Application of Coastal Oceanographic Transport, Dispersal and Deposition models to Finfish Aquaculture Regulation in Atlantic Canada

Fred Page* and Susan Haigh, Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Biological Station, 531 Brandy Cove Road, St. Andrews, N.B. Can. E5B 2L9
Fred.Page@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

Transport, dispersal and deposition models are used in Atlantic Canada for estimating the spread of water borne pathogens, pesticides, pests and organic wastes. The model outputs are used in support of policy and regulation development and regulatory decision making. The models are particle tracking based and include DEPOMOD and particle tracking applications based on 4D Eulerian water current fields generated by implementations of the finite element Quoddy_Dry and the FVCOM (Finite Volume Coastal Ocean Model) hydrodynamic models. The model results have been compared to in-situ Eulerian and Lagrangian measurements and have been used to inform the development of pathogen spread and Aquaculture Bay Management Area definition, aquaculture organic waste deposition and farm siting decisions, aquaculture pesticide transport and dispersal in relation to sea lice tarp, skirt and well boat bath treatments and product label content. The presentation will provide a brief overview of the model content, calibration and validation procedures and the outputs for the various applications.