Madam Speaker, the oil and gas industry has joined with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans in an effort to create a detailed atlas of spawning and nursery areas for commercial fin fish and shellfish species on the Scotian shelf off Nova Scotia.
Using industry levied funds, DFO scientists in the maritime region will identify and map both spawning areas and key nursery and larvae concentration areas. The atlas will also include the times of the year when spawning occurs. Currently there is no single, comprehensive source of information regarding the locations of sensitive spawning and nursery areas for the Scotian shelf.
The atlas will be an important planning tool for industry and government in helping to identify marine areas that are sensitive to offshore oil and gas activities. Knowing the locations of biologically sensitive areas will greatly assist in the development of strategies to minimize or eliminate the potentially harmful environmental effects of proposed offshore oil and gas activities.
Work on the atlas is expected to be completed by early 2004.