hotspot identification. Published: November 2020. Coastal Ecosystems Science Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dartmouth, N.S. https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/1bbd5131-8b34-4245-b999-3b4c4259d74f

Organization: Fisheries and Oceans Canada | Pêches et Océans Canada
Fleming Survey of Juvenile Atlantic Cod in Coastal Avalon and Northeast Newfoundland (NAFO Div. 3KL)

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 been conducted continuously since 1919. A 25 m seine was used to sample juvenile Atlantic cod nursery locations on the Avalon Peninsula and Northeast coast of the island of Newfoundland in September and October. The survey continued until 1964 and became known as the Fleming survey, after original initiator Alistair Fleming. The survey was reinstated by Memorial University of Newfoundland from 1992 to 1997. Multiple tows were conducted at a subset of the original 55 Fleming sites located in St. Mary's Bay, Trepassey Bay, the Southern Shore, Conception Bay, Trinity Bay, Bonavista Bay, Gander Bay, New World Island, Fortune Harbour, Badger Bay, Halls Bay and Green Bay.

This data set includes several different subsets, some of which span both Fleming Survey periods (1959-1964 and 1992-1997):

I. JuvCodCatch60s90s:
Catches of juvenile Atlantic cod (1959-1964, 1992-1997) from the first two consecutive tows at each site. This is a summary based on JuvCodLengths90s and FlemingSurveyData60s;

II. JuvCodLength90s:
Lengths of all individual juvenile Atlantic cod caught for each site (1992-1997);

III. SiteEnvData60s90s:
Station data for Fleming data 1992-1997;

IV. FlemingSurveyData60s:
Fleming survey data from 1959-1964 (note there are three record types pertaining to: station data  "type 1";  general species catch data including juvenile Atlantic cod grouped by age class ("1+", "Zeroes", and "Total") "type 2; and juvenile Atlantic cod (species 223) listed in length bins "type 3"; and

V. FlemingBycatch60s92to96:
Bycatch data from 1959-1964 & 1992-1996 from first two tows at each site. This is a summary based partly on the FlemingSurveyData60s set.

Organization: Fisheries and Oceans Canada | Pêches et Océans Canada
Eulachon Migration Study Bottom Trawl Surveys

Catch, effort, location (latitude and longitude), and associated biological data from the Eulachon Migration Study Bottom Trawl surveys on the coast of British Columbia.

Introduction:
The Eulachon Migration Study Bottom Trawl surveys are divided into two parts; the Eulachon Migration Study Bottom Trawl – South (Eul –S) and the Eulachon Migration Study Bottom Trawl – North (Eul-N).    

The objectives of these surveys were to learn about the distribution, ecology, and migration timing of Eulachon into and out of the Fraser (Eul-S), Nass, and Skeena River (Eul-N) systems. This was achieved by observing Eulachon spatial and temporal occurrence and biological condition over a wide survey region each month. 

EUL-S covered portions of the Strait of Georgia and Juan de Fuca Strait in Pacific Fishery Management areas (PFMA’s) 17-20, 28, 29, and 121. There were nine trips conducted from October 2017 to March 2018 and one trip in January 2019. 

Eul-N consists of seven trips conducted between July 2018 and March 2019 mainly in Chatham Sound with sets in Hecate Strait, and Portland Inlet (Pacific Fishery Management areas (PFMA’s) 3, 4, and 104).  

Fishing was conducted using the Canadian Coast Guard Research Vessel Neocaligus to tow an American shrimp trawl net (Cantrawl Nets Ltd., Richmond, BC). The horizontal opening of the polypropylene net was estimated to be 34 to 37 feet (10 to 11 m), while the center of the opening had a vertical height of approximately 7 to 9 feet (2 to 3 m). A 0.4” (10 mm) liner was used in the codend. The net was configured with roller gear and 72” (1.8 m) Thyboron Type 2 trawl doors. Tow duration was typically 20 minutes for Eul-S and ranged from 5-20 minutes for Eul-N. The standard hours of fishing were 0700 to 1700 hours, depending on sunrise and sunset in winter months.

These surveys follow a random block design in a targeted depth range of 80 – 200 metres for the Eul-S and 80-300 metres for Eul-N. The surveys were conducted by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and was funded by the Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) National Rotational Survey Fund.

Organization: Fisheries and Oceans Canada | Pêches et Océans Canada
Northern marine coastal and ecosystem studies in the Canadian Beaufort Sea—water quality data

The objective of this project was to gather data to develop a model of the food web of the lower trophic levels of the nearshore area of the Beaufort Sea. Sampling took place from 2005 to 2008 using the CCGS Nahidik. The multidisciplinary character of the Nahidik program produced measurements of biology/ecology (primary production, phytoplankton, zooplankton, benthos, fish), chemical and physical oceanography, contaminants, geology and hydro acoustics. The data were collected in July and August of each year. The Nahidik program provided data to provide a baseline for future studies as well as an information source for environmental assessment.

This record contains water chemistry data collected as part of this project including suspended nitrogen, dissolved nitrogen, suspended phosphorus, dissolved phosphorus, dissolved organic carbon, suspended carbon, chlorophyll a, and suspended silicon.

Organization: Fisheries and Oceans Canada | Pêches et Océans Canada
DFO Gridded Commercial Fishing Data - Various Years

These datasets show the general spatial distribution of commercial fishing harvest and landed values by fishery on a 1km x 1km planning grid. They aggregate key statistics around fleet specific fishing activity and catch in British Columbia (BC) within the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). These gridded data describe the annual average landed weight (Rounded KGs), and landed catch values (CAD $2016) of the subject fishery over the period. The data represented were created from logbook records and matched to prices from fish slips submitted to DFO by participants of BC’s commercial fishing fleets. The dataset is comprised of an aggregate of all species over 10, 9, or 5 years of fishing seasons, depending on the fishery. 

To preserve potentially proprietary information, a privacy filtering Rule of Five has been applied to each planning unit (each 1km x 1km planning unit). If any planning units do not meet this minimum of 5 unique vessels/unique identifiers during the time span then they are flagged as being filtered and an average of all filtered planning units is applied.

The accompanying GeoDB contains two data layers, “all_fisheries_filtered_gridded “, which includes all of the commercial fisheries data in 1km x 1km grids, and “DFO_marine_bioregions_NSB_subregions”, which includes polygon feature boundaries for the federal marine bioregions and Northern Shelf bioregion sub-regions.

This dataset contains data for the following fisheries:
- Bottom trawl (2012-2016)
- Midwater trawl (2012-2016)
- Shrimp by trawl (2007-2016)
- Prawn trap (2007-2016)
- Rockfish (2012-2016)
- Sablefish (2007-2016)
- Halibut (2007-2016)
- Combo trips - halibut/sablefish (2007-2016)
- Lingcod (2007-2016)
- Green sea urchin (2006-2015)
- Red sea urchin (2007-2015)
- Sea cucumber (2008-2016)
- Geoduck (2007-2015)

Organization: Fisheries and Oceans Canada | Pêches et Océans Canada
Northern marine coastal and ecosystem studies in the Canadian Beaufort Sea—sampling information

The objective of this project was to gather data to develop a model of the food web of the lower trophic levels of the nearshore area of the Beaufort Sea. Sampling took place from 2005 to 2008 using the CCGS Nahidik.  The multidisciplinary character of the Nahidik program produced measurements of biology/ecology (primary production, phytoplankton, zooplankton, benthos, fish), chemical and physical oceanography, contaminants, geology and hydro acoustics. The data were collected in July and August of each year. The Nahidik program provided data to provide a baseline for future studies as well as an information source for environmental assessment.

Organization: Fisheries and Oceans Canada | Pêches et Océans Canada
Dempster Highway Orthomosaic (2019)

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 processing of these two Arctic highway corridors with embankments, bridges and culverts at risk of changing environmental and climatic regimes. The imagery was used to derive an orthomosaic and digital elevation model that could be used to measure road infrastructure and landscape change over time (e.g., fish habitat). 
The RPAS missions were conducted with a Griffon SeaHunter and full-frame DSLR sensor and scoped to obtain <10 cm spatial resolution imagery along a combined 396 linear km. The final deliverables covered over 22,000 ha and 29,000 ha for the ITH and Dempster Highways, respectively, and represent one of the first non-military beyond-visual-line-of-sight RPAS data products of its kind and scale in Canada, and likely elsewhere.  At the time of collection the data constituted the most current and detailed photo surveys of two of Canada’s most northern highways constructed over ice-rich permafrost terrain, and will provide a valuable baseline to study past and future landscape change.

Organization: Fisheries and Oceans Canada | Pêches et Océans Canada
Community-Based Coastal Resource Inventory

Points, polylines and polygons where species and features have been found, harvested or detailed.

Community Based Coastal Resource Inventory (CCRI) – Fisheries and Oceans Canada in conjunction with several Federal and Provincial agencies created, implemented, and managed a program which set out to develop a coastal resource inventory based on the traditional knowledge of local residents. Through partnerships with the province of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Regional Economic Development (RED) Boards and other community based groups the project assembled a database containing several decade’s worth of local knowledge. The value of the information collected came through individual interviews with people who had extensive knowledge of the immediate geography and resource, having lived, worked and harvested the regions over a lifetime. This project ran from 1996 to 2007.

Organization: Fisheries and Oceans Canada | Pêches et Océans Canada
Sponge Fields in the Eastern Arctic (Campelen Trawl Sample)

Polygons denoting concentrations of sea pens, small and large gorgonian corals and sponges on the east coast of Canada have been identified through spatial analysis of research vessel survey by-catch data following an approach used by the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) in the Regulatory Area (NRA) on Flemish Cap and southeast Grand Banks. Kernel density analysis was used to identify high concentrations and the area occupied by successive catch weight thresholds was used to identify aggregations. These analyses were performed for each of the five biogeographic zones of eastern Canada. The largest sea pen fields were found in the Laurentian Channel as it cuts through the Gulf of St. Lawrence, while large gorgonian coral forests were found in the Eastern Arctic and on the northern Labrador continental slope. Large ball-shaped Geodia spp. sponges were located along the continental slopes north of the Grand Banks, while on the Scotian Shelf a unique population of the large barrel-shaped sponge Vazella pourtalesi was identified. The latitude and longitude marking the positions of all tows which form these and other dense aggregations are provided along with the positions of all tows which captured black coral, a non-aggregating taxon which is long-lived and vulnerable to fishing pressures.

These polygons identify sponge grounds from the broader distribution of sponges in the region as sampled by Campelen gear in the Eastern Arctic biogeographic zone. A 40 kg minimum threshold for the sponge catch was identified as the weight that separated the sponge ground habitat from the broader distribution of sponges with these research vessel tow data and gear type.

Organization: Fisheries and Oceans Canada | Pêches et Océans Canada
Northern Marine Coastal and Ecosystem Studies in the Canadian Beaufort Sea—sample locations

The objective of this project was to gather data to develop a model of the food web of the lower trophic levels of the nearshore area of the Beaufort Sea. Sampling took place from 2005 to 2008 using the CCGS Nahidik. The multidisciplinary character of the Nahidik program produced measurements of biology/ecology (primary production, phytoplankton, zooplankton, benthos, fish), chemical and physical oceanography, contaminants, geology and hydro acoustics. The data were collected in July and August of each year. The Nahidik program provided data to provide a baseline for future studies as well as an information source for environmental assessment. This record contains the geographic coordinates and station names from 2005 to 2008.

Organization: Fisheries and Oceans Canada | Pêches et Océans Canada
Pelagic fish species abondance in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence

2014 to 2023 pelagic fish abundance in the Estuary and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The abundance is expressed as a number of individuals per normalized trawl set.  Each species is individually represented in the northern Gulf and in the southern Gulf.  Input data are from the annual August (North) and September (South) multidisciplinary surveys.
 
The pelagic species represented are: Arctic Cod, Atlantic Argentine, Atlantic Herring, Atlantic Mackerel, Atlantic Soft Pout, Capelin, Lumpfish, Pollock, Rainbow Smelt, Sand Lances, Silver Hake, Threespine Stickleback and White Barracudina.

Purpose

Since 1990, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans has been conducting an annual multidisciplinary survey in the Estuary and northern Gulf of St. Lawrence using a standardized protocol. In the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, these bottom trawl surveys has been carrying out each September since 1971. These missions are an important source of information about the status of the marine ressources.

The objectives of the surveys are multiple: 
to estimate the abundance and biomass of groundfish and invertebrates, to identify the spatial distribution and biological characteristics of these species, to monitor the biodiversity of the Estuary and Gulf and finally, to describe the environmental conditions observed in the area at the moment of the sampling.

The southern Gulf surveys are realized using the following standardized protocol:
Hurlbut,T. and D.Clay (eds) 1990. Protocols for Research Vessel Cruises within the Gulf Region (Demersal Fish) (1970-1987). Can. MS Rep. Fish. Aquat. Sci. No. 2082: 143p.

The sampling protocols used for the Estuary and northern Gulf surveys are described in details in the following publications:

Bourdages, H., Archambault, D., Bernier, B., Fréchet, A., Gauthier, J., Grégoire, F., Lambert, J., et Savard, L. 2010. Résultats préliminaires du relevé multidisciplinaire de poissons de fond et de crevette d’août 2009 dans le nord du golfe du Saint-Laurent. Rapp. stat. can. sci. halieut. aquat. 1226 : xii+ 72 p. 

Bourdages, H., Archambault, D., Morin, B., Fréchet, A., Savard, L., Grégoire, F., et Bérubé, M. 2003. Résultats préliminaires du relevé multidisciplinaire de poissons de fond et de crevette d’août 2003 dans le nord du golfe du Saint-Laurent. Secr. can. consult. sci. du MPO. Doc. rech. 2003/078. vi + 68 p.

Annual reports are available at the Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat (CSAS), (http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/csas-sccs/index-eng.htm).

Bourdages, H., Brassard, C., Desgagnés, M., Galbraith, P., Gauthier, J., Légaré, B., Nozères, C. and Parent, E. 2017. Preliminary results from the groundfish and shrimp multidisciplinary survey in August 2016 in the Estuary and northern Gulf of St. Lawrence. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2017/002. v + 87 p.

Organization: Fisheries and Oceans Canada | Pêches et Océans Canada