Maintain an inventory of and share information derived from databases on fishery resources
Context and project description
An abundance of data disseminated in many information banks serves as a foundation for decisions relating to the management of fishery resources in the St. Lawrence. Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the Ministère des ressources naturelles and the Ministère de l’agriculture, des pêcheries et de l'alimentation in Quebec, for example, have their own database, but this is also the case for organizations like the Institut des science de la mer de Rimouski (Rimouski sea sciences institute), the Group for Research and Education on Marine Mammals, the Réseau d’observation de mammifères marins (sea mammal observation network) and the Mingan Island Cetacean Study.
This project of the SLAP aims to inventory the main databases regarding fish stocks, diadromous species (which migrate between freshwater and the sea) and freshwater species. The inventory will also deal with habitats, as well as fishing activities and aquaculture. The objective is to improve the transparency of scientific and socioeconomic information used in decision-making.
The first of the project’s deliverables will be the publication of the main available data on an existing Web platform – possibly the St. Lawrence Global Observatory. Then, where possible, the participants will gradually make available their data on sea stocks, open water fishing activities, socioeconomic factors affecting maritime communities, diadromous and freshwater stocks and the socioeconomic activities of fishing and aquaculture. Analysis and follow-ups conducted by partners will also be published on the Internet, such as the status of stocks, resource management plans, as well as socioeconomic analyses.
Results
An interactive map on the freshwater fish of the St. Lawrence has been posted on the St. Lawrence Global Observatory’s website. This new tool provides access to over 350,000 standardized observations gathered since 1995 by Quebec’s Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs. Therefore, it is possible to view data on the presence, abundance and distribution of the fish communities of the St. Lawrence. A complete bibliography indicating the research reports and articles resulting from these surveys has also been posted on the same site.
Participating departments
Government of Canada
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Government of Quebec
- Ministère de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation
- Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs
- Ministère du Développement durable, de l’Environnement et de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques