If you had to sum up in a few words what the process of fish stock assessment is all about, most science literature on the subject describes it as "turning data into advice."
In the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which sent an estimated 4.9 million barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico during three months in 2010, nature continued to do what it has long done – slowly but surely break down the oil into its constituent parts including carbon dioxide and water.
The North Atlantic right whale—Eubalaena glacialis—is a large marine mammal that is listed as one of Canada's Species at Risk. It was designated Endangered in 2005.
In a satellite image of the Scotian Shelf off the coast of Nova Scotia, a whitish cloud of water surrounds Sable Island in swirls and filaments. The colour of the ocean is caused by a bloom of coccoliths, an algae with a calcium carbonate shell that gives it its white color.
An international team of researchers has demonstrated that northern shrimp, wherever they are found, from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the Gulf of Maine, all the way to the Barents Sea, have adapted themselves to give their larvae the best conditions for survival. A strategic thinker, the shrimp is!
Understanding the three oceans that surround Canada, as well as Canada's waterways and aquatic resources, is crucial if we want to ensure their sustainability — the challenge that scientists at Fisheries and Oceans Canada face each day.