Potential Exposure Zones (PEZs) polygon

Site: PortHawkesbury

This report was prepared by the MSP and PIER teams for the Point Tupper Maeine Services Corporation (PTMSC) oil spill exercise held on June 17, 2020, and to evaluate its potential use for spill incidents. A polygon surrounding the spill areas (Predicted Exposure Zone: PEZ) was used to search regional databases (2002 - 2018) and summarize species that have been recorded. Species lists generated in this synthesis is subsequently circulated to emergency responders in Maritimes Science to verify and compliment the information provided (e.g. spatial and temporal presence/absence of species in the area).

Map below shows 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 sets performed in the Ecosystem RV Survey database (records for all sets displayed are summarized in the table above). The yellow polygon shows the locations of the theoretical spill location. 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
921
Species Records
SEA URCHINS 135
SEAWEED,(ALGAE),KELP 125
HERMIT CRABS 121
MUSSELS (NS) 104
SHRIMP 73
GREEN CRAB 46
ATLANTIC ROCK CRAB 45
SCULPINS 34
WINTER FLOUNDER 32
SEA SCALLOP 28
AMERICAN LOBSTER 18
HERRING(ATLANTIC) 18
STONES AND ROCKS 13
FOREIGN ARTICLES,GARBAGE 12
SEA RAVEN 12
LONGHORN SCULPIN 10
SILVER HAKE 10
PANDALUS BOREALIS 9
SCALLOP SHELLS 8
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
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
MUSCULUS NIGER 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
2567
Species Records
SEA URCHINS 995
SCALLOP, SEA 535
HERRING 373
HADDOCK 119
COD 109
POLLOCK 104
WHITE HAKE 94
SHRIMP, PANDALUS BOREALIS 63
REDFISH 28
CRAB, JONAH 23
HALIBUT 23
HAGFISH (SLIME EEL) 21
WINTER FLOUNDER 19
MONKFISH 13
AMERICAN PLAICE 7
GREYSOLE/WITCH 7
WOLFFISH, STRIPED 7
FLOUNDER, UNSPECIFIED 6
LOBSTER 6
SWORDFISH 4
SCULPIN 3
TUNA, BLUEFIN 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 theoretical oil spill 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 theoretical oil spill 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 oil spill incidents, 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 theoretical oil spill.

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.

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/MSP/blob/master/SearchPEZ/code/SearchPEZ_PortHawkesburyExercise.Rmd. 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

and PIER team: Adrian.Hamer@dfo-mpo.gc.ca, Cara.Harvey@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.