Biological Sensitivity Mapping for Oil Spill Planning and Response, Quebec Region

Description

The Planning for an Environmental Response (PIER) initiative falls under the umbrella of the Government of Canada's Oceans Protection Plan (OPP), whose goal is preserving marine ecosystems vulnerable to increased transportation and the development of the marine industry (https://pm.gc.ca/en/news/backgrounders/2016/11/07/canadas-oceans-protection-plan-preserving-and-restoring-canadas). The PIER was established in response to recommendations made in a 2013 report "A review of Canada's ship-source spill preparedness and response regime " by the Tanker Safety Expert Panel (https://tc.canada.ca/en/marine-transportation/marine-safety/tanker-safety-expert-panel). One of the recommendations calls on Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) to work with Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) to collect and compile information on sensitive species and environments for each Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) response area and make it publicly available. The PIERs’ main mandate is to acquire and update biological sensitivity data under its jurisdiction for preparation and response purposes in the event of an oil spill. With DFO-Science, PIER supports ECCC's National Environmental Emergencies Centre (NEEC) and the CCG in their preparations and responses through the sharing of data on biological sensitivities, the development of response tools and expert advice. In this vein, DFO published an analysis in 2018 that aimed to identify the most vulnerable components of the St. Lawrence in order to prioritize them during data collection if gaps were identified (Desjardins et al. 2018). This exercise highlighted the vulnerability of several biological components and important data gaps, particularly in coastal areas. As a result of this finding, the Quebec region PIEI team embarked on a collaborative project with the Université du Québec à Rimouski (UQAR) to map eelgrass beds, tidal marshes and macroalgal beds. In consultation with other DFO-Science data producers, this team has also created datasets adapted for response purposes, notably regarding bivalves and marine mammals. These layers may be used for oil spill preparedness and response by DFO-Quebec Region's Environmental Incident Coordinator, NEEC and CCG. Several of them, deemed relevant in the first 72 hours following a spill, have been transmitted to the NEEC.

Resources

Name Format Description Link
Biological sensitivity map Ersi REST https://egisp.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/arcgis/rest/services/open_data_donnees_ouvertes/biological_sensitivity_mapping_for_oil_spill_planning_and_response_quebec_en/MapServer
Biological sensitivity map Ersi REST https://egisp.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/arcgis/rest/services/open_data_donnees_ouvertes/biological_sensitivity_mapping_for_oil_spill_planning_and_response_quebec_fr/MapServer
Underwater video analysis data of the coastal zone of maritime Quebec HTML https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/044e733f-7560-422b-b8ab-046218f92160
Tidal marshes in the maritime coastal zone of Quebec HTML https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/30515586-404d-4e4b-8da1-b81ec0e32ac1
Areas of high residency within the summer distribution of the beluga whale population HTML https://open.canada.ca/data/fr/dataset/0c3a1260-d1c6-4caa-87da-62e94115cbd4
Beluga whale seasonal distribution in the St. Lawrence Estuary HTML https://open.canada.ca/data/fr/dataset/1d554e28-1954-495a-9d82-c8eb4e8602a3
Beluga Calves Relative Summer Density in the St. Lawrence Estuary HTML https://open.canada.ca/data/fr/dataset/3b9517ed-15af-4574-bb8f-ebe87538dae2
Biodiversity of the Planning for Integrated Environmental Response Coastal Survey in the St. Lawrence Estuary and Gulf (2017-2021) HTML https://open.canada.ca/data/fr/dataset/427e2a5f-2651-4be8-b41a-f2b2dbf08a51
Harp seal distribution in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Atlantic Ocean HTML https://open.canada.ca/data/fr/dataset/7f0951a6-e2b7-4cc9-a9cd-4e1c80f410cc
Known concentration areas of the Sea scallop and the Iceland scallop in the Gulf of St. Lawrence HTML https://open.canada.ca/data/fr/dataset/82e082be-8f04-4273-830a-8aea63319f07
Know concentration areas of the Softshell clam in the intertidal zone of the Estuary and the Gulf of St. Lawrence HTML https://open.canada.ca/data/fr/dataset/83fc6c4f-8a13-4e42-8d22-4dbacb5fa8c3
Known concentration areas of the Atlantic razor clam in the Estuary and the Gulf of St. Lawrence HTML https://open.canada.ca/data/fr/dataset/a0039b2e-7847-4d48-8fd8-638677760f8b
Beluga Relative Summer Density in the St. Lawrence Estuary HTML https://open.canada.ca/data/fr/dataset/ae8c6577-ee59-4e63-9db8-8b29a0e07a8d
Known concentration areas of Arctic wedge clam in the Estuary and the Gulf of St. Lawrence HTML https://open.canada.ca/data/fr/dataset/b0633101-18e6-483a-b668-4e1f76789696
Grey seal distribution and abundance in the Estuary and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, including Saguenay River HTML https://open.canada.ca/data/fr/dataset/bd5aba65-2021-421c-8d12-6d096b51dea9
Beluga whale summer herds distribution in the St. Lawrence Estuary HTML https://open.canada.ca/data/fr/dataset/c2cbf09a-021f-4044-a4d1-3a091ddabb0b
Eelgrass in Quebec HTML https://open.canada.ca/data/fr/dataset/d1b9d3ae-a488-4694-90ca-12d739996066
Harbor seal distribution and abundance in the Estuary and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, including Saguenay River HTML https://open.canada.ca/data/fr/dataset/ec647b2f-d7cc-4420-8532-e6046775289c
Known concentration areas of the Atlantic surfclam in the Gulf of St. Lawrence HTML https://open.canada.ca/data/fr/dataset/ef06ae4e-151c-439c-be88-ef3b6d3b39a6
Important areas for Harp seal pupping and migration in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Atlantic Ocean HTML https://open.canada.ca/data/fr/dataset/f291a95e-6bb2-4888-a7d6-3fc784d7dccb
Known concentration areas of the Stimpson's surfclam in the Estuary and the Gulf of St. Lawrence HTML https://ouvert.canada.ca/data/fr/dataset/8bb29ee0-6cd8-4dd4-abe0-afe8682a69d9
Feeding and migration important areas for Blue whales in the Estuary and the Gulf of St. Lawrence and in the Atlantic Ocean HTML https://ouvert.canada.ca/data/fr/dataset/8fafd919-fcbe-43a3-a911-3d9461273441
Macroalgae in the coastal zone of maritime Quebec HTML https://ouvert.canada.ca/data/fr/dataset/d094f525-1e85-4196-9bdb-0c4de9d8e234

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