Atlantic Canadian waters are analyzed for cumulative risk to marine habitats from overlapping human activities. The dataset combines spatial information for 20 marine habitats and 36 activities across five sectors using an exposure-consequence risk framework. It was funded by Fisheries and Oceans Canada and published in April 2026.
Use Cases
- Model cumulative environmental risk based on overlapping human activities and stressors
- Inform coastal and marine spatial planning based on habitat risk assessment
- Analyze sector-specific impacts (climate change, land-based, marine, coastal, fishing) on marine habitats
- Visualize habitat risk distribution across four Atlantic Canadian bioregions
Strengths
- Integrates 20 distinct marine habitat types and 36 human activities
- Provides analysis across five distinct sectors (climate change, land-based, marine, coastal, commercial fishing)
- Spatial resolution is 1 km²
- Covers four defined bioregions: Scotian Shelf-Bay of Fundy, Northern Gulf of St. Lawrence, Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, and Newfoundland and Labrador
Limitations
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
- Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
Provenance
- Source
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Coastal Ecosystems Science Division, Maritimes Region
- Collection Method
- Spatially explicit, exposure-consequence risk framework applied to spatial habitat and activity data
- Freshness
- Last updated 2026-06-15 13:01:36.582685
- Geography
- Atlantic Canadian marine waters