Question Period Note: Oceanographic Conditions in the Gulf of St. Lawrence In 2019

• Sound management of the environment and marine resources requires a solid scientific understanding of ocean conditions.
• The information collected underpins studies of ocean climate as well as providing an important context to fish stock assessments.
• We continue to monitor oceanographic conditions and the impact of changes in the environment on marine resources, in particular to ensure sound and sustainable management of the fishery for our coastal communities and all Canadians.

• In recent years, results from this monitoring program show unprecedented changes occurring in the climatic conditions of the waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, with progressive increases in deep-water temperatures leading to the record conditions observed in 2019.
• The Atlantic Zone Monitoring Program (AZMP) was implemented in 1998 with the aim of increasing Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO’s) capacity to understand, describe, and forecast the state of the marine ecosystem and to quantify the changes in the ocean’s physical, chemical and biological properties.
• A critical element in the observation program of AZMP is an annual assessment of the physical oceanographic properties. An understanding of how these relate to the production cycles of plankton which form the base of the marine food web is an essential part of an ecosystem approach to stock assessment and marine resource management. DFO is committed to further developing the ecosystem approach under the terms of the renewed Fisheries Act.

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