Knowledgebase: Mapping the undersea landscape: Using seafloor maps to improve management of the Gulf of Maine

Mapping the undersea landscape:
Using seafloor maps to improve management of the Gulf of Maine

Case study 4 - New Brunswick
Identifying low-impact sites for salmon aquaculture

Aquaculture is an important commercial activity in the coastal waters of New Brunswick. Typically, salmon pens are sited in calm bays. However, feces and uneaten food can build up in substantial quantities on the seabed below, causing eutrophication. To avoid this problem, managers now prefer to site salmon pens in erosional areas, where currents carry away the pollutants. They use maps of seafloor geology, produced with multibeam sonar, to identify suitable erosional sites.

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1. An increasing need for seafloor mapping
2. Only 15 percent of Gulf is adequately mapped
3. New technology allows unprecedented mapping
4. Introduction to applications
5. Case study 1: Routing a fiber-optic cable
6. Case study 2: Assessing effects of a fishery closure
7. Case study 3: Improving management of a lobster fishery
8. Case study 4: Identifying low-impact sites for aquaculture
9. Case study 5: Reducing impacts & improving efficiency of scallopers
10. Mapping the future: Gulf of Maine Mapping Initiative

Acknowledgements

Links: More information about seafloor mapping

Download a 4-page, printer-friendly PDF version of "Mapping the undersea landscape: Using seafloor maps to improve management of the Gulf of Maine."

To obtain printed copies of the publication, contact Susan Snow-Cotter.

This publication was produced by the Gulf of Maine Council's Science Translation Project.

Image credit: Canada Department of Fisheries and Oceans, St. Andrews