Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) statistical unit areas (also referred to as unit areas) are smaller portions of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) Subareas, Divisions, and Subdivisions defined in the Convention on Cooperation in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries (2020). The spatial representation of boundaries defined by NAFO has recently been updated to address inconsistencies and errors in earlier versions, which is available here: https://open.canada.ca/data/dataset/59af1c96-fc8f-4fa0-b398-d65e953eadaa#comment-41855. Unit areas are used by DFO for a variety of purposes including, but not limited to stock assessments, privacy screening of fisheries maps, and statistical analyses. Unit areas were originally defined throughout the 1940s and 1950s. Subsequently, several revisions and alternate versions were created by DFO in various regions leading to inconsistencies in spatial extent and naming conventions. These changes have not been formally documented. The datasets often have topological errors such as gaps and overlaps, especially along diagonals and coastlines. In addition, inconsistencies have arisen from conflicting interpretations of the NAFO divisions, where not all land points are defined by coordinates. Therefore, DFO, with input from the Canadian Hydrographic Service (CHS), has created an updated version of the DFO unit areas file to address inconsistencies and errors among previous versions. The recently updated NAFO divisions were used as the basis for an updated DFO unit areas file. This version of the DFO unit areas must not be used for legal purposes. Legal descriptions of fishing area boundaries can be found in the Atlantic Fisheries Regulations, Maritime Provinces Fishery Regulations, and DFO License Conditions.

In 2021, the Canada Coast Guard (CCG) and Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) updated its administrative boundaries following the creation a new Arctic region.There are now 7 administrative regions in DFO (Pacific, Arctic, Ontario and Prairie, Quebec, Gulf, Maritimes, Newfoundland and Labrador). DFO and Coast Guard Arctic Regions developed these regions in partnership with the people they serve; this important decision will lead to stronger programs and services to better meet the unique needs of our Arctic communities.DFO and CCG operations and research cover Canada's land and waters to the international boundaries (EEZ) and are in no way limited to the boundaries drawn in the map.

This record describes, and links to a working paper produced through the Resource Management in Asia-Pacific (RMAP) Program based at The Australian National University in Canberra. The tuna resources of the Western and Central Pacific (WCP) are the world's largest and most valuable fisheries of their type and are of significant economic importance to the Pacific Island countries (PICs), through whose waters of national jurisdiction the tuna migrate. Two major concerns exist with the current governance of the fishery. First, PICs are receiving only a small share of the resource rents from the tuna fisheries. Second, current management structure of the fisheries will not ensure the long-term sustainability of the resources. The paper presents a simple model to argue for increased resource taxation as a means of raising tax revenues and improving sustainability of the resource. Such an outcome is only possible when a single policy-maker has the prerogative to set taxes so that the government acts as a Stakelberg leader in this game. Institutional mechanisms to engender cooperation between PIC governments and with distant water fishing nations (DWFNs) to achieve the espoused outcomes of the model are also presented.

These data include temperature and depth (pressure) recorded every minute while deployed on longline gear. They provide information on the depth at which both deep--set gear are fishing, as well as ocean temperatures in the fished environment.