Restoring Fish Habitats in the South of the Gaspé Peninsula

Lasting four years (2023-2027), this fish habitat restoration project in the south of the Gaspé Peninsula aims to restore 5,500 m2 of fish habitat, carried out as part of the Aquatic Ecosystems Restoration Fund (AERF). During the first phase of this project, the objective was to carry out a large-scale characterization of coastal wetlands between Pointe-à-la-Croix and Gaspé. At the end of this characterization, three sites were selected in order to carry out the ecological characterization of eelgrass beds in summer 2024. These sites are the barachois of the Grand Pabos River in Chandler, the barachois of the Malbaie River in Barachois, and the seagrass adjacent to the Boom Defense sand spit in Sandy Beach. The objective of characterizing eelgrass beds was to determine a site where restoration actions would be sustainable and favorable to the fish populations that frequent them. An ecosystem vision nourished and guided the approach chosen in order to carry out the characterization of eelgrass beds identified as having restoration potential. Particular attention has been paid to food webs, given the central role of eelgrass in interactions between benthic, ichthyological, and avian communities. As part of the ecological characterization carried out in the summer of 2024, the Comité ZIP Gaspésie carried out surveys of eelgrass beds and ichthyological, floristic, ornithological as well as benthic inventories, and monitored physicochemical conditions. This data set is therefore the result of the characterization carried out in the summer of 2024. The ecological characterization report as well as the fish habitat restoration and monitoring plan are also presented.