Layer of the known concentration areas of the Stimpson's surfclam (English, French, SHP)

View metadata and access the original English/French SHP file: Layer of the known concentration areas of the Stimpson's surfclam.

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SHP

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Publisher-reported update

2026-03-24

Stimpson's surfclam or Arctic surfclam (Mactromeris polynyma) concentration areas in this layer are described as being known and commercially exploited historically and/or currently. The mapping of these areas is based on several sources of information: exploratory fisheries, scientific surveys and fishermen's logbooks. Commercial fishery data come from three distinct sources of information: the purchase receipt, the fishermen's logbook and commercial sampling by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO). All data comes from the research document published in 2015. These concentration areas are considered among the most abundant and are used for commercial fishing (note: high densities are not found strictly in these beds). This dataset does not represent the general distribution of the species nor the extent to which fishing is allowed. The extent of shellfish beds can change over time in response to, among others, harvesting and recruitment rates. The polygons might underestimate the concentration areas because fishing and sampling occur where the target resource is known to be more abundant. However, the precision is good enough for resource protection and management needs in case of…

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