Summary of the ecological risk assessment for the Fundian Channel-Browns Bank Area of Interest

Fisheries and Oceans Canada conducted an ecological risk assessment for the Fundian Channel-Browns Bank Area of Interest (AOI) for Oceans Act Marine Protected Area (MPA) designation.

On this page

• Purpose
• Scope
• Method
• Summary of risk results
• Considerations
• Next steps
• Additional information
• Citation information

Purpose

The ecological risk assessment established the relative risks presented by various human activities to the conservation priorities identified for the AOI.

The assessment considered activities that currently occur in the AOI:

• Fisheries
• Marine transportation
• Submarine cable installation

The assessment also considered activities that may occur in the near future:

• Fishing with midwater trawl

Scope

Activities that are prohibited in new federal Oceans Act MPAs were not considered in the risk assessment:

• Oil and gas exploration and exploitation
• Mining
• Dumping
• Bottom-trawling

Method

The department assessed consequences and the likelihood of interactions between activities and site conservation priorities.
Consequence was determined by estimating the magnitude of each interaction (that is, exposure based on the human activity) and the sensitivity of the ecological component to the pressure.

Consequence levels were then combined with the likelihood of the interaction between the activity and the site’s conservation priorities.

This method was used to determine an overall level of risk for activities and their associated pressures.

Summary of risk results

This information provides a summary of risk results for pressures associated with commercial fisheries, marine transportation and submarine cable installation, grouped by conservation priority.

Commercial fisheries

Fisheries considered in the ecological risk assessment include:

• Pot/trap for lobster and hagfish
• Groundfish gillnet
• Midwater trawl for groundfish
• Pelagic and groundfish longline
• Buoy gear for swordfish

Pressures assessed for fisheries are:

• Bottom disturbance
• Bycatch
• Entanglement

Marine transportation

Fundian Channel-Browns Bank AOI traffic patterns are dominated by cargo, tankers and fishing vessels.
Pressures assessed for marine transportation are:

• Vessel collisions (including from light-induced disorientation)
• Vessel and echosounder-induced noise
• Small-volume operational oil spills
• Large oil spills

Submarine Cable Installation

Submarine cables are installed on the seafloor (either buried or surface-laid). They enable telecommunications or transfer electricity across ocean spaces.

There are 2 active cables, 1 of which was installed in 2022, and 2 abandoned cables in the AOI.

Pressures assessed for submarine cable installation are:

• Bottom disturbance for both buried and surface-laid cable installations
• Increased suspended sediment load associated with buried cable installations

Considerations

This assessment was conducted with an MPA as its focus. As such, tolerance for risk was lower than it would be for marine areas that are not being considered for conservation purposes. The risk levels in this assessment may not represent the department’s assessment of risks for the same activities elsewhere in the Scotian Shelf-Bay of Fundy bioregion.

The findings presented here are not prescriptive and do not represent final decisions about how activities would be managed. Rather, the assessment provides a structure for how information can be considered to inform discussions and decisions. Other factors will also be considered in determining proposed design and management measures for the potential MPA, including:

• the precautionary approach
• social and economic considerations and
• feedback from consultations

Next steps

In the potential MPA, this assessment will:

1. contribute to decision-making on activities that would be allowed under the regulations
2. help inform the design of the boundary and zones

Additional information

The full publication is available by email to maritimesMPAs@dfo-mpo.gc.ca.

Citation information

Koropatnick, T., Baxter, L., Bone, B., Irlich, U., Marotte, E., McConney, L., Pardy, G., Rozalska, K., Schram, C., and Will, E. 2023. Ecological risk assessment of the Fundian Channel-Browns Bank Area of Interest. Can. Tech. Rep. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 3550: v + 325 p.