Grey Seal Presence Likelihood in Bay of Fundy and Port Hawkesbury

Fisheries and Oceans Canada provides a dataset estimating the likelihood of Grey Seal presence in the Bay of Fundy and Port Hawkesbury Area Response Plan pilot areas. The data was compiled by the Coastal Oceanography and Ecosystem Research section in June 2018, based on a review of reported opportunistic sightings and local knowledge sources. It is available in ESRI REST, FGDB/GDB, and CSV formats.

Use Cases

• Model marine mammal habitat suitability using the estimated likelihood of presence as a target variable for the Bay of Fundy region.
• Support environmental emergency planning by integrating the likelihood of presence data into area response plan risk assessments.
• Analyze spatial patterns of reported opportunistic sightings to identify key Grey Seal aggregation zones.
• Validate species distribution models by comparing predicted presence against the expert-reviewed likelihood estimates.

Strengths

• Data is produced by the authoritative Coastal Ecosystems Science Division of Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
• The dataset is specifically formatted for the National Environmental Emergency Center (NEEC) data model, ensuring relevance for emergency response applications.
• Available in multiple geospatial formats (ESRI REST, FGDB/GDB, CSV) for interoperability.

Limitations

• The underlying data relies on opportunistic sightings and local knowledge, which may introduce spatial and temporal reporting biases.
• The dataset's last metadata update in March 2026 does not guarantee the underlying data is current, as the original analysis was completed in June 2018.
• Specific data volume metrics like row count, column count, and spatial resolution are unknown, limiting assessment of analytical scope.

Provenance

Source

Coastal Ecosystems Science Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

Collection Method

Expert review of reported opportunistic sightings and local knowledge sources to estimate and delineate areas of Grey Seal presence.

Time Range

Analysis published in June 2018; temporal coverage of source sightings is unspecified.

Freshness

The core data was published in June 2018, though metadata was updated in March 2026.

Geography

Bay of Fundy and Port Hawkesbury Area Response Plan pilot areas, Canada.