Science Advisory Report 2012/039
Development of a St. Lawrence Estuary Marine Protected Area Ecological Monitoring Plan
Summary
- Two types of indicators are presented: performance indicators directly related to the conservation objectives and ecosystem health indicators. The former relate to threats and their potential effects on marine mammals and their habitat and prey. MPA managers can use these indicators to determine whether conservation objectives have been achieved. Some of these indicators will be used to test the effectiveness of regulations, others the effectiveness of indirect measures, such as public awareness or the influence on decision-makers who are responsible for managing some of the threats. Ecosystem health indicators support the performance indicators by enabling us to detect changes or abnormalities in the environment that could affect the ecological components targeted by the conservation objectives.
- These indicators were assessed based on their relevance, determined by establishing the extent to which the indicator was appropriate for assessing the threat or the potential target effect. In all, 72 indicators were assessed of which 54 were highly relevant. Monitoring associated with the indicators was assessed for its reliability and ease of implementation. In general, the ease of conducting a survey decreases when we try to increase its reliability, given that reliability is often dependent on sampling effort.
- Highly relevant indicators are proposed for each threat and its potential effects on marine mammals, except for the disruption of important activities of cetaceans. Highly relevant indicators of the status of the physical-chemical and biological ecosystem are also proposed.
- Existing programs monitor a number of indicators with acceptable reliability and ease. Some of these must be expanded to cover the MPA. At least a quarter of the indicators require that new monitoring be set up. This includes monitoring noise in the water, contaminants in sediment and water, as well as in beluga whale and harbour seal prey that are not currently being monitored. Prey availability is a potential effect which is receiving little coverage under existing monitoring programs, especially with respect to prey such as krill, pelagic fish, coastal species of the lower estuary and demersal fish in the upper estuary. Also, implementing monitoring of the seabed and ocean circulation would enable us to assess changes in the habitats of various target species and changes in the environment in which they live.
- It goes without saying that the proposed indicators cannot all be monitored. However, the sound, simple criteria used to assess them will help managers to make informed choices based on the human and financial resources available when monitoring is implemented. In a context of reduced financial resources, it is suggested that the time between monitoring sampling periods be extended rather than decreasing the number or quality of surveys.
- The various government agencies (e.g. DFO, the Ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune du Québec (MRNF) and Parks Canada) involved must join forces and work together to increase the efficiency of all monitoring related to the protection of marine mammals and their habitat and prey.
This Science Advisory Report is from the May 3-5. 2011 Review of the Draft for the St. Lawrence Estuary Marine Protected Area (MPA) Ecological Monitoring Plan. Additional publications from this process will be posted as they become available on the Fisheries and Oceans Canada Science Advisory Schedule.
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