Eastern Arctic Gorgonian Coral Fields from Campelen Trawl Surveys

Polygons identifying concentrations of large gorgonian corals in the Eastern Arctic biogeographic zone of Canada. The data was derived from kernel density analysis of research vessel survey by-catch data, using a 15 kg catch weight threshold to define fields. Fisheries and Oceans Canada produced this dataset, which was last updated in May 2026.

Use Cases

• Mapping vulnerable marine ecosystems based on identified coral and sponge aggregations.
• Analyzing the spatial overlap of fisheries activity and sensitive habitats based on trawl tow positions.
• Studying the distribution of long-lived, non-aggregating taxa like black coral based on provided tow locations.

Strengths

• Data is derived from a specific 15 kg catch weight threshold for defining coral fields.
• Analysis covers five distinct biogeographic zones of eastern Canada.
• Includes positions of all tows that captured both aggregating and non-aggregating taxa.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to the specific research vessel survey coverage.

Provenance

Source

Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Collection Method

Spatial analysis of research vessel survey by-catch data using kernel density and catch weight thresholds.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-08 08:02:35.334872; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Eastern Arctic biogeographic zone and other zones of eastern Canada, including the Laurentian Channel and northern Labrador continental slope.