Science Advisory Report 2010/075

Review of the Manicouagan Marine Protected Area (MPA) Ecological Monitoring Plan

Summary

• The objective of the meeting was to review the selected components and the proposed monitoring plan to determine whether the targeted Conservation Objectives in the Manicouagan MPA management plan were met: Target 1 (Maintain and protect significant habitats and species for the biological diversity and productivity of the MPA) and Target 4 (Ensure sustainable exploitation of marine resources).
• The components of the ecosystem selected in terms of biological diversity and productivity lead to two types of monitoring: 1) monitoring of ecosystem components with which to evaluate the performance of the MPA in meeting the conservation objectives and the effectiveness of the management measures, and 2) monitoring of components for assessing the status of the MPA ecosystem but that potential changes cannot be directly related to its management.
• The biotic components of the ecosystem, which monitoring helps in assessing the performance of the MPA, are those characterized by communities and populations that reside permanently or often frequent the area. A criterion determining the level of residence for each component was applied for their selection. The selected components are: benthic communities (epi-, endo-, supra-benthic), communities of small demersal fishes, harbour seals, and waved whelk.
• The abiotic components of the ecosystem, which monitoring helps in assessing the performance of the MPA, are those that define the habitat of selected biotic components and that help assess the conservation objective aimed at restoring or maintaining the quality of water and sediment. These components are: relief, sediment (composition and quality) and water (quality).
• The components for monitoring the status of the ecosystem have an influence on the MPA ecosystem in terms of biological productivity and diversity, but their spatial distributions extend past the boundaries of the MPA or are located outside of the MPA. This includes species with wide-ranging distributions, oceanographic components (biological, chemical, and physical), as well as salt marshes and eelgrass beds. Monitoring will be important for interpreting the results obtained in the MPA performance assessment.
• A series of indicators was defined to ensure the monitoring of identified biotic and abiotic components. To monitor the majority of the performance indicators, the introduction of a new survey is necessary for monitoring benthic communities, sediment and water quality. This survey will cover 25 stations in 4 ecological zones. Waved whelks will be monitored from research surveys and fisheries data, while community monitoring needs to be developed for harbour seals. Monitoring for ecosystem status indicators are based primarily on existing programs throughout the St. Lawrence.

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