Sea Pen and Coral Aggregations from Eastern Arctic Research Vessel Surveys

Fisheries and Oceans Canada provides polygon data identifying concentrations of sea pens, gorgonian corals, and sponges on Canada's east coast. The data was derived from kernel density analysis of research vessel by-catch survey data across five biogeographic zones, with a 0.1 kg minimum catch threshold used to define sea pen fields. The dataset includes latitude and longitude for all trawl tows that captured these aggregations, as well as tows for non-aggregating black coral.

Use Cases

• Mapping vulnerable marine ecosystems based on identified sea pen and coral aggregations.
• Assessing fishing pressure on benthic habitats using provided trawl tow positions.
• Comparing species distribution across the five mentioned eastern Canada biogeographic zones.
• Modeling habitat suitability for long-lived, non-aggregating taxa like black coral.

Strengths

• Data is derived from a defined analytical method (kernel density analysis) following a NAFO approach.
• Includes specific geographic findings, such as the largest sea pen fields in the Laurentian Channel.
• Covers five distinct biogeographic zones of eastern Canada for comparative analysis.
• Uses a defined 0.1 kg minimum catch threshold to separate sea pen field habitat.

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 and methodological bias inherent to the specific research vessel surveys and Cosmos trawl gear.

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 08:01:14.145160; freshness should be verified.

Geography

East coast of Canada, including the Eastern Arctic, Gulf of St. Lawrence, Labrador slope, Grand Banks, and Scotian Shelf.