Potential Exposure Zones (PEZs) polygon

Site: FarmersLedge

The aquaculture Science group led by Fred Page works with the Aquaculture site information, including current meter data, to calculate the Potential Exposure Zones (PEZ) of the aquaculture inputs (depositional feed/feces, advective/dispersive fish health treatments, etc.). This PEZ polygon is then used in this document to search regional databases (2002 - 2018) and summarize species that have been recorded. This information is used to determine if other, more site-specific, information is available on species presence for PEZ as a complement to the information provided by the proponent. Species lists generated in this synthesis is subsequently circulated to units in Maritimes Science to verify and compliment the information provided (e.g. spatial and temporal presence/absence of species in the area).

Map below shoes the PEZ polygon (blue) used to search regional databases and summarize recorded species.

Regional Databases

Ecosystem Research Vessel (RV) Survey

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) has conducted Research Vessel (RV) surveys in the Maritimes Region using a standardized protocol. For more information see https://waves-vagues.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/Library/4062092x.pdf. The search of the Ecosystem RV Survey database resulted in the Table below that summarizes records by species or species group.

Total_number_records_RV
55
Species Records
ALEWIFE 2
AMERICAN LOBSTER 2
AMERICAN PLAICE 2
ATLANTIC ROCK CRAB 2
BRITTLE STAR 2
HALIBUT(ATLANTIC) 2
HERRING(ATLANTIC) 2
HIPPASTERIA PHRYGIANA 2
LONGHORN SCULPIN 2
PANDALUS BOREALIS 2
PANDALUS MONTAGUI 2
SEA SCALLOP 2
SILVER HAKE 2
SPONGES 2
WHITE HAKE 2
WINTER FLOUNDER 2
ALLIGATORFISH 1
BLOOD STAR (GENUS) 1
BUTTERFISH 1
COD(ATLANTIC) 1
DEAD MANS FINGERS 1
FOURBEARD ROCKLING 1
HADDOCK 1
JONAH CRAB 1
LONGFIN SQUID, LONGFIN INSHORE SQUID 1
LUMPFISH 1
MUD STAR 1
NORTHERN HAGFISH 1
OCTOPUS 1
PORANIA PULVILIS 1
PTERASTER MILITARIS 1
PURPLE SUNSTAR 1
SEA ANEMONE 1
SHAD AMERICAN 1
SNAKE BLENNY 1
SPINY SUNSTAR 1
SQUIRREL OR RED HAKE 1
TOAD CRAB 1
WITCH FLOUNDER 1

Map below shows the location of samples recorded in the Ecosystem RV Survey database (records are summarized in the table above). The yellow polygon shows the locations of the proposed aquaculture site.The blue polygon displays the PEZ used for this synthesis.

Industry Survey Database (ISDB)

ISDB is a DFO database that contains at-sea fish catch observations from commercial fishing vessels operating in the North West Atlantic.

The search of ISDB resulted in the Table below that summarizes records by species or species group. Records were cropped to match PEZ.

Total_number_records_ISDB
961
Species Records
SEA URCHINS 141
SEAWEED,(ALGAE),KELP 129
HERMIT CRABS 126
MUSSELS (NS) 107
SHRIMP 77
GREEN CRAB 48
ATLANTIC ROCK CRAB 47
SCULPINS 37
WINTER FLOUNDER 33
SEA SCALLOP 30
AMERICAN LOBSTER 18
HERRING(ATLANTIC) 18
STONES AND ROCKS 15
FOREIGN ARTICLES,GARBAGE 14
SEA RAVEN 13
LONGHORN SCULPIN 10
SCALLOP SHELLS 10
SILVER HAKE 10
PANDALUS BOREALIS 9
HALIBUT(ATLANTIC) 6
LUMPFISH 6
CRANGON SP. 5
AMERICAN PLAICE 4
LEMONWEED 4
OCEAN POUT(COMMON) 4
WITCH FLOUNDER 4
JONAH CRAB 3
SEA MOUSE 3
SQUIRREL OR RED HAKE 3
WHITE HAKE 3
ASTEROIDEA S.C. 2
HADDOCK 2
MUSCULUS NIGER 2
SCULPIN (NS) 2
SMOOTH SKATE 2
SPINY DOGFISH 2
TOOTHED WRACK 1
ALEWIFE 1
CANOE SHELLS 1
COD(ATLANTIC) 1
EELPOUTS (NS) 1
LITTLE SKATE 1
NORTHERN STONE CRAB 1
PANDALUS MONTAGUI 1
SAND 1
SAND DOLLARS 1
SAND LANCES (NS) 1
SKATES (NS) 1

The Maritime Fishery Information System (MARFIS)

MARFIS is a DFO database, managed by the Policy and Economics Branch, that houses information on the fisheries of the Maritimes Region. This fishery monitoring information represents a complete census of almost all commercial fishing activities.

The search of MARFIS resulted in the Table below that summarizes records by species or species group. Records were cropped to match PEZ.

Total_number_records_MARFIS
2725
Species Records
SEA URCHINS 1006
SCALLOP, SEA 645
HERRING 386
HADDOCK 121
COD 113
POLLOCK 104
WHITE HAKE 94
SHRIMP, PANDALUS BOREALIS 65
REDFISH 28
HALIBUT 25
CRAB, JONAH 24
HAGFISH (SLIME EEL) 21
WINTER FLOUNDER 19
MONKFISH 13
TUNA, BLUEFIN 12
GREYSOLE/WITCH 11
AMERICAN PLAICE 7
WOLFFISH, STRIPED 7
FLOUNDER, UNSPECIFIED 6
LOBSTER 6
SWORDFISH 4
SCULPIN 3
CATFISH 2
YELLOWTAIL 2
DOGFISH 1

Map below shows the location of samples recorded in the MARFIS and ISDB databases (records are summarized in the tables/sections above). The yellow polygon shows the locations of the proposed aquaculture site. The blue polygon displays the PEZ used for this synthesis. Records were cropped to match PEZ.

Whale Sightings Database

Most sightings are collected on an opportunistic basis and observations may come from individuals with a variety of expertise in marine mammal identification experiences. Most data have been gathered from platforms of opportunity that were vessel-based. For more information please contact Pamela.Emery@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

Map below shows location of marine mammals sightings recorded in the Fisheries and Oceans whale sightings database. Map includes SARA and COSEWIC species within the region of interest. The yellow polygon shows the locations of the proposed aquaculture site. The blue polygon displays the PEZ used for this synthesis.

Resources

Sources of Uncertainty

Coastal areas are generally not adequately sampled on spatial and temporal scales of most relevance to aquaculture, i.e. tens to hundreds of meters and hours to months, and hence information on these space and time scales is generally not contained within the various data sources available to DFO, including the surveys referred to in this document. Therefore, there is uncertainty as to the exact distribution of species in the area of the proposed expansion.

MARFIS and ISDB do not fully sample the region spatially or temporally and, therefore, additional information on presence and habitat use (i.e. spawning, migration, feeding) must be drawn from larger-scale studies, which were also generally utilized by the proponent.

The marine mammal sightings database has inherent problems with negative or positive reactions by cetaceans to the approach of such vessels that have not yet been factored into the data. Sighting effort has not been quantified (i.e., the numbers cannot be used to estimate true species density or abundance for an area). Lack of sightings do not represent lack of species present in a particular area. Numbers sighted have not been verified (especially in light of the significant differences in detectability among species). For completeness, the data represent an amalgamation of sightings from a variety of years and seasons.

This document

This synthesis is created using Rmarkdown and therefore this document can be reproduced and reused using the code available in https://github.com/AtlanticR/SearchPEZ. The full document can be updated rapidly as more or different information becomes available.

This document was prepared by the Science MSP Team: Catalina.Gomez@dfo-mpo.gc.ca, Gordana.Lazin@dfo-mpo.gc.ca, Brian.Bower@dfo-mpo.gc.ca, Phil.Greyson@dfo-mpo.gc.ca, and Tana.Worcester@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

Acknowledgements

Mike.McMahon@dfo-mpo.gc.ca! for providing code and advice in the use of Mar.datawrangling: A suite of tools for extracting, filtering and aggregating data from the Maritimes fisheries science databases https://github.com/Maritimes/Mar.datawrangling

The Atlantic R Working Group https://github.com/AtlanticR; in particular: Clark Richards and Brendan Wringe.