Sea Pen and Coral Aggregations from Scotian Shelf Trawl Surveys

Polygons identifying concentrations of sea pens, gorgonian corals, and sponges on the east coast of Canada. The data was generated by Fisheries and Oceans Canada through spatial analysis of research vessel by-catch data, using kernel density and catch weight thresholds across five biogeographic zones. The dataset includes latitude and longitude for all research tows that captured these species, including non-aggregating black coral.

Use Cases

• Mapping vulnerable marine ecosystems based on identified sea pen field and coral forest locations.
• Assessing fishing pressure impacts on long-lived species like black coral based on provided tow positions.
• Modeling species distribution for large barrel-shaped sponges (Vazella pourtalesi) based on their unique population identification on the Scotian Shelf.
• Comparing benthic community structure across the five eastern Canadian biogeographic zones mentioned in the description.

Strengths

• Data derived from systematic research vessel surveys following a methodology used by the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization.
• Analysis performed for five distinct biogeographic zones of eastern Canada, allowing for regional comparison.
• Includes specific catch weight thresholds (e.g., 0.1 kg for sea pens) used to define habitat boundaries.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for large-scale modeling.
• Data may reflect geographic and methodological bias inherent to the specific trawl gear (Western IIA) and survey design.

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 08:01:58.134895; freshness should be verified.

Geography

East coast of Canada, specifically the Scotian Shelf biogeographic zone, with reference to the Laurentian Channel, Eastern Arctic, northern Labrador slope, and Grand Banks.