marine
Environmental
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Coastal Planning and Sustainability
Coastal planning processes are an important component of regional
environmental management. Both require a multi-disciplined approach and must
account for the diversity of public interests and values. Increasingly we are
called upon to develop or assess sustainability principles and policies for
coastal resources. Archipelago’s Marine Environmental Services group is highly
respected for its objectivity and professionalism in these processes.
Our diverse project experience in this area includes the
development of resources and guides for coastal stewardship, habitat
sensitivity analysis, marine sensitive areas identification and mapping,
assessment of seafood sustainability and traceability, and participation in
regional planning processes for aquaculture and other coastal activities.
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Marine Surveys and Inventory
Structured biophysical inventory data is the foundation of sound
environmental planning, assessment and monitoring. Archipelago Marine Research
Ltd. has over 25 years of experience in intertidal and subtidal surveys and
inventory on the Pacific coast ranging from single species surveys, such as
abalone, sea urchins and lingcod, to comprehensive habitat mapping. The Marine
Environmental Services group has developed a number of innovative tools,
including standard classification methods for nearshore inventory, which have
been used in numerous assessment and planning applications.
Over recent years survey and inventory applications have included a
multi-level government initiative to assess marine protection priorities in
Victoria and Esquimalt harbours; ShoreZone coastal habitat mapping and
classification projects in BC, Washington and Alaska for coastal planning;
corridor and site selection for submarine linear (pipeline and cable) and
foreshore developments; and various marine environmental assessments.
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Marine Environmental Assessments
The environmental assessment process in marine environments is
built upon sound biophysical and fisheries resource inventory information. The
Marine Environmental Services group is well suited to conduct environmental
assessments due to its strong biophysical inventory capability as well as its
close link to Archipelago’s Fisheries Monitoring programs.
Our environmental assessment capabilities have recently been
applied to marine foreshore developments, submarine linear developments such as
transmission cables and pipelines, aquaculture siting, and shoreline erosion.
Many of our projects include mitigation and compensation planning where
development of habitat compensation is provided.
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Environmental Monitoring
Environmental monitoring is often required before, during and
following construction activities to ensure that habitat mitigation and
compensation objectives are achieved. Long-term monitoring may also be required
to evaluate the success or effectiveness of habitat compensation, or to measure
long-term environmental effects, such as pulp mill and sewage outfalls or
cumulative effects in developed coastal areas. The Marine Environmental
Services group’s knowledge of nearshore habitats and processes is key to
designing effective marine monitoring programs. We have used a variety of
standard and innovative survey and sampling techniques to ensure that the
specific objectives of an environmental monitoring plan are met.
The Marine Environmental Services group has recently monitored the
construction of a tidal power demonstration project at Race Rocks. The group
has also been actively involved in the development of monitoring protocols for
industry, such as finfish aquaculture, as well as auditing video survey
monitoring results.
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