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Evaluation of Pacific Region application of a National Framework to assess the vulnerability of biological components to ship-source oil spills in the marine environment

Regional Peer Review Process – Pacific Region

September 14-15, 2016
Nanaimo, British Columbia

Chairperson: Gilles Olivier

Context

A National Framework to Assess the Vulnerability of Biological Components to Ship-source Oil Spills in the Marine Environment (the Framework) was developed by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), and reviewed in March 2016 through a Canadian Science Advice Secretariat (CSAS) National Peer Review (Thornborough et al., unpublishedFootnote 1). The Framework contributes towards the development of a timely and informed response to ship-source oil spills by identifying which marine biological species sub-groups are most vulnerable to spilled oil, and focusing data collection for spill response planning.

The National CSAS review determined that the Framework was appropriate for use in all Canadian regions but with an allowance for regional flexibility given that regions have differing biota. To ensure a regionally meaningful application of the Framework, it was anticipated that biological sub-groups would require tailoring to reflect the habitat and species components of a particular region. As this is a first trial of the Framework, changes may also be necessary to criteria or filtering methods.

Fisheries and Ocean’s Canada’s (DFO) Oceans Branch has requested that Science Branch provide a Pacific regional adaptation and application of the National Framework, and provide advice as outlined within the objectives below. The assessment and advice obtained from this CSAS Regional Peer Review (RPR), and the application of the adapted Framework, will be used to inform oil spill response planning for areas of interest within the Pacific Region, (such as pilot areas for the World Class Tanker Safety System (WCTSS) initiative) and assist in identifying priority data relevant for those subgroups identified as being most vulnerable to oil. The scientific advice will primarily be used by DFO in the Pacific Region, but may inform similar processes in other Canadian regions, or be used as part of further National reviews under subsequent phases of the WCTSS initiative.

Objectives

The following working paper will be reviewed and will provide the basis for discussion and advice on the specific objectives outlined below.

Hannah, L.et al. Evaluation of Pacific Region application of a National Framework to assess the vulnerability of biological components to ship-source oil spills in the marine environment. CSAS Working Paper 2015OCN06

The specific objectives of this review are to:

  1. Evaluate whether the National Framework was appropriately adapted to the Pacific Region:
    1. Assess whether the species subgroups are representative of the suite of on-shelf biota in the region.
    2. Assess if the species subgroups have been divided so that their vulnerabilities to oil can be discerned by the scoring criteria based on their biological and ecological traits
    3. Determine if the scoring criteria and the filtering methods effectively identified an appropriate list of subgroups most vulnerable to ship-source oil spill in the region.
  2. Note that efforts will be made to seek expert input at each stage of the adaptation process to ensure that subgroups identified and scoring methods chosen are consistent with best available knowledge and information.

Expected Publications

Expected Participation

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