Proceedings 2008/023
Proceedings of the workshops held for preparing the ecological monitoring framework of the future Manicouagan Marine Protected Area, Québec; December 15, 2006, January 24, 2007, March 7, 2007
Chairperson: Jean Munro
Summary
The Manicouagan Marine Protected Area is about to be created under the Oceans Act. Following the designation of the MPA, monitoring must be undertaken to determine whether the area’s conservation objectives are being met. The Manicouagan MPA objectives aim to maintain biological productivity and diversity and to ensure sustainable exploitation of the resources. The development of a monitoring plan was initiated by drafting an ecological monitoring framework, presenting the ecological information on the area and identifying the existing and potential monitoring programs, as well as the information that needs to be obtained.
In order to complete and improve the monitoring framework, three workshops that focussed on 1) exploited resources, 2) productivity and oceanography, and 3) biological diversity in the region including and immediately surrounding the MPA were held at the Maurice Lamontagne Institute in the winter of 2006-07. Most of the participants are affiliated with the DFO Regional Science Branch.
Workshop 1: Using the available information on the principal exploited biological resources in the MPA, the specialists proposed to monitor the whelk and softshell clam populations. Several indicators were recommended for these species. The current monitoring of snow crab should suffice to monitor its population status in the MPA.
Workshop 2: Knowledge on the biological oceanography for the entire St. Lawrence Estuary, as presented by the experts, was used to express hypotheses about the water dynamics in the MPA. Freshwater flows from rivers, wind and cold water upwellings were identified as determining processes in the area. The vast foreshore, the underwater bay and the coastal slope are likely to be significant productivity sectors. It was assessed that phytoplankton (especially toxic algae), filter-feeding shellfish near the estuaries, eelgrass beds, salt marshes and juvenile fish noticeably contribute to the region’s productivity.
Experts recommend to monitor the organisms that are produced in the area, particularly sedentary organisms, constantly subjected to the MPA conditions. The environmental pressures affecting key components were considered and a need to know and monitor sediment contamination levels was identified.
Workshop 3: Available information on the biological diversity in the MPA was presented. Eelgrass beds, salt marshes and mollusc-dominated communities seem important for the diversity of the coastal area. The groundfish diversity appears to be high in the MPA. For the entire MPA, several epibenthos assemblages were mapped. Data from deeper waters are limited, but experts estimate that endobenthos and suprabenthos are important groups. Snow crab, occurring almost throughout the MPA, can act as a structuring predator in benthic communities. The sector’s geology and bank erosion were the topic of a presentation, as well as the possible use of biomarkers and genetics in monitoring.
Overall, an ecosystemic monitoring focusing on the system’s key components is accepted by the peers, but the distribution and intensity of the environmental pressures must also be taken into account in the overall approach. For future indicator species, species with direct development and of low mobility should be preferred.
Accessibility Notice
This document is available in PDF format. If the document is not accessible to you, please contact the Secretariat to obtain another appropriate format, such as regular print, large print, Braille or audio version.
- Date modified: