| Title | Habitat mapping in support of improved assessment and management of scallop fisheries in the Maritimes region, Canada |
| Download | Download (whole publication) |
| |
| Licence | Please note the adoption of the Open Government Licence - Canada
supersedes any previous licences. |
| Author | Sameoto, J A; Brown, C J; Smith, S J |
| Source | Program and abstracts: 2017 GeoHab Conference, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada; by Todd, B J ; Brown, C J; Lacharité, M; Gazzola, V; McCormack, E; Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 8295, 2017 p. 104, https://doi.org/10.4095/305923  Open Access |
| Links | GeoHab 2017
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| Year | 2017 |
| Publisher | Natural Resources Canada |
| Meeting | 2017 GeoHab: Marine Geological and Biological Habitat Mapping; Dartmouth, NS; CA; May 1-4, 2017 |
| Document | open file |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | on-line; digital |
| Related | This publication is contained in Program and abstracts: 2017
GeoHab Conference, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada |
| File format | pdf |
| Province | Eastern offshore region; Nova Scotia |
| NTS | 20O/01; 20O/02; 20O/07; 20O/08; 20O/09; 20O/10; 20P/03; 20P/04; 20P/05; 20P/06 |
| Area | Atlantic Ocean |
| Lat/Long WENS | -66.7500 -65.4167 43.6667 43.0833 |
| Subjects | marine geology; surficial geology/geomorphology; environmental geology; geophysics; mapping techniques; oceanography; marine environments; coastal studies; conservation; marine organisms; marine
ecology; resource management; biological communities; environmental studies; ecosystems; modelling; bathymetry; seafloor topography; geophysical surveys; acoustic surveys, marine; sonar surveys; side-scan sonar; benthos; Scallops; Biology; Fisheries;
Fisheries management; Fisheries resources |
| Illustrations | sketch maps; sketch maps; bar graphs |
| Program | Offshore Geoscience |
| Released | 2017 09 26 |
| Abstract | The importance of incorporating spatial information into the assessment and management of scallop populations has long been recognized. Due to the strong association between scallops and substrate type,
scallop distributions can be relatively well represented by seafloor habitat maps. These maps, combined with geospatial fishery data, have tremendous potential to improve our understanding of the spatial patterns and complexities of scallop
populations and their dynamics in response to fishing. Further, marine habitat maps provide spatial classification of patterns which can be used to understand ecosystem dynamics and support ecosystem-based fisheries management.
In the Maritimes
Region of Atlantic Canada, the majority of commercial scallop fishing areas (SFAs) have been surveyed using multibeam echosounders (MBES). In 2010, a detailed underwater imagery survey was conducted in SFA 29W off south-west Nova Scotia and these
data were subsequently modelled with MBES bathymetry, backscatter, and associated metrics to derive both a species-specific habitat map for the sea scallop, Placopecten magellanicus, and a benthoscape map of broad bio-physical characteristics of the
seafloor. These habitat maps have subsequently been used to improve the understanding of scallop population dynamics, develop a habitat based population model, set biological reference points for fisheries management that incorporates habitat
associations, and evaluate overlap between the fishery and benthic communities; all of which demonstrates the tremendous potential of habitat mapping as a tool for improving fisheries science and management. |
| Summary | (Plain Language Summary, not published)
The sixteenth annual GeoHab Conference was held this year (2017) at the Waterfront Campus of the Nova Scotia Community College in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia,
Canada. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 305923 |
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