• Arctic SDI catalogue
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Annual multidisciplinary survey for assessing groundfish and shrimp in the Estuary and northern Gulf of St. Lawrence (CCGS Teleost 2004 - 2022)

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) conducts an annual summer multidisciplinary scientific survey with a bottom trawl in the Estuary and the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence since 1984. Over the years this survey has been conducted on four vessels: the MV Lady Hammond (1984-1990), the CCGS Alfred Needler (1990-2005), the CCGS Teleost (2004-2022) and the CCGS Cabot (2022-present). It is important to note that the objectives, the methods used and the identification of the species during these surveys have improved over time in response to DFO requests and mandates. The data are therefore not directly comparable between these surveys. However, comparative analyses have been carried out between vessels, and conversion factors are available on request for a number of species. The specificities of the missions onboard the CCGS Teleost are described below.

Objectives:

1. Assess groundfish and northern shrimp population abundance and condition

2. Assess environmental conditions

3. Conduct a biodiversity inventory of benthic and demersal megafauna

4. Assess phytoplankton and mesozooplankton abundance

5. Monitor the pelagic ecosystem

6. Inventory marine mammals populations

7. Inventory seabirds populations

8. Collect samples for various research projects

Survey description

The survey covers the Estuary and the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence, that is the divisions 4R, 4S and the northern part of division 4T of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO). Since 2008, coverage of division 4T has been increased in the upstream part of the Lower Estuary in order to sample the depths between 37 and 183 m. A stratified random sampling strategy is used for this survey and the area of the study area is 118,587 km². The fishing gear used on the CCGS Teleost is a four-sided Campelen 1800 shrimp trawl equipped with a Rockhopper footgear (“bicycle”). The trawl lengthening and codend are equipped with a 12.7-mm knotless nylon lining. Standard trawling tows last 15 minutes, starting from the time the trawl touches the sea floor. The target towing speed is 3 knots.

Data

For each fishing tow, the catch is sorted and weighed by taxa; individuals are then counted and biological data are collected on a subsample. For fish, crab and squid, size and weight are measured by individual and, for some species, sex, gonad maturity, and the weight of certain organs (stomach, liver, gonads) are also evaluated. The soft rays of the anal fin are counted for redfish, and the otoliths are sampled for several species such as Atlantic cod, Atlantic halibut, Greenland halibut, and witch flounder. A roughly 2-kg shrimp sample is sorted and weighed by species (and by stage of maturity for northern shrimp). The shrimps are measured individually. The other invertebrates are counted (no individual measurements) and photographed.

The biological data are divided into 4 files: a “Metadata” file containing set information, a “Catches” file containing catches per set for fish taxa, a “Biological characteristics” file containing morphometric measurements per individual and a “Shrimps” file containing information on shrimp catches. This data is also available via the 'Biodiversity' application on the St. Lawrence Global Observatory (SLGO).

It's important to note that this is raw data. Only set considered successful are retained. In each set, all species are kept, with a few exceptions. For more information please contact the data management team (gddaiss-dmsaisb@dfo-mpo.gc.ca ).

Simple

Date ( RI_367 )
2019
Date ( RI_366 )
2019
Date ( RI_368 )
2025
RI_416
  Government of Canada; Fisheries and Oceans Canada; Sciences/SAISB - Section Gestion de données - Direction des avis, information et soutien scientifiques / Data Management Section - Scientific Advice, Information and Support Branch ( )
850, route de la Mer, P.O. Box 1000 , Mont-Joli , Quebec , G5H 3Z4 , Canada
Status
onGoing; enContinue RI_596
Maintenance and update frequency
asNeeded; auBesoin RI_540
Keywords ( RI_525 )
  • St. Lawrence Estuary
  • Gulf of St. Lawrence
Keywords ( RI_530 )
  • Groundfish, Shrimp, Multidisciplinary survey, Teleost
Government of Canada Core Subject Thesaurus Thésaurus des sujets de base du gouvernement du Canada ( RI_528 )
  • Fish
  • Fisheries management
  • Oceans
  • Marine biology
  • Aquatic wildlife
  • Aquatic ecosystems
Classification
unclassified; nonClassifié RI_484
Use limitation
Open Government Licence - Canada (http://open.canada.ca/en/open-government-licence-canada)
Access constraints
license; licence RI_606
Use constraints
license; licence RI_606
Spatial representation type
vector; vecteur RI_635
Metadata language
fra; CAN
Metadata language
eng; CAN
Character set
utf8; utf8 RI_458
Topic category
  • Biota
Begin date
2004
End date
2022
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Reference system identifier
http://www.epsg-registry.org / EPSG:4326 /
Distribution format
  • CSV ( unknown )

RI_414
  Government of Canada; Fisheries and Oceans Canada; Sciences/SAISB - Section Gestion de données - Direction des avis, information et soutien scientifiques / Data Management Section - Scientific Advice, Information and Support Branch ( )
850, route de la Mer, P.O. Box 1000 , Mont-Joli , Quebec , G5H 3Z4 , Canada
OnLine resource
Preliminary results from the groundfish and shrimp multidisciplinary survey in August 2018 in the Estuary and northern Gulf of St. Lawrence ( HTTPS )

Supporting Document;PDF;eng,fra

OnLine resource
Data dictionary ( HTTPS )

Supporting Document;CSV;eng,fra

OnLine resource
Données du Teleost ( HTTPS )

Dataset;CSV;fra

OnLine resource
Data Teleost ( HTTPS )

Dataset;CSV;eng

OnLine resource
Teleost Map data ( ESRI REST: Map Service )

Web Service;ESRI REST;eng

OnLine resource
Teleost Map data ( ESRI REST: Map Service )

Web Service;ESRI REST;fra

OnLine resource
Bottom water temperature and salinity in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence ( HTTPS )

Supporting Document;HTML;eng,fra

OnLine resource
Deep water dissolved oxygen in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence ( HTTPS )

Supporting Document;HTML;eng,fra

OnLine resource
Bottom water pH in the Estuary and Gulf of St.Lawrence ( HTTPS )

Supporting Document;HTML;eng,fra

OnLine resource
Summer surface conditions – Multidisciplinary surveys ( HTTPS )

Supporting Document;HTML;eng,fra

OnLine resource
Demersal fish total biomass in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence ( HTTPS )

Supporting Document;HTML;eng,fra

OnLine resource
Pelagic fish total biomass in the Estuary and Gulf of St.Lawrence ( HTTPS )

Supporting Document;HTML;eng,fra

OnLine resource
Demersal fish group richness in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence ( HTTPS )

Supporting Document;HTML;eng,fra

OnLine resource
Pelagic fish group richness in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence ( HTTPS )

Supporting Document;HTML;eng,fra

OnLine resource
Demersal fish species abondance in the Esturay and Gulf of St. Lawrence between 2008 and 2017 ( HTTPS )

Supporting Document;HTML;eng,fra

OnLine resource
Pelagic fish species abondance in the Esturay and Gulf of St. Lawrence between 2008 and 2017 ( HTTPS )

Supporting Document;HTML;eng,fra

File identifier
40381c35-4849-4f17-a8f3-707aa6a53a9d XML
Metadata language
eng; CAN
Character set
utf8; utf8 RI_458
Hierarchy level
dataset; jeuDonnées RI_622
Date stamp
2025-04-08T19:04:59.096Z
Metadata standard name
North American Profile of ISO 19115:2003 - Geographic information - Metadata
Metadata standard version
CAN/CGSB-171.100-2009
RI_418
  Government of Canada; Fisheries and Oceans Canada; Sciences/SAISB - Section Gestion de données - Direction des avis, information et soutien scientifiques / Data Management Section - Scientific Advice, Information and Support Branch ( )
850, route de la Mer, P.O. Box 1000 , Mont-Joli , Quebec , G5H 3Z4 , Canada
 
 

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