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
Outfall is the generic term given to different types of effluent discharge, for example, discharges that come from community districts or businesses, and differences in the amount and frequency of the discharge at each site. There are two layers showing outfall locations on the map, both from publically available datasets within the Government of Canada and Government of BC.
Additional information about data displays:
The Wastewater Systems Effluent Regulations (WSER), developed under the Fisheries Act, came into force in 2012 to manage wastewater releases by systems that collect an average daily influent volume of 100 cubic metres or more. The outfalls displayed on the map are all operational wastewater systems located within 20km of BC coastal waters.
Descriptions associated with each data point include:
- System Name – name of the wastewater system.
- System Owner – name of the wastewater system owner.
- Facility ID – the number assigned to the outfall in the WSER data.
- System Type – description of the type of system as either intermittent or continuous.
- Average Daily Effluent Volume (m3) - Average volume of effluent deposited per day from the wastewater system via the final discharge point based on the total volume of effluent deposited during a calendar year.
- Treatment Types – Types of treatment used by the wastewater system.
- Chlorine Use – The wastewater system uses chlorine or one of its compounds in the treatment process (Yes or No).
The AMS stores all documentation for waste discharge authorizations. The authorizations displayed on the map are all active effluent discharge authorizations located within 20km of BC coastal waters.
Descriptions associated with each data point include:
- Outfall Name - described as the site location, company, agency or name of the permit holder.
- Authorization Number – the number assigned to the outfall within the AMS.
- Issue Date – date the waste discharge authorization was issued.
- Facility Description – description provided for the facility in the AMS.
- Nearest Municipality – name of the nearest municipality.
The 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.
