Vessel Density Maps from AIS Data in the Northwest Atlantic, 2013-2022

2013 through 2022 vessel density maps derived from Automatic Identification System (AIS) data for the Northwest Atlantic. The dataset, produced by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, includes yearly and monthly maps for all vessel classes combined and yearly maps for individual vessel classes. It is intended to provide a pre-COVID-19 pandemic depiction of maritime traffic for spatial analysis and marine planning.

Use Cases

• Analyze shipping traffic patterns and corridors based on vessel density maps.
• Support marine spatial planning decisions based on pre-pandemic maritime transport data.
• Assess temporal changes in vessel activity based on yearly and monthly density maps from 2013-2022.
• Model environmental or security risks based on the spatial distribution of different vessel classes.

Strengths

• Covers a 10-year time range from 2013 to 2022.
• Includes both aggregated and vessel-class-specific density maps.
• Provides monthly temporal granularity for combined vessel classes.
• Data is from the authoritative AIS system, typically required for vessels over 300/500 gross tonnage.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and dataset size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to the Northwest Atlantic focus.

Provenance

Source

Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Collection Method

Geographic information system (GIS) analysis of satellite and terrestrial-based Automatic Identification System (AIS) data.

Time Range

2013-2022

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-24 09:08:58.606296; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Northwest Atlantic