This project was completed by the Productive Capacity group (Coastal and Freshwater Ecology Section) in the Newfoundland and Labrador Science Branch of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO). American lobster (Homarus americanus) is a commercially important decapod crustacean species along the east coast of North America, ranging from the Labrador coast south to Cape Hatteras. Juvenile lobster < 40 mm CL (carapace length) recruitment has been studied extensively in the southern portions of their range. However, investigations of settlement habitat association and recruitment of juvenile lobster in the northern extremes along the Newfoundland coast have been largely unsuccessful. We investigated juvenile lobster density, habitat, and depth associations in three areas of Newfoundland, using scuba – Port Saunders area, 8 dives conducted 28 September - 2 October 2017, and Burin Peninsula 10 dives (7 Placentia Bay, 3 Fortune Bay) conducted 30 September - 4 October 2018 over a total seabed area of 9,138 m2, within 200 meters of shore. Port Saunders and Fortune Bay had relatively higher lobster density (0.09 and 0.40 m-2, respectively); >65% were juveniles, in contrast to Placentia Bay where lobster densities of all size groups were low (mean 0.01 m-2) and no juvenile lobsters were observed at all. Where observed all juvenile lobster were significantly associated with shallow (<6 m) habitat and showed no overlap with distribution of adults (>82.5 mm CL) which we observed at depths 6 to 17 m. Our sites were dominated by varying mixes of cobble and pebble (77%); rock/bedrock (12%) and mud/sand/small pebble (11%) substrates interspersed with overlying kelp (32%) and eelgrass (11%) vegetation. We observed no significant associations with substrate or vegetation. This record contains the geographic locations of the 7 Placentia Bay sites surveyed, and information on the timing and type of data collected at each site, which was one component supported by Coastal Environmental Baseline Program of a larger collaborative project.

Eldissvæði er svæði sem úthlutað er rekstarleyfishafa. Rekstrarleyfishafi hefur þá heimild til að hafa eldisbúnað til að ala fisk innan þess svæðis skv. skilyrðum rekstrarleyfisins.

The Permafrost Information Network (PIN) geotechnical borehole database combines existing database compilations into a standard structure. The standardized database was created to be accessible from the PIN web application as a data layer. Further information regarding data compilation can be accessed from the PIN web application.

The data in this dataset represent an amalgamation of sea turtle sighting, stranding, and entrapment events, mainly near Newfoundland and Labrador (NL), Canada. This document summarises the detection events data for Leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), Loggerhead (Caretta caretta), and Green (Chelonia mydas) Turtles that has been collected from opportunistic and systematic survey sources, plus stranding and entrapment records, in the waters of NL from 1946 to 2023. To a much lesser extent there are also detection records for the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence. Scotian Shelf, and northeastern U.S. waters. These detection records are mostly derived from opportunistic reports, so there are rarely data for a report that includes measures of the observer effort expended to make the detection, and rarely associated imagery. During DFO aerial surveys there are measures of effort in most cases, enabling the turtle sightings reports to be used in habitat modelling (e.g., Mosnier et al. 2018). Most of the information variables (such as “Date”, “Latitude”, “Longitude”, “Number of Animals”) have been obtained from the detection report. In some cases data for variables such as “Location Reliability”, “ID Reliability”, “Platform”, and “Strand or Entrapment Outcome” were derived from interpretation of the comments associated with the report, if available. For description of the variables in the dataset see the Data Dictionary. References: Mosnier, A., Gosselin, J.-F., Lawson, J., Plourde, S., and Lesage, V. 2018. Predicting seasonal occurrence of leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) in eastern Canadian waters from turtle and sunfish (Mola mola) sighting data and habitat characteristics. Can. J. Zool. 97: 464-478. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2018-0167

Riparian zones represent transitional areas occurring between land and freshwater ecosystems, characterised by distinctive hydrology, soil and biotic conditions and strongly influenced by the stream water. They provide a wide range of riparian functions (e.g. chemical filtration, flood control, bank stabilization, aquatic life and riparian wildlife support, etc.) and ecosystem services. The Riparian Zones products support the objectives of several European legal acts and policy initiatives, such as the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020, the Habitats and Birds Directives and the Water Framework Directive. This metadata refers to the Riparian Zones 2012 Land Cover/Land Use (LC/LU), which LC/LU classification is tailored to the needs of biodiversity monitoring in a variable buffer zone of selected rivers (Strahler levels 2-9 derived from EU-Hydro) for the reference year 2012. LC/LU is extracted from Very High Resolution (VHR) satellite data and other available data in a buffer zone of selected rivers for supporting biodiversity monitoring and mapping and assessment of ecosystems and their services. The class definitions follow the pre-defined nomenclature on the basis of Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services (MAES) typology of ecosystems (Level 1 to Level 4) and CORINE Land Cover. The classification provides 55 distinct thematic classes with a Minimum Mapping Unit (MMU) of 0.5 ha and a Minimum Mapping Width (MMW) of 10 m. The nomenclature has been revised in 2020 with the aim to harmonize the products of the local components (mainly Riparian Zones and NATURA 2000 products) while maintaining user requirements for both products. A revised version of the Riparian Zones 2012 has been subsequently released in December 2021, together with the reference year 2018. The production of the Riparian Zones products was coordinated by the European Environment Agency in the frame of the EU Copernicus programme.

The Oceans Act (1997) commits Canada to maintaining biological diversity and productivity in the marine environment. A key component of this is to identify areas that are considered ecologically or biologically significant. Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Science has developed guidance on the identification of Ecologically or Biologically Significant Areas (EBSAs) (DFO 2004) and has endorsed the scientific criteria of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) for identifying ecologically or biologically significant marine areas as defined in Annex I of Decision IX/20 of its 9th Conference of Parties. These criteria were applied to the Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) Shelves Bioregion in two separate data-driven processes. The first process focused on the area north of the Placentia Bay-Grand Banks (PBGB) Large Ocean Management Area (LOMA) (DFO 2013). The second process focused on the PBGB area (DFO 2019), where EBSAs had previously been identified using a more Delphic approach (Templeman 2007). In both cases, an EBSA Steering Committee, comprised of experts in oceanography, ecosystem structure and function, taxa-specific life histories and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) guided the process by advising or aiding in the identification, collection, processing and analysis of data layers, as well as participating in the final selection of candidate EBSAs (Wells et al. 2017, Ollerhead et al. 2017, Wells et al. 2019). All information was compiled in a GIS and a hierarchical approach was used to review individual data layers and groupings of data layers. Peer review meetings were held for both processes, during which candidate EBSAs were reviewed and the final EBSAs were agreed upon and delineated. In the northern study area, a total of fifteen EBSAs were identified and described; three of these areas are primarily coastal areas; seven are in offshore areas; four EBSAs straddle coastal and offshore areas; and one is a transitory EBSA that follows the southern extent of pack ice. In the PBGB study area, fourteen EBSAs were identified in two different categories: seven based on coastal data and seven based on offshore data. In comparing the new PBGB EBSAs to those identified in 2007, nine of them overlap spatially and are based on similar features; however, there were some variations in the boundaries. Two of the EBSAs that were identified in 2007 were no longer considered EBSAs in 2017, but portions of both of these areas were captured in part by other EBSAs. Five new EBSAs were identified in areas not previously considered. References: DFO, 2004. Identification of Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Ecosystem Status Rep. 2004/006. DFO. 2013. Identification of additional Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas (EBSAs) within the Newfoundland and Labrador Shelves Bioregion. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Sci. Advis. Rep. 2013/048. DFO. 2019. Re-evaluation of the Placentia Bay-Grand Banks Area to Identify Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas . DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Sci. Advis. Rep. 2019/040. Ollerhead, L.M.N., Gullage, M., Trip, N., and Wells, N. 2017. Development of Spatially Referenced Data Layers for Use in the Identification and Delineation of Candidate Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas in the Newfoundland and Labrador Shelves Bioregion. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2017/036. v + 38 p Templeman, N.D. 2007. Placentia Bay-Grand Banks Large Ocean Management Area Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas. Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2007/052: iii + 15 p. Wells, N.J., Stenson, G.B., Pepin, P., and Koen-Alonso, M. 2017. Identification and Descriptions of Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas in the Newfoundland and Labrador Shelves Bioregion. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2017/013. v + 87 p. Wells, N., K. Tucker, K. Allard, M. Warren, S. Olson, L. Gullage, C. Pretty, V. Sutton-Pande and K. Clarke. 2019. Re-evaluation of the Placentia Bay-Grand Banks Area of the Newfoundland and Labrador Shelves Bioregion to Identify and Describe Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2019/049. viii + 138 p.

The land division system used for describing the extent of oil and gas interests located in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut or in Canada's offshore area is defined in the Canada Oil and Gas Land Regulations. This land division system consists of a grid system divided into Grid Areas, Sections, and Units – all referenced to the North American Datum of 1927 (NAD27). This data provides the geo-spatial representation of the NAD27 Oil and Gas Grid Areas referenced to NAD83 Datum. The creation of the Oil and Gas Grid Areas geo-spatial file covers areas that are situated in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut or Sable Island as well as submarine areas, not within a province, in the internal waters of Canada, the territorial sea of Canada or the continental shelf of Canada beyond 200 nm zone. The NAD83 grid area boundaries are defined by geodesics joining the four grid area corners. For sections and units, the eastern and western grid area geodesic boundaries are partitioned into 40 equal segments. The northern and southern grid area geodesic boundaries are partitioned into 40, 32 or 24 equal segments, depending on latitude. All internal corners at the section and unit level are defined by the intersections of north-south and east-west geodesics joining corresponding partition points along the northern and southern, and eastern and western, grid area geodesic boundaries.

This dataset is a contribution to the development of a kelp distribution vector dataset. Bull kelp (Nereocystis leutkeana) and giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) are important canopy-forming kelp species found in marine nearshore habitats on the West coast of Canada. Often referred to as a foundation species, beds of kelp form structural underwater forests that offer habitat for fishes and invertebrates. Despite its far-ranging importance, kelp has experienced a decline in the west coast of North America. The losses have been in response to direct harvest, increase in herbivores through the removal of predators by fisheries or diseases, increase in water turbidity from shoreline development as well as sea temperature change, ocean acidification, and increased storm activates. Understanding these impacts and the level of resilience of different kelp populations requires spatiotemporal baselines of kelp distribution. The area covered by this dataset includes the BC coast and extends to portions of the Washington and Alaska coasts. This dataset was created using 137 British Admiralty (BA) charts, including insets, with scales ranging from 1:6,080 to 1:500,000, created between 1858 and 1956. All surveys were based on triangulation, in which a sextant or theodolite was used to determine latitude and angles, while a chronometer was used to help determine longitude. First, each BA chart was scanned by the Canadian Hydrographic Service (CHS) using the CHS Colortrac large format scanner, and saved as a Tagged Image Format at 200 DPI, which was deemed sufficient resolution to properly visualize all the features of interest. Subsequently, the scanned charts were imported into ESRI ArcMap and georeferenced directly to WGS84 using CHS georeferencing standards and principles (charts.gc.ca). In order to minimize error, a hierarchy of control points was used, ranging from high survey order control points to comparing conspicuous stable rock features apparent in satellite imagery. The georeferencing result was further validated against satellite imagery, CHS charts and fieldsheets, the CHS-Pacific High Water Line (charts.gc.ca), and adjacent and overlapping BA charts. Finally, the kelp features were digitized, and corresponding chart information (scale, chart number, title, survey start year, survey end year, and comments) was added as attributes to each feature. Given the observed differences in kelp feature representation at different scales, when digitizing kelp features, polygons were used to represent the discrete observations, and as such, they represent presence of kelp and not kelp area. Polygons were created by tracing around the kelp feature, aiming to keep the outline close to the stipe and blades. The accuracy of the location of the digitized kelp features was defined using a reliability criterion, which considers the location of the digitized kelp feature (polygon) in relation to the local depth in which the feature occurs. For this, we defined a depth threshold of 40 m to represent a low likelihood of kelp habitat in areas deeper than the threshold. An accuracy assessment of the digitized kelp features concluded that 99% of the kelp features occurred in expected areas within a depth of less than 40 m, and only about 1% of the features occurred completely outside of this depth.