This map (MCR 102) is the latest publication in the Atlas of Canada Reference Map Series. It is an update to the 1:6 000 000 paper map of Canada published in 2006. International, provincial and territorial boundaries and the 200-mile offshore Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) are featured on the map. All the national parks and reserves are shown including the Nááts'ihch'oh National Park Reserve of Canada, Northwest Territories, and Sable Island National Park Reserve of Canada, Nova Scotia, two of the most recently established parks. Major roads, railways and ferry routes are also depicted with the Trans-Canada Highway clearly represented across Canada from the Atlantic to the Pacific coasts. Many of the major physiographic and hydrographic features are labelled providing necessary points of reference in less populated areas of the country. The map uses a vertical near-side perspective projection, which provides a unique three-dimensional view of Canada. Most data are current to the period 2010 to 2013.

This dataset is non-authoritative and is intended for use by the South Coast Stock Assessment Division for planning and reporting purposes only.

NOAA is responsible for depicting on its nautical charts the limits of the 12 nautical mile Territorial Sea, 24 nautical mile Contiguous Zone, and 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The outer limit of each of these zones is measured from the U.S. normal baseline, which coincides with the low water line depicted on NOAA charts and includes closing lines across the entrances of legal bays and rivers, consistent with international law. The U.S. baseline and associated maritime limits are reviewed and approved through the interagency U.S. Baseline Committee, which is chaired by the U.S. Department of State. The Committee serves the function of gaining interagency consensus on the proper location of the baseline using the provisions of the 1958 Convention on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone, to ensure that the seaward extent of U.S. maritime zones do not exceed the breadth that is permitted by international law. In 2002 and in response to mounting requests for digital maritime zones, NOAA launched a project to re-evaluate the U.S. baseline in partnership with other federal agencies via the U.S. Baseline Committee. The focus of the baseline evaluation was NOAA's largest scale, most recent edition nautical charts as well as supplemental source materials for verification of certain charted features. This dataset is a result of the 2002-present initiative and reflects a multi-year iterative project whereby the baseline and associated maritime limits were re-evaluated on a state or regional basis. In addition to the U.S. maritime limits, the U.S. maritime boundaries with opposite or adjacent countries as well as the US/Canada International Boundary (on land and through the Great Lakes) are also included in this dataset.

Seamounts have been identified as Ecologically or Biologically Significant Areas (EBSAs) due to their unique oceanography and ecology; they frequently serve as sites for fisheries and as habitat for a number of species of conservation concern. A mix of isolated seamounts and seamount complexes are distributed throughout Canada’s Pacific offshore waters, although only a subset of these are named. We used several pre-existing spatial databases and predictive models to map all named seamounts within Canada’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), all named seamounts fished by Canada in international waters, and any predicted (modelled) unnamed seamounts in the EEZ. These data are intended to inform marine planning initiatives in BC by providing collaborative, peer-reviewed scientific data at scales relevant to a BC coast-wide analysis.

Description: Chlorophyll-a concentration (a proxy for phytoplankton biomass) was retrieved from the MODIS instrument on the Aqua satellite, with data distributed by the NASA Ocean Biology Processing Group, and averaged into monthly climatological composites. The data span the years 2003-2020 and this record includes data at 1 km pixel resolution. Methods: MODIS-Aqua Chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) was acquired from the NASA Ocean Biology Processing Group at processing Level-2 (version 2018), 1-km resolution, where Chl-a concentration was calculated using the OC3/OCI method. The months of January and December were excluded from this dataset, as data in the winter months at higher latitudes are missing due to low sun angle preventing acquisition. The pixels were aligned on a regular grid using the SeaDAS program, after which the monthly geometric mean value at all pixels was calculated for individual years. Finally, the geometric mean and geometric standard deviation factor of chlorophyll-a were calculated by month from these images. These methods of calculating mean and standard deviation were used due to the log-normal distribution of chlorophyll-a. The geometric standard deviation is a unitless factor, where the lower bound is the ratio of the geometric mean and geometric standard deviation, and the upper bound is the multiplication of the two. In addition to these variables, the number of occurrences of valid data at each pixel over the period of observation were calculated. Pixels with fewer than two occurrences over the entire period of observation were removed from these maps, and set to a NaN value in the tif files. A few small gaps between pixels (near the edges of individual images) were filled using the median value of surrounding pixels, provided there were greater than 4 values. Finally, all rasters were cropped to the Canadian Exclusive Economic Zone and assigned to the NAD83 geographic coordinate reference system (EPSG:4269), and have a final pixel resolution of approximately 0.01 degrees. The monthly geometric mean, monthly geometric standard deviation factor, and number of occurrences for all pixels are provided. Data Sources: NASA Ocean Biology Processing Group. (2017). MODIS-Aqua Level 2 Ocean Color Data Version R2018.0. NASA Ocean Biology Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/AQUA/MODIS/L2/OC/2018 Uncertainties: Satellite values have been evaluated against global datasets, and datasets of samples in the Pacific region (see references). However, uncertainties are introduced when averaging together images over time as each pixel has a differing number of observations. Short-lived or spatially limited events may be missed.

Description: Night-time sea surface temperature (SST) was acquired from the AVHRR Pathfinder project, with data distributed by NOAA, and averaged into monthly climatological composites. The data span 1990 through 2020 at 4 km pixel resolution. Methods: AVHRR Pathfinder version 5.3 Level 3C night Sea Surface Temperature (SST) was acquired from NOAA at 4 km spatial resolution. The monthly mean value at all pixels was calculated for individual years, then all years were combined to produce final maps of monthly mean and monthly standard deviation of SST, and the number of occurrences of each pixel over the period of observation. The quality level of all satellite observations was also acquired with this dataset, and used to remove any pixels with a quality level lower than 4. Further, pixels with fewer than two occurrences over the period 1990-2020 were removed from these maps, and set to a NaN value in the tif files. All resulting rasters were cropped to the Canadian Exclusive Economic Zone and assigned to the NAD83 geographic coordinate reference system (EPSG:4269), and have a final pixel resolution of approximately 0.0417 degrees. The monthly mean, monthly standard deviation, and number of occurrences for all pixels are provided. Uncertainties: Satellite values have been evaluated against global datasets, and datasets of samples in the Pacific region (see references). However, uncertainties are introduced when averaging together images over time as each pixel has a differing number of observations. Short-lived or spatially limited events may be missed.

This map (MCR 102) is the latest publication in the Atlas of Canada Reference Map Series. It is an update to the 1:6 000 000 paper map of Canada published in 2006. International, provincial and territorial boundaries and the 200-mile offshore Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) are featured on the map. All the national parks and reserves are shown including the Nááts'ihch'oh National Park Reserve of Canada, Northwest Territories, and Sable Island National Park Reserve of Canada, Nova Scotia, two of the most recently established parks. Major roads, railways and ferry routes are also depicted with the Trans-Canada Highway clearly represented across Canada from the Atlantic to the Pacific coasts. Many of the major physiographic and hydrographic features are labelled providing necessary points of reference in less populated areas of the country. The map uses a vertical near-side perspective projection, which provides a unique three-dimensional view of Canada. Most data are current to the period 2010 to 2013.

In 2021, the Canada Coast Guard (CCG) and Fisheries and Oceans Canada updated its administrative boundaries following the creation a new Arctic region. There are now 4 administrative regions in CCG (Western, Arctic, Central and Atlantic). 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.

Seamounts have been identified as Ecologically or Biologically Significant Areas (EBSAs) due to their unique oceanography and ecology; they frequently serve as sites for fisheries and as habitat for a number of species of conservation concern. A mix of isolated seamounts and seamount complexes are distributed throughout Canada’s Pacific offshore waters, although only a subset of these are named. We used several pre-existing spatial databases and predictive models to map all named seamounts within Canada’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), all named seamounts fished by Canada in international waters, and any predicted (modelled) unnamed seamounts in the EEZ. These data are intended to inform marine planning initiatives in BC by providing collaborative, peer-reviewed scientific data at scales relevant to a BC coast-wide analysis.

This collection of GIS layers was prepared for the report Alaska Arctic Marine Fish Ecology Catalog (U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2016–5038). The layers display geographic distribution and sampling locations for Arctic marine fish species in the region of United States sectors of the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. Certain diadromous species (for example, Pacific salmon, char, and whitefishes) are treated as marine fishes (McDowall, 1987) because much of their life cycle is in marine and brackish environments. This synthesis of information is meant to provide current information and understanding of this fauna and its relative vulnerability to changing Arctic conditions. There are 104 species in the collection - some species have both polygon and point data layers. The report (SIR 2016-5038) also describes for each species its names - species, common, and colloquial; ecological role; physical description/attributes; range (geographic); relative abundance; depth range; habitats and life history; behavior; populations or stocks, reproduction, food and feeding, biological interactions, resilience, traditional and cultural importance, commercial fisheries, potential effects of climate change, areas for future research, cited references, and bibliography. The published report has one map for each species showing the polygon and point data as well as land and relevant administrative boundaries. Although some of the species also have an inland water presence, this report was concerned only with their marine conditions; therefore, the land component (from the original sources) has been clipped and removed. The distribution areas may be greater in extent than that shown in the report map bounding box limits. Distributions of marine fishes are shown in adjacent Arctic seas where reliable data are available. The report can be accessed at: https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20165038 This metadata document describes the collection of species data layers. Each species layer file will have its own metadata with details specific to that layer.

Region(s) of distribution of Bering Cisco (Coregonus laurettae) (Bean, 1881) in the Arctic as digitized for U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5038. For details on the project and purpose, see the report at https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20165038. Complete metadata for the collection of species datasets is in the metadata document "Dataset_for_Alaska_Marine_Fish_Ecology_Catalog.xml" at https://doi.org/10.5066/F7M61HD7. Source(s) for this digitized data layer are listed in the metadata Process Steps section. Note that the original source may show an extended area; some datasets were limited to the published map boundary. Distributions of marine fishes are shown in adjacent Arctic seas where reliable data are available. The data were clipped to show only the marine distribution areas although some species also may have an inland presence.

Region(s) of distribution of Estuarine Eelpout (Lycodes turneri) Bean, 1879 in the Arctic as digitized for U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5038. For details on the project and purpose, see the report at https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20165038. Complete metadata for the collection of species datasets is in the metadata document "Dataset_for_Alaska_Marine_Fish_Ecology_Catalog.xml" at https://doi.org/10.5066/F7M61HD7. Source(s) for this digitized data layer are listed in the metadata Process Steps section. Note that the original source may show an extended area; some datasets were limited to the published map boundary. Distributions of marine fishes are shown in adjacent Arctic seas where reliable data are available. The data were clipped to show only the marine distribution areas although some species also may have an inland presence.

Region(s) of distribution of Arctic Smelt (Osmerus dentex) Steindachner & Kner, 1870 in the Arctic as digitized for U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5038. For details on the project and purpose, see the report at https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20165038. Complete metadata for the collection of species datasets is in the metadata document "Dataset_for_Alaska_Marine_Fish_Ecology_Catalog.xml" at https://doi.org/10.5066/F7M61HD7. Source(s) for this digitized data layer are listed in the metadata Process Steps section. Note that the original source may show an extended area; some datasets were limited to the published map boundary. Distributions of marine fishes are shown in adjacent Arctic seas where reliable data are available. The data were clipped to show only the marine distribution areas although some species also may have an inland presence.

Region(s) of distribution of Crested Sculpin (Blepsias bilobus) Cuvier, 1829 in the Arctic as digitized for U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5038. For details on the project and purpose, see the report at https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20165038. Complete metadata for the collection of species datasets is in the metadata document "Dataset_for_Alaska_Marine_Fish_Ecology_Catalog.xml" at https://doi.org/10.5066/F7M61HD7. Source(s) for this digitized data layer are listed in the metadata Process Steps section. Note that the original source may show an extended area; some datasets were limited to the published map boundary. Distributions of marine fishes are shown in adjacent Arctic seas where reliable data are available. The data were clipped to show only the marine distribution areas although some species also may have an inland presence.

Region(s) of distribution of Bearded Warbonnet (Chirolophis snyderi) (Taranetz, 1938) in the Arctic as digitized for U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5038. For details on the project and purpose, see the report at https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20165038. Complete metadata for the collection of species datasets is in the metadata document "Dataset_for_Alaska_Marine_Fish_Ecology_Catalog.xml" at https://doi.org/10.5066/F7M61HD7. Source(s) for this digitized data layer are listed in the metadata Process Steps section. Note that the original source may show an extended area; some datasets were limited to the published map boundary. Distributions of marine fishes are shown in adjacent Arctic seas where reliable data are available. The data were clipped to show only the marine distribution areas although some species also may have an inland presence.

Region(s) of distribution of Banded Gunnel (Pholis fasciata) (Bloch & Schneider, 1801) in the Arctic as digitized for U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5038. For details on the project and purpose, see the report at https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20165038. Complete metadata for the collection of species datasets is in the metadata document "Dataset_for_Alaska_Marine_Fish_Ecology_Catalog.xml" at https://doi.org/10.5066/F7M61HD7. Source(s) for this digitized data layer are listed in the metadata Process Steps section. Note that the original source may show an extended area; some datasets were limited to the published map boundary. Distributions of marine fishes are shown in adjacent Arctic seas where reliable data are available. The data were clipped to show only the marine distribution areas although some species also may have an inland presence.

Region(s) of distribution of Saddled Eelpout (Lycodes mucosus) Richardson, 1855 in the Arctic as digitized for U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5038. For details on the project and purpose, see the report at https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20165038. Complete metadata for the collection of species datasets is in the metadata document "Dataset_for_Alaska_Marine_Fish_Ecology_Catalog.xml" at https://doi.org/10.5066/F7M61HD7. Source(s) for this digitized data layer are listed in the metadata Process Steps section. Note that the original source may show an extended area; some datasets were limited to the published map boundary. Distributions of marine fishes are shown in adjacent Arctic seas where reliable data are available. The data were clipped to show only the marine distribution areas although some species also may have an inland presence.

Region(s) of distribution of Pacific Halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis) Schmidt, 1904 in the Arctic as digitized for U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5038. For details on the project and purpose, see the report at https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20165038. Complete metadata for the collection of species datasets is in the metadata document "Dataset_for_Alaska_Marine_Fish_Ecology_Catalog.xml" at https://doi.org/10.5066/F7M61HD7. Source(s) for this digitized data layer are listed in the metadata Process Steps section. Note that the original source may show an extended area; some datasets were limited to the published map boundary. Distributions of marine fishes are shown in adjacent Arctic seas where reliable data are available. The data were clipped to show only the marine distribution areas although some species also may have an inland presence.

Region(s) of distribution of Snake Prickleback (Lumpenus sagitta) Wilimovsky, 1956 in the Arctic as digitized for U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5038. For details on the project and purpose, see the report at https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20165038. Complete metadata for the collection of species datasets is in the metadata document "Dataset_for_Alaska_Marine_Fish_Ecology_Catalog.xml" at https://doi.org/10.5066/F7M61HD7. Source(s) for this digitized data layer are listed in the metadata Process Steps section. Note that the original source may show an extended area; some datasets were limited to the published map boundary. Distributions of marine fishes are shown in adjacent Arctic seas where reliable data are available. The data were clipped to show only the marine distribution areas although some species also may have an inland presence.

Region(s) of distribution of Twohorn Sculpin (Icelus bicornis) (Reinhardt, 1840) in the Arctic as digitized for U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5038. For details on the project and purpose, see the report at https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20165038. Complete metadata for the collection of species datasets is in the metadata document "Dataset_for_Alaska_Marine_Fish_Ecology_Catalog.xml" at https://doi.org/10.5066/F7M61HD7. Source(s) for this digitized data layer are listed in the metadata Process Steps section. Note that the original source may show an extended area; some datasets were limited to the published map boundary. Distributions of marine fishes are shown in adjacent Arctic seas where reliable data are available. The data were clipped to show only the marine distribution areas although some species also may have an inland presence.