The Shellfish Harvesting Status Map will allow you to identify BC shellfish harvesting closures in your area.
New features have been added for recreational users and commercial harvesters, including
- Open areas by shellfish species
- Where to find a pump-out station for your boat
- Recent sea surface temperatures (SSTs)
- Where outfalls are located
- Recent water quality data
Video instructions on how to use this map
This map was originally designed to help users determine if a location is open or closed to shellfish harvesting due to biotoxin, sanitary, or chemical contamination or restricted for other reasons.
On the map, you can click any subarea or closure polygon to get detailed information about the harvesting closure status. For details about the biotoxin and sanitary status of the area, users may click the link to the Bivalve shellfish contamination closures page of Fisheries & Oceans Canada, the authoritative source for this information.
Map layers can be toggled on or off to visualize aquaculture sites, parks, reserve lands, sea surface temperatures (SSTs), pump-out stations, outfalls and water quality testing data. Users may need to zoom in to an area before these features activate. To learn about how to use the map, see the right side panel for complete instructions or video tour (in development). The map also features a shellfish dictionary (click the book icon on the lower right corner of the map). Information about data sources is provided in the map with more detailed information shown below.
- Esri Leaflet basemaps
- Sources: Esri, DigitalGlobe, GeoEye, i-cubed, USDA FSA, USGS, AEX, Getmapping, Aerogrid, IGN, IGP, swisstopo, and the GIS User Community ArcGIS Online Service
- Harvest Closures (Biotoxin, Sanitary, and Chemical Closures)
- Other Restricted or Prohibited Areas
- Canadian Shellfish Sanitation Program (CSSP), Harvest Areas-Restricted, Fisheries and Oceans Canada. REST service from CSSP is updated daily with closures.
- Aquaculture Sites
- Reserve Lands
- Indian Reserves - Administrative Boundaries, GeoBC, 2020.
- Provincial Parks
- BC Parks, Ecological Reserves, and Protected Areas, GeoBC, 2020.
- National Parks
- National Parks and National Park Reserves within the province of British Columbia, GeoBC, 2020.
- Sea surface temperatures
- Wastewater Outfalls
- Effluent discharge data is supplied by the BC Ministry of Environment.
- Pump-out locations
- Pump-out services are compiled by Transport Canada annually.
- Water Quality Data
Where can I harvest?
This map feature shows species open for harvesting. In the display, sanitary closure information is always turned on and these areas will automatically display as red on the map underneath the green colour. This means shellfish species appearing green only occur in open areas and that these areas are not closed for biotoxins or under a sanitary closure.
Water quality data
Water quality data is provided by the Environment Canada Climate Change (ECCC) program. Fecal coliform values are shown as counts per 100mL (derived from Most Probable Number or MPN tests). Data is described as:
- The geometric mean value is calculated as the nth root of the product of n numbers. Note: the last 15 results are used in the calculation for areas monitored under Adverse Pollution Conditions (APC) and last 30 results for areas monitored under the Systematic Random Sampling Regime (SRS).
- The 90th percentile is calculated by Antilog[(Slog)*1.28 + Xlog]
- The last 5 water quality test results are shown in the table
- The methods for fecal coliforms are described in Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater, 9221E: Thermotolerant (Fecal) Coliform Procedure, a multiple-tube fermentation technique whereby results are reported in terms of Most Probable Number (FC/100 mL MPN).
In addition to water quality data, the ECCC program conducts pollution source assessment including wastewater modelling and evaluation of marinas/anchorage areas to determine water quality in marine shellfish harvesting areas. The data shown on this map is sourced from
https://open.canada.ca/en/open-data from
BC water quality data and may not include the most recent water quality survey.
On the map users will see geometric means and the 90th percentiles calculated from the most recent water quality data posted. Acceptable water quality are discussed in the
CSSP online manual, in section 4.1.3.1:
- Geometric mean of <43 fecal coliforms /100 mL, and 90th percentile of <14 fecal coliforms /100 mL (by MPN); OR
- median does not exceed 14 fecal coliforms /100 mL and not more than 10% exceed 43 fecal coliforms /100 mL (by MPN).
Other standards for water quality data depend on the intended use of the growing waters, please consult the CSSP for criteria.
Outfall data
The outfall data shown on the map was compiled from BC Ministry of Environment sources by Environment Canada Climate Change staff. The display of this data is with the permission of Ministry of Environment. This work was done by during a norovirus outbreak affecting oysters by working group partners. See this page for further information about
marine water contamination by norovirus.
Outfall is the generic term given to different types of effluent discharge. Descriptions associated with each data point include:
- Name of the outfall - described as the site location, agency or name of the permit holder.
- Class - described as type of effluent discharge. Further information about the type of treatment (primary or secondary) is also shown if known. Type of effluent discharge was classified as:
- Septic tank
- Mechanical
- Lagoon
- Grinder station
- Untreated
- Disinfection - described as type of disinfection used on effluent prior to discharge. Type of disinfection was classified as:
- Chlorine
- UV (ultraviolet)
- None
- TBD (to be determined)
Sea surface temperaturesThe SST product being used in these maps is the “SSTfnd” product”, which is the sea surface foundation temperature. This is the temperature at the first time of the day when the heat gain from the solar radiation absorption exceeds the heat loss at the sea surface, and it is free of diurnal temperature variability. The sea surface foundation temperature usually occurs at a depth of about 10 metres below the surface. You can access sea suface temperatures in a
separate map on our site.
- To report any technical issues or inaccuracies with the data reported with this tool, contact BCCDC
- For technical advise about data sources used in this map, or further information contact Environmental Health Services, BCCDC
- For more information about Shellfish Closures, please contact:
- Elysha Gordon
Phone: 250-756-7192 Fax: 250-756-7162
Resource Management DFO South Coast Division
Canadian Shellfish Sanitation Program (CSSP) Coordinator
3225 Stephenson Point Rd., Nanaimo, BC V9T 1K3
- David Fogtmann
Phone: 250-339-3799 Fax: 250-339-4612
Resource Management DFO South Coast Division
148 Port Augusta St., Comox, BC V9M 3N6 - Michelle Rainer
Phone: 604-666-1746
Communications Advisor - Shellfish Toxin Updates
Toll free: 1-866-431-FISH (1-866-431-3474)
Recorded information or visit your local DFO office.
- Water Features
- For questions about outfalls contact BC Environmental Compliance; report Polluters at 1-877-952-7277 or #7277 (Telus mobility)
- For questions about marine sewage regulations contact Transport Canada at pacobs@tc.gc.ca
- For questions about water quality testing and the shellfish water classification program contact Environment Canada at ec.msqeinformation-wqmsinformation.ec@canada.ca
