Bucket: regassist   Key: v2/targeted-fetch/water/ca/tdf_2546beab1ae96dd64185b95fca11990e/content.md
Source: https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/aquaculture/management-gestion/doc/AAR-Monitoring-Standard-2018-eng.pdf

AAR Monitoring Standard 2018

Introduction

This Aquaculture Monitoring Standard (Monitoring Standard) will support the monitoring and sampling requirements of the Aquaculture Activities Regulations (AAR) under the Fisheries Act . This document provides the necessary level of detail to enable the owner or operator of an aquaculture facility to produce to the greatest extent possible, consistent and high quality data to support the implementation of the AAR.

This Monitoring Standard will be amended (in consultation with provinces) from time to time.

The most current version of the Monitoring Standard is available on the Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) website http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/aquaculture/management-gestion/aar-raa-eng.htm

Definitions

'Containment Array' means an assembly of interconnected cages used to cultivate fish.

'Marine Worms' mean aggregates of opportunistic polychaetes that colonize organically enriched substrates.

'Reference Station' means a sampling station chosen to represent a background or natural state. Reference stations may be chosen as discrete sampling locations or contained along a transect representing a traditional 'gradient' to 'background' approach.

'Sampling Station' means a location where recording is carried out and any samples are collected.

'Soft Bottom Site' means, further to definition in AAR, a site where acceptable samples can be taken from the benthic substrate based on the grab acceptability criteria and sampler options related to oceanographic conditions and substrate type or classified as soft bottom based on provincial criteria.

'Transect' means a directional line, along which sampling stations are established or visual observations are made.

I. Survey for Baseline Information for New Sites and Expansion of Existing Sites [AAR section 8 and 9]

Predicted Contours [AAR paragraph 8(1)( a )]

  1. (1) Calculate the rate of deposition of biochemical oxygen demanding (BOD) matter from the facility during maximum daily quantity of feed usage, using an aquaculture waste deposition model, and map the 1, 5, and 10 grams carbon per meter squared per day (g C/m 2 /day) depositional contours.
  2. (2) Site-specific oceanographic data will be used for model inputs. Using an aquaculture waste deposition model, input characteristics for food and fecal waste must be either accepted international standard values or operator measurements. Model simulations are not to include estimates of post-deposition particle resuspension.

Survey of Fish and Fish Habitat [AAR paragraph 8(1)(b)]

  1. (1) When conducting surveys of fish and fish habitat, sampling stations along a transect or within a grid must be representative of the different physical/biological characteristics of the bottom habitat within the modeled 1 g C/m 2 /day depositional contour and the entire lease, including reference stations where applicable.
  2. (2) Sampling is not required within areas of the tenure or 1 g C/m 2 /day depositional contour where depths exceed 300 m.
  3. (3) If historical fish and fish habitat data for an expanded lease area demonstrates a homogeneous coverage of mud or sandy habitat, then only one video transect across the width of the entire lease in the direction of the dominant current and under the proposed array location is required.
  4. (4) The fish and fish habitat benthic survey is to be conducted to identify species that are 1 cm or greater in length and the type of habitat present.
  5. (5) All fish habitats/substrates must be identified.

Bathymetry Survey [AAR paragraph 8(1)(c)]

  1. (1) A bathymetric survey must be conducted with a minimum resolution of 10 m contours to generate depth profiles, related to chart datum, within the modeled 1 g C/m 2 /day depositional contour, as calculated in subsection 1(1), and covering the entire lease, including reference stations where applicable.
  2. (2) Despite subsection 3(1), a bathymetric chart from the Canadian Hydrographic Service that includes depth profile contours in 10 m increments may be used instead of conducting a bathymetric survey .

Benthic Substrate Monitoring [AAR paragraph 8(1)(d) ]

  1. (1) Information concerning the seabed will be collected within locations representative of the entire lease and the modeled 1 g C/m 2 /day depositional contour, as calculated in subsection 1(1), including reference stations where applicable.
  2. (2) In the case of an aquaculture facility that is located in tidal waters in or adjacent to:
  3. (a) Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island or Newfoundland and Labrador, collect samples of the benthic substrate in the center and at each corner of the lease boundary;
  4. (b) New Brunswick, collect samples of the benthic substrate at the end of a 50 m transect from the lease boundary, in the direction of the dominant current;
  5. (c) Quebec, Nova Scotia, or Prince Edward Island, collect samples of the benthic substrate between 100 to 300 m from the edge of the lease boundary, in the direction of the dominant current;
  6. (d) British Columbia, collect samples of the benthic substrate at a minimum of two sampling stations (30 m and 125 m away from the cage edge) along two transects that align with the area of greatest predicted impact and with the dominant and sub-dominant current directions;
  7. (e) If the containment array mentioned in paragraph 4(2)(d) is greater than 200 m in length and its long axis is perpendicular to the direction of the dominant current, additional sampling is required in the following manner:
  8. (i) for every 200 m increment in length, establish additional transects with sampling stations at 30 and 125 m adjacent to each transect established in paragraph 4(2)(d);
  9. (ii) transects must be parallel to each other and a minimum of 50 m apart;
  10. (iii) based on the 5 g C/m 2 /day contour, as calculated in subsection 1(1), the transects are to be located in the direction of maximum deposition as determined by the 5 g C/m 2 /day contour.

pictures to support sampling approach acceptability criteria.

Exception

Visual monitoring procedures [AAR paragraph 11(2)(a), (b), and (c)]

  1. (1) Visual monitoring of the benthic substrate must be conducted in the following manner:
  2. (a) Must use a handheld or dropped still camera, or diver-operated, towed, or remotely operated video camera;
  3. (b) The weight of towed devices must allow for stable movement at a consistent depth without disturbing sediment substrate;
  4. (c) Cameras used for underwater photography must illuminate the benthic substrate to an intensity balanced to the optical sensitivity of the lens such that a uniform field of view is visible;
  5. (d) The optical resolution of the camera lens must be sufficient that organisms greater than 1 cm in size can be distinguished by the unaided eye and identified in a 0.5 m x 0.5 m horizontal field of view; magnification of species observed is acceptable, as necessary, for identification purposes;
  6. (e) Diver-operated, towed, or remotely operated video cameras must be operated at a constant velocity that permits accurate identification of visual parameters;
  7. (f) Original video must be transferred to digital format storage media with no post-survey video editing.

Visual monitoring locations [AAR paragraph 11(2)(a)(b) and (c)]

Exception

Timing of Sampling [AAR paragraph 8]

  1. Benthic substrate surveys or visual monitoring must be conducted prior to the introduction of fish to the site.

Recording of Baseline Survey Information [AAR subsections 8(1) and (3), and 9(1)]

  1. The report of the baseline survey findings must include at a minimum:
  2. (a) The observations recorded from the underwater surveys, including the unedited recorded images;
  3. (b) A map with the locations of transects and habitat information generated during these transects at a minimum resolution of 1:5000, the bathymetry of the seabed at a resolution of 10 m contours; and the estimated footprint of deposition of biochemical oxygen demanding matter in 1, 5, and 10 g C/m 2 /day contours;
  4. (c) The results of sediment sampling as specified in subsection 4(4) or records of failed sediment sampling attempts as per 3(c).
  5. (d) Unedited visual recordings must be submitted with the following information:
  6. (i) positional data including all start and stop points and way points in between using corrected dGPS;
  7. (ii) ocean depth of the location recorded; and for continuous video depths at a minimum of 10 m intervals;
  8. (iii) date and time of sampling;
  9. (iv) estimation of surface coverage of bacterial mats; and,
  10. (v) estimation of surface coverage of marine worms.

II Procedures for Operational Monitoring [AAR section 10(1)]

Timing of Sampling [AAR paragraphs 10(1)( a ) and ( b )]

  1. Benthic monitoring samples or video must be taken at the facility at least once during the production cycle at sea or every 24 months for farms with finfish continuously on site:
  2. (1) In British Columbia, within 30 days of peak feeding or peak biomass;
  3. (2) In Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island , or Newfoundland and Labrador, between July 1 and October 31, close to peak feeding;
  4. (3) During times when water and weather conditions minimize adverse effects on sampling quality and facilitate accurate sampling at stations.

Benthic Substrate Monitoring [AAR paragraphs 10(1)(a) and (b)]

  1. (1) Where benthic substrate monitoring is conducted, the procedures as specified in section 4, excepting paragraphs 4(2)(a) and (b), must be followed. Sampling is not required within areas of the tenure or 1 g C/m 2 /day depositional contour where depths exceed 300 m.
  2. (2) Specifically for Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, or Prince Edward Island, Table 1 is used to determine the number of sediment samples at 0 m stations and transects.

Exception

Visual Monitoring [AAR paragraph 11(2) (a)(b) and (c)]

  1. (1) The procedures in subsection 5 will support compliance with the facility restocking threshold.

  2. (2) In the case of an aquaculture facility that is located in tidal waters in or adjacent to Nova Scotia or New Brunswick:

  3. (a) Observations from each transect will be made at 0 m, 10 m, 20 m, 30 m, 40 m and 50 m locations;
  4. (b) The number of transects are indicated in Table 1, Column II based on the number of fish stocked, specified in Table 1, Column I.
  5. (c) Cages along the outside perimeter of the cage configuration must be those selected for positioning of transects. Transects will be positioned starting with the cage with the highest biomass and proceeding in descending order, and in the direction of the prevailing water current;

Exception

Reference Stations [AAR subsections 10and 11]

  1. (1) At least one reference station must be established as required according to the following criteria in the case of an aquaculture facility that is located in tidal waters in or adjacent to British Columbia, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick , Newfoundland and Labrador, or Prince Edward Island:
  2. (a) Either consisting of a transect outward from the lease boundary or as discrete stations that are not exposed to biochemical oxygen demanding matter deposited from the facility;
  3. (b) In British Columbia, these are discrete stations between 0.5-2.0 km from the facility location;
  4. (c) The reference station depth is within ± 10 m of the range of depths of the sampling stations as specified in subsection 4(2) and section 6;
  5. (d) Topography, seabed type, current and tidal regimes, sediment grain size, and the amount of freshwater runoff influence are to be representative of the sampling stations, and;
  6. (e) If it is determined that the seabed is composed of predominantly soft sediment, a minimum of one reference station will be established with a minimum of 3 sediment samples collected per station.

Recording of Operational Survey Information [AAR subsection 16]

  1. (1) Recording of benthic surveys as per section 8.

Exception

(2) BOD modelling, fish and fish habitat surveys and bathymetric mapping is not required for operational monitoring.

Table 1: Number of Sampling Stations Required for Sediment and Visual Sampling (Nova Scotia and New Brunswick)

Column I Column II Column III Column IV
Maximum number of fish within cage site array during production cycle Number of transects Number of sampling stations (not including reference stations) Number of samples (3 samples/station for soft bottom sites at 0 mfrom containment array)
1-200,000 2 2 6
200,001-300,000 3 3 9
300,001-400,000 4 4 12
400,001-500,000 4 5 15
500,001-600,000 4 6 18
600,001-700,000 4 7 21
700,001-800,000 4 8 24
800,001-900,000 4 9 27
900,000-1,000,000 4 10 30