Prince Edward Island's mussel monitoring program and associated environmental data / Luke A. Poirier, Aaron Ramsay, Michael R. S. Coffin, John D. P. Davidson, Luc A. Comeau. : Fs97-4/3226E-PDF

"Prince Edward Island (PEI) coastal waters support an important Blue Mussel (Mytilus edulis) industry that relies on wild spat, or seed, to supply grow-out operations. While this industry operates within a small geographic area, there may be site-specific environmental characteristics that are driving anecdotal inconsistencies observed in mussel production and quality. The PEI Mussel Monitoring Program (MMP) is a service provided to mussel growers and processors by the Provincial Department of Fisheries and Communities. It supplies a variety of vital information to stakeholders including mussel growth, spat-fall, and meat yield, while also informing on the presence of toxic algae, fouling organisms, and predators. In 2015, environmental monitoring was added to this complement of measurements, which may provide insight on the site-specific differences. We explored datasets from six sites for indicators of observed differences in mussel performance between 2016 and 2018. Overall, mussel aquaculture sites were similar in mussel growth, but some trends were observed. Nine Mile Creek performed better than the other sites with regards to mussel performance, but no clear differences in environmental parameters were noted among the six sites. Tracadie Bay and Murray River both experienced delayed recovery in meat yields after spawning events, and while no environmental stressor could be determined, they were the only sites to experience larger phytoplankton blooms in mid-summer. Food availability in the winter months across all sites was also of note, as several peaks in phytoplankton concentration were observed, potentially impacting growth factors later in the year. These MMP and environmental data from productive bays of PEI will provide a valuable resource of historical data to future stakeholders"--Abstract, page vi.

Lien permanent pour cette publication :
publications.gc.ca/pub?id=9.903449&sl=1

• Format MARC XML
• Format MARC HTML

Demander des formats alternatifs