A Quantitative Baseline Survey of the Ichthyoplankton, Invertebrate Zooplankton and Microplastics in Saint John Harbour

Sea Surface Salinity Sea Surface Temperature Subsurface Salinity Subsurface Temperature Zooplankton biomass and diversity Fish abundance and distribution Marine debris

This study was part of the Coastal Environmental Baseline Program Initiative under the Oceans Protection Plan of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, which aimed to collect a baseline of data on the Port of Saint John, New Brunswick. It aimed to provide updated information on the ichthyoplankton and zooplankton communities in the harbour, and their interactions with microplastics. Samples were collected at six sampling stations (three in the inner port and three in the outer port). These were sampled at eleven timepoints between 2019 and 2022. At each station, for each timepoint, three replicate plankton tows were conducted. Ichthyoplankton and zooplankton from these was identified by the Huntsman Marine Science Centre's taxonomic laboratory. Abundances for different taxa are given. Data on temperature and salinity was collected for each station. A selection of different taxa were pulled from the samples for microplastic analysis. These samples were digested using standard procedures in the UNB microplastics laboratory. The colour, type and size of suspected microplastics were recorded, and FTIR analysis was performed to determine particle composition.

The biodiversity data can also be found in the OBIS repository of Atlantic Reference Centre Museum of Canadian Atlantic Organisms.

Data and resources

hmsc_DwC_zooplankton_data.zip

Archive according to the Darwin Core standard. Sampling events, event extended measurements or facts and occurrences are presented in 3 files.

ZIP Open
hmsc_microplastics_plankton_summary_particles_all_data.csv

Data containing microplastic data measured in plankton (summary by particles - all data).

CSV Open
hmsc_microplastics_plankton_summary_by_sample.csv

Data containing microplastic data measured in plankton (summary by sample).

CSV Open
hmsc_microplastics_seawater_particles_seawater_tows.csv

Data containing microplastic data measured in seawater (particles seawater tows)

CSV Open
hmsc_microplastics_seawater_samples_summary.csv

Data containing microplastic data measured in seawater (sample summary)

CSV Open
hmsc_data_dictionary.ods

Data Dictionary

ODS Open
Final Project Report (2020-2023)

Final Project Report (2020-2023): A quantitative baseline survey of the ichthyoplankton, invertebrate zooplankton and microplastics in Saint John Harbour

PDF Open

Additional information

DOI	https://doi.org/10.26071/ogsl-75cc0521-7aba
Temporal extent	2019-09-13 – 2022-09-06
Vertical extent	0.0 – 38.0 m
Date (creation)	2019-09-13
Status	completed
Update frequency	asNeeded
Metadata language	en
Projects	Coastal Environmental Baseline Program
License	Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
Source metadata	ISO 19115 XML
Last updated	2026-07-31
Created	2026-07-31
API	package_show