Survey for Physella wright - the hotwater physa, at Liard River Hotsprings Provincial Park, August 2006. Description of activity: The research is a survey of the Hotwater physa, Physella wrighti, to estimate population distribution and abundance, in order to monitor the population of this freshwater snail found in a single hot spring site in Canada. Researchers will gather data regarding the density of snail populations and the characteristics of the habitat it utilizes in order to provide an updated assessment of its status. The proposed methodology allows accurate, monitoring of this population. Estimates of snail density per square meter will be calculated based on repeated sweeps of vegetation to dislodge snails. Where snails are found on open substrate, counts are done by quadrat. Attempts will be made to document egg case deposition. Population density estimates and ecosystem data will be sampled for every meter of stream where P. wrighti is known to occur. Each sample site will be georeferenced and documented using digital photography.

This project was completed by the Pelagics Section in the Newfoundland and Labrador Science Branch of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO). As part of the Coastal Environmental Baseline Program, a historical research gillnet program was reinitiated in Placentia Bay. Four local fishers each set fleets of standardized nets to catch herring for 6 weeks during the spring. The data collected was used to update a time series and provide advice at the herring stock assessment in October 2022.  This program was continued in the 22/23 fiscal year. Data collected from this program included gillnet catch rates, bycatch, temperature and biological (herring) samples; from which biological metrics such as length, weight, sex, maturity and age were measured. This record contains catch data for 2018 to 2021, as well as biological data from 2018.

This project was completed by the Shellfish Section in the Newfoundland and Labrador Science Branch of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), in collaboration with industry partners. The Coastal Environmental Baseline program supported the Placentia Bay portion of project work for an ongoing industry-DFO collaborative post-season trap survey for Snow Crab that was initiated in 2003 and has occurred each year. This survey is conducted by Snow Crab harvesters accompanied by at-sea observers and takes place in NAFO Divisions 2J3KLNOP4R. Historically the survey focused on commercial fishing grounds but began transitioning to a partly random stratified design in 2017. Since 2018, approximately 50% of survey stations are randomly allocated while 50% remain fixed. At each station, six (for inshore stations) or ten (for offshore stations) commercial traps are set in a fleet. To gather data on non-commercial sized Snow Crab, including females, many fleets also include one small-mesh trap. The coverage of small-mesh traps has been expanding in recent years with the aim of one small-mesh trap for every station in the coming years. Biological sampling is undertaken on at least one commercial trap and the small-mesh trap at each station. The data from this survey is incorporated into the annual stock assessment for Snow Crab in the Newfoundland and Labrador region. This record contains trap locations for Placentia Bay, and information on the types of data collected. More detailed information can be found in Pantin et al. (2022). https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2023/mpo-dfo/fs70-5/Fs70-5-2022-076-eng.pdf

This dataset is derived from analyses of photo samples obtained by deploying drop camera photo (DCP) systems conducted during various research surveys in coastal areas of the north shore of the St. Lawrence Estuary and the Gulf between Portneuf-sur-Mer and Sept-Îles between June and October of 2019 to 2022. It contains 4866 species occurrence data of 109 different taxa for epibenthic invertebrates and submerged aquatic vegetation (including algae) at depths ranging from 0 to more than 50 meters. Additional information about this dataset is available in the “Method step description” section. The research surveys were undertaken by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada as part of the baseline program of the Ocean Protection Plan. This initiative aims to acquire environmental baseline data contributing to the characterization of important coastal areas and to support evidence-based assessments and management decisions for preserving marine ecosystems. Data acquired during the research surveys additionally include: 1) fish and invertebrate species occurrence data derived from analyses of video samples collected using a stereoscopic baited remote underwater camera video systems (stereo-BRUVs) 2) fish and invertebrates catch data from beam trawl sampling (occurrence and catch weights by species), 3) substrate classification based on drop camera samples, 4) oceanographic measurements of the water column from Seabird 19plus V2 profiling CTD (conductivity, temperature, depth, photosynthetic active radiation, pH, dissolved oxygen), 5) nutrients (NO2, NO3, NH4, PO4, SiO3) and dissolve organic carbon (DOC) concentrations, and 6) current speed and direction from tilt meters. The datasets of the first two elements will also be available as independent datasets on the OBIS/GBIF portal. To obtain data from items 3-6 and/or biological data collected on fish and invertebrate taxa, please contact David Lévesque or Marie-Julie Roux. The elaboration of conservation objectives based on an ecosystem assessment approach for fishery stock assessment requires the development of sampling methods to maximize the data collection on the ecosystem, while minimizing the impact on organisms and the marine environment. This project aims at characterising the coastal ecosystem of the St. Lawrence Estuary and Gulf between Portneuf-sur-Mer and Sept-Îles (QC), including the physico-chemistry of water, phytoplankton, zooplankton, submerged vegetation, benthic habitats as well as assemblages of fish and invertebrates. Sampling was performed by combining conventional methods such as CTD profiling, zooplankton nets, and beam trawl, with non-extractive methods such as drop camera photo (DCP) and stereoscopic baited remote underwater camera video systems (stereo-BRUVs). The data collected will help define baseline ecosystem conditions in the study area; explore the links between environmental conditions, habitat structure and biological assemblages; identify important habitats for marine species; as well as the evaluation of the performance of visual sampling methods compared to conventional methods. The results will make it possible to optimize the seasonal or annual monitoring in order to better understand the direct and indirect effects of human activities in coastal environments. Method Step Description: 1. Acquisition of photo samples in sequence: The drop camera photo (DCP) system used to sample underwater pictures is a stainless steel frame in the shape of a triangular prism of 50 cm wide, 100 cm long and 76 cm high at the level of the central eyelet. The sampling area is a quadrat of 0.25 m2 (interior dimensions of 50 cm by 50 cm). The system consists of two GoPro Hero 5 cameras (4000 × 3000 pixels) and two 8000 lumens dive lights (Big Blue VL8000). The first camera captures the elements located in the quadrat when viewed from above. The second camera offers an oblique view facilitating the evaluation of the elements present in the quadrat. At all sampling stations, five to nine system deployments (replicas) capturing photos every 10 seconds for 60 to 120 seconds were performed. Surveys took place between : June 28th to July 5th 2019 July 13th to July 20th 2019 September 30th to October 9th 2019 August 10th to August 20th 2020 October 1st to October 10th 2020 April 22nd to May 5th 2021 July 27th to August 10th 2021 October 15th to October 24th 2021 June 24th to Jully 5th 2022 August 15th to August 26th 2022 2. Image analysis: A photo image analysis method with sequence (moving images) was used for the occurrence data extraction and organism counts; measurements were taken to obtain vegetation cover percentages and substrate analyzes were also carried out. Analyzes were performed with the open-source Fiji software from ImageJ. A quality/visibility rating was assigned to the analyzed image sequences. 3. Taxonomic approach: Epibenthic organisms were identified at the lowest possible taxonomic rank. A morphotype approach has been systematically used (during annotations) for the identification of sponges, hydrozoans and bryozoans, and occasionally for other organisms such as algae. Species codes were also used to distinguish certain species that could not be identified at the time of the annotations (see verbatim Identification). To eliminate observer bias, the same person analyzed all images used in this database. The organisms were identified from underwater images using a combination of identification guides and scientific papers. 4. Open nomenclature: The concept of open nomenclature has been integrated into occurrence data to support taxonomic identifications with their level of certainty, as recommended by Horton et al., 2021. The abbreviation stet. (stetit) was used when the decision not to go lower was made but an identification might be possible, whereas indet (Indeterminabilis) was used when a lower level identification was considered uncertain or impossible (see identificationqualifier). In addition, the abbreviation Confer (cf.) was used and integrated into the data tables (see occurrenceRemarks) in order to link identifications that could potentially and/or possibly be associated. 5. Remarks: Several remarks have also been incorporated (see organismRemarks, identificationRemarks and taxonRemarks), and are intended to provide additional information that may be useful to some data users; Please note that these sections could be modified or improved. 6. Quality control: The taxonomic identifications were verified through a validation process, in collaboration with various expert taxonomists. All scientific names have been checked against the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) to match currently recognized standards. The WoRMS match was placed in the taxonID field of the instance file. Data quality control was performed using Robistools and worms packages. All sample locations were plotted on a map for visual verification that the latitude and longitude coordinates were within the described sample area. 7. Data sharing: Only metadata and biodiversity occurrence data are shared in this dataset. The two files provided (DarwinCore format) are complementary and are linked by the "eventID" key. The "event" file includes generic event information, including date and location. The "occurrence" file includes the original identifiers of the observed organisms, identification comments and their taxonomy. A data dictionary is also provided to explain the fields used. For access to other data or images, contact David Lévesque. For more details about the project and the methodology, a technical report (Scallon-Chouinard et al., 2022) including sampling methods with drop camera photo systems (DCP) and stereoscopic baited remote underwater camera video systems (stereo-BRUVs) is currently available online (https://waves-vagues.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/library-bibliotheque/41081225.pdf); another technical report detailing photo and video image analysis methods will also be available. This project was funded by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada as part of the baseline program of the Ocean Protection Plan.

This dataset derives from a series of beam trawl tows conducted during several research surveys in coastal areas of the St. Lawrence Estuary, between Portneuf-sur-Mer and Pointe-des-Monts, and between June and October of 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022. It contains catch data for fish and invertebrates (occurrence and catch weights by species), in trawl tows conducted at depths ranging from 10 to 50 meters. Data were collected in various cruises: • June 28th to July 5th 2019 (NGCC Leim) • September 30th to October 9th 2019 (NGCC Leim) • October 1st to October 10th 2020 (NGCC Leim) • April 22nd to May 5th 2021 (NGCC Perley) • October 15th to October 24th 2021 (NGCC Perley) • June 24th to July 15th 2022 (NGCC LEIM) The beam trawl used to generate this data set consists of a frame (width of 2.8 m, height of 0.8 m) equipped with a 6.5 m long net with 40 mm diamond mesh, which is lined with a net (skirt) of square mesh (5 mm) at the cod-end (length 2 m) and a protective apron (75 mm mesh) on the ventral portion. Three skid chains are linked at the base of the skates. Each station corresponds to a 5 to 10 minutes tow along an isobath at a speed of about 2 knots. At each haul, the trawl catch was placed on a sorting table on the deck and the organisms were sorted and identified at the best possible taxonomic resolution. Most taxa were independently weighed. Some invertebrates taxa were subsampled, counted and weighted in order to estimate their contribution (weight and number) to the total catch. Additionally, the first 30 fish of each species were measured and weighed individually. Taxonomic names were verified on the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) to match recognized standards. The WoRMS match has been put in the scientificNameID field in the occurrence file. Data quality control was performed using the R packages obistools and worrms. All sampling locations were plotted on a map to perform a visual check confirming that the latitude and longitude coordinates were within the described sampling area. Data acquired during the research surveys additionally included: 1) occurrence data on epibenthic invertebrates and submerged aquatic vegetation in photo samples from a drop camera system, 2) occurrence data on fish and invertebrate taxa in video samples collected using a baited underwater video system (BUV), 3) substrate classification based on drop camera photo samples, 4) oceanographic measurements of the water column from Seabird 19plus V2 profiling CTD (conductivity, temperature, depth, photosynthetic active radiation, pH, dissolved oxygen), 5) nutrients (NO2, NO3, NH4, PO4, SiO3) and dissolve organic carbon (DOC) concentrations, and 6) current speed and direction from tilt meters. The first two items are available as independent data on the OBIS portal. To obtain data from items 3-6 and/or biological data collected on fish and invertebrate taxa, please contact David Lévesque or Marie-Julie Roux. The research surveys were undertaken by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada as part of the baseline program of the Ocean Protection Plan. This initiative aimed to acquire environmental baseline data contributing to the characterization of important coastal areas and in support of evidence-based assessments and management decision-making for preserving marine ecosystems. Which contribute to the elaboration of conservation objectives based on an ecosystem assessment approach for fishery stock assessment requires the development of sampling methods to maximize the data collection on the ecosystem, while minimizing the impact on organisms and the marine environment. This project aims at characterising the coastal ecosystem of the St. Lawrence Estuary between Portneuf-sur-Mer and Godbout (QC), including the physico-chemistry of water, phytoplankton, zooplankton, submerged vegetation, benthic habitats as well as assemblages of fish and invertebrates. Sampling was performed by combining conventional methods such as CTD profiling, zooplankton nets, and beam trawl, with non-extractive methods such as dropped photo cameras and stereoscopic baited video camera systems. The data collected will help define baseline ecosystem conditions in the study area; explore the links between environmental conditions, habitat structure and biological assemblages; identify important habitats for marine species; as well as the evaluation of the performance of visual sampling methods compared to conventional methods. The results will make it possible to optimize the seasonal or annual monitoring in order to better understand the direct and indirect effects of human activities in coastal environments. This project was funded by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada as part of the baseline program of the Ocean Protection Plan.

This project was completed by the Coastal Environmental Baseline Program (Coastal and Freshwater Ecology Section) in the Newfoundland and Labrador Science Branch of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO). The nearshore fish and invertebrate community was sampled annually in Placentia Bay at 14 sites for 5 years (2018 – 2022). The objective of this program was to collect data on juvenile fish (specifically Atlantic cod) communities and habitats within Placentia Bay. The sites and timing (October) were selected based on historical sampling. There were several data types collected during each of these sampling trips. Boat-based beach seining was used to collect data on fish and invertebrate diversity, abundance, distribution, and size. Visual transects were used to identify vegetation and substrate (habitat) types and proportions at seine sites. CTD profiles (temperature, conductivity, depth, and salinity) were obtained using a castaway CTD. Finally, eDNA samples were collected at each site (2018-2021) to obtain complementary information on the presence of juvenile fish and other species present. This record contains the geographic locations of the 14 sites, and information on the timing and type of data collected at each site.

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.

The initial objective of this dataset was to study the seasonal movement patterns of harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) in the St. Lawrence Estuary and Sable Island. This study was part of a larger program that studied the foraging behavior of the species. Ten harbour seals were captured using gillnets from 1994 to 1998 at three sites in the St. Lawrence Estuary (Bic, n=1 individual; île Blanche, n=1; Métis-sur-Mer, n=5) and one site on Sable Island (n=3 individuals). The individuals were equipped with a satellite-linked time-depth recorder (Type3.10, Wildlife Computers) equipped with an Argos tag and placed on the back of the neck. For most individuals, satellite tracking began in September and continued until the following spring. The dataset consists of series of geographic locations of ten harbor seals with associated dates and times and movement speeds calculated from successive locations. The location data were only filtered based on the validity class provided by Argos. Class Z locations were excluded.

This project was completed by the Coastal Environmental Baseline Program (Coastal and Freshwater Ecology Section) in the Newfoundland and Labrador Science Branch of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO). From 2018 to 2022 baseline biological and physical data were collected in Placentia Bay using Atlantic Zone Monitoring Program (AZMP) and Cold Ocean Productivity Experiment (COPE) protocols. Complementary data were collected in the bay using moored CTDs. Where possible, sampling was conducted monthly at 4 sites between May and November to capture broad scale spatial and temporal trends. Additionally, data were collected bi-weekly in April and May, and monthly from June to September at one of these sites to capture finer scale temporal trends, such as spring blooms, in collaboration with Dr. C. McKenzie. Phytoplankton were collected using vertical net tows and niskins. Zooplankton were collected using vertical net tows. CTDs were used to collect physical and biogeochemical water column data including temperature, pressure, salinity, depth, chlorophyll-a, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, pH, photosynthetic active radiation (PAR), fluorescent dissolved organic matter (FDOM), and conductivity. Water biogeochemistry data were obtained by collecting water samples with niskins at depths of 5, 10, 20, 30, 40m, and 10m above bottom to measure nutrients, chlorophyll-a, carbonates, and particulate organic carbon and nitrogen (POC/PON). Additionally, eDNA samples were taken at each of the 4 sampling sites. This record contains the geographic locations of the sites, and information on the timing and type of data collected at each site.

Harbour seals reside throughout the year around Newfoundland and Labrador (NL). The first systematic survey for harbour seals occurred along the NL Shelf during July and August 2021 to obtain counts of hauled out individuals and assess distribution. Grey seals are seasonal residents in NL, mainly present in the summer and autumn months. Grey seals were also recorded during the survey as these two species can share haul-out locations. Surveys were flown along the coastline with a Bell 429 helicopter with photographs taken of hauled out seals. This data includes the counts of hauled out harbour, grey and unknown seals seen during the survey. Adjusted counts are also provided, which assign the unknown seals to species based on the number of positively identified harbour and grey seals from each survey day. The realized survey coverage (survey tracks) is also included. Cite this data as: Hamilton, C.D., Goulet, P.J., Stenson, G.B., and Lang, S.L.C. 2024. Data of: Counts of harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) and grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) from an aerial survey of the coast of the Newfoundland Shelf and Sandwich Bay, Labrador during the summer of 2021 This data can be found in: Hamilton, C.D., Goulet, P.J., Stenson, G. B., and Lang, S.L.C. 2023. Counts and spatial distribution of harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) and grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) from an aerial survey of the coast of the Newfoundland Shelf and Sandwich Bay, Labrador during the summer of 2021. Can. Tech. Rep. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 3566: v + 39 p. https://publications.gc.ca/site/eng/9.927831/publication.html DFO. 20XX. Stock assessment of Atlantic harbour seals (Phoca vitulina vitulina) in Canada for 2019-2021. DFO Can. Sci. Advis Sec. Sci. Advis. Rep. 2023/XXX. Lang, S.L.C., St-Pierre, A.P., Hamilton, C.D., Mosnier, A., Lidgard, D.C., Goulet, P., den Heyer, C.E., Bordeleau, X., Irani, A.I., and Hammill, M.O. 20XX. Population status assessment and Potential Biological Removal (PBR) for the Atlantic harbour seal (Phoca vitulina vitulina) in Canadian waters. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2024