EAISSNA - Electronic Atlas of Ichthyoplankton on the Scotian Shelf of North America (OBIS Canada)

The EAISSNA database contains information on location and time of spawning, and abundance and distribution of eggs and larvae of marine fish on the Scotian Shelf of North America. 197 scientific publications from 1919 to 2001 were reviewed and original analysis conducted on datasets from Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) Scotian Shelf Ichthyoplankton Program (SSIP) and Fisheries Ecology Program (FEP) for 1976-82 from data archives, providing information on 107 taxa of fish and invertebrates.

The database is intended for use in environmental assessment and management activities associated with offshore hydrocarbon development and production and ocean management. Supporting maps and database tables, and possible enhancements and developments including standards based World Wide Web (WWW) access are also described. Compact Disks (CD) (report, lists, maps and data) can be obtained from the authors.The database provides georeferenced information on distribution and seasonality of fish eggs and larvae, an important component of the ecosystem of the Canadian continental shelf.