Estuaries are highly productive and diverse ecosystems that represent a geographic bottleneck between marine and freshwater systems. Estuaries have been identified as ecologically and biologically significant areas (EBSAs) in Canada’s Pacific Region because of their importance for the aggregation, productivity, and fitness of anadromous fishes, including Pacific salmon. However, estuaries are also the site of many anthropogenic activities, and the degradation of estuarine habitats such as eelgrass beds has had corresponding impacts on many species of ecological, economic, and cultural importance. To support a regional request for information to aid integrated coastal planning, a coastwide classification of estuaries based on anthropogenic activities was completed. Anthropogenic activities and associated stressors relevant to estuary habitats were identified through a literature review and used to guide the compilation of spatial datasets. The spatial datasets were then used in a cluster analysis that identified estuaries that share similar activity types and levels of use. Ecological information was then compiled and mapped to highlight how estuarine fishes and fish habitats considered significant or sensitive relate to the results of the clustering analysis and individual estuaries. This broad-scale analysis represents an initial assessment of BC’s estuaries that can help guide localized efforts and identify opportunities for management efficiencies among estuaries that face similar activities and stressors. Research needs for future evaluations at a finer-scale scale are detailed, as are linkages with projects underway within specific estuaries, to highlight opportunities for collaboration as priority estuaries are identified for management and conservation action. This data record includes select Appendix tables associated with the Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat (CSAS) research document entitled “Coastwide Evaluation and Classification of Pacific Region Estuaries based on Anthropogenic Activities and Significant Fish Habitat”. The Science Advisory Report from the regional peer review meeting held on April 12-13, 2023 is available at: https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/csas-sccs/Publications/SAR-AS/2023/2023_039-eng.html The Appendix tables contain information summarized for individual estuaries along the Pacific Coast of Canada, as follows: Table G1 - Activity data by estuary including cluster assignment, coordinates of estuary centroid, bioregion, estuary and watershed areas, and activity count,. Activities marked with * are restricted datasets and the column is left blank. Area based activities were quantified using a generic raster cell constant value, and the extent of some activities were quantified by buffering and applying a distance decay to the raster values resulting in “generic area units” of overlap with estuaries. Refer to data dictionary (Table G4) for column descriptions and units. Table G3 - Ecological data by estuary including cluster assignment, coordinates of estuary centroid, and bioregion. See section 3.4 for details on how each metric was calculated. Refer to data dictionary (Table G4) for column descriptions and units. Table G4 – Data dictionary in English and French describing column headers and units for fields in Tables G1 and G3. Spatial data for the associated estuaries were mapped by the Pacific Estuary Conservation Program (PECP, Ryder et al. 2007) and the Pacific Birds Habitat Join Venture (PBHJV, PBHJV 2020) and are available for download at: https://pacificbirds.org/2021/02/an-updated-ranking-of-british-columbias-estuaries/

Sponge reefs are constructed by hexactinellid (glass) sponges of the Order Hexactinosida. The sponges trap fine sediments, and over centuries of sponge growth and sediment trapping, form large bioherms or reef mounds. Glass sponge reefs are unique habitats found along the Pacific coast of Canada and the United States and they have significant historic, ecological, and economic value. They link benthic and pelagic environments by playing important roles in filtration and carbon and nitrogen processing, and acting as silica sinks. They also form habitat for diverse communities of invertebrates and fish, including those of economic importance. Thus, accurate and up-to-date information on the location and spatial extent of sponge reefs is important to the management and conservation of many of Canada’s Pacific marine species. We generated a map of known sponge reefs, derived from two source shape files: 1) Sponge_Reef_West_Coast, mapped by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), 2) Howesound_Nine_reef_polygons and 3) HoweSound_Five_reef_polygons, which were mapped by DFO and NRCan. The resultant polygon shapefile is published on the GIS hub as a file geodatabase feature class.

Shorelines of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI).

Shoreline of Wake Island

Description: Biophysical Units: Under the Pacific Marine Ecological Classification System (PMECS; DFO 2016; Rubidge et al. 2016), biophysical units are areas of distinct physiographic and oceanographic conditions and processes that shape species composition at spatial extents of 1000s of km. Geomorphic units: Geomorphic units or geozones are discrete geomorphological structures at the scale of 100s of km that are assumed to have distinctive biological assemblages (e.g., plateaus, ridges, seamounts, canyons). Although the spatial scale of geomorphic units is nested within biophysical units, a single geomorphic unit such as a trough may span more than one biophysical unit. The following 5 layers are included in this geodatabase: 1. Biophysical_Units_L4A - Predicted PMECS Biophysical Units (Level 4A) output from the random forest analysis 2. Biophysical_Units_L4B - Predicted PMECS Biophysical Units (Level 4B) output from the random forest analysis 3. Biophysical_Units_ProbAssign_L4AB - Layer showing the probability that a grid cell was assigned to a given biophysical unit in the final random forest predictive modelling step 4. Cluster_L4AB - Layer showing the output of species assemblage cluster analysis 5. Geomorphic_Units - Geomorphic units for the BC coast that combines geomorphic units produced by Rubidge et al. 2016) and Proudfoot and Robb (2022). Methods: Biophysical Units: Rubidge et al. (2016) used a two-step process to identify biophysical units in British Columbia. First, a cluster analysis based on the similarity of species composition was used to group sites with similar species into distinct biological assemblages. Second, a random forest analysis was used to identify environmental correlates of the biological assemblages identified by the cluster analysis and to predict and assign the biological assemblage present in areas with too few biological data. Two different similarity thresholds were used to identify two levels (4A, 4B) of biophysical units; see Rubidge et al. (2016) for details. Indicator species for each assemblage (biophysical unit) were also identified. Geomorphic units: Rubidge et al. (2016) used the benthic terrain modeller (BTM) tool with broad and fine-scale benthic positioning index (BPI) parameters to define geomorphic units on the continental shelf in the Northern Shelf Bioregion and the continental slope in both the Northern Shelf Bioregion and Southern Shelf Bioregion. In 2022, geomorphic units were produced for the Strait of Georgia and Southern Shelf Bioregions following the same methods as Rubidge et al. (2016) (Proudfoot and Robb 2022). The geomorphic units produced as part of the PMECS process were merged with the geomorphic units produced for the Strait of Georgia and Southern Shelf bioregions to produce a continuous spatial data product representing geomorphic units for the Canadian Pacific continental shelf and slope. After merging, the geomorphic units produced in 2016 were unchanged (i.e., they are consistent with the original geomorphic units described in Rubidge et al. 2016). Data Sources: From Rubidge et al. (2016): Species data was taken from Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) standardized fisheries-independent research surveys: groundfish trawl and long-line (2003-2013), Tanner Crab trawl and trap (2000–2006), and Dungeness Crab trap (2000–2014). Environmental data came from NASA, the Canadian Hydrographic Service, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Bio-ORACLE, and elsewhere (details in Rubidge et al. 2016). From Proudfoot and Robb (2022): bathymetry data came from Natural Resources Canada (details in Proudfoot and Robb 2022). Uncertainties: The data is intended for use at the bioregional scale, and caution should be used for finer-scale analyses.

Shoreline of Howland Island.

Coastal habitats are utilized and altered for a suite of human uses. Habitat modification is here defined as the alteration or removal of geomorphic structure as a result of human use. This includes several habitat-modifying features like seawalls, piers, breakwaters, dredged areas, artificial land (i.e., filled wetlands), and offshore structures. This data layer represents the presence of habitat modification in shallow waters of the Main Hawaiian Islands. The Ocean Tipping Points (OTP) project mapped the presence of habitat-modifying features by combining several existing datasets derived primarily from satellite and aerial imagery, including the following datasets: benthic habitat maps (NOAA Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment (CCMA), 2007); NOAA Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) line data (NOAA Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R), 2001); maintained channels (NOAA, US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), MarineCadastre.gov); and locations of offshore aquaculture. The layer represents the presence or absence of habitat modification, with a cell size of 500 m. Relevant man-made features were extracted from each individual dataset and saved (features classified as artificial and dredged areas in NOAA benthic habitat maps; coastal segments designated as man-made structures and riprap in NOAA ESI line data; all features from the maintained channels and aquaculture datasets). The resulting polygon datasets were merged together. A field was added to all vector layers with a value of 1 for each feature to represent the presence of habitat modification. Vector data were then converted to 500-m rasters and combined into a mosaic.

Shoreline of Swains Atoll, American Samoa

Shoreline of Jarvis Island

This data set is a generalized characterization of the offshore and inshore environments of Canada’s Pacific Ocean. Compiled from various sources to depict the biogenic habitats, pelagic habitats, and general bottom types such as offshore and inshore by depth strata.