Development of a multi-agent model to facilitate the sustainable management of boat traffic in the Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park and marine protected area in Quebec

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

The objective of this project is to create an agent-based model of a portion of the St. Lawrence estuary (covering the Saguenay St. Lawrence National Marine Park and the proposed St. Lawrence Estuary marine protected area) in order to simulate the spatiotemporal movement of marine mammals and boat traffic.  By allowing users to test the effects of different zoning scenarios for boat traffic (e.g., seasonal closures, speed limits, regulations concerning the observation of marine mammals), this model will serve as a decision support tool for the sustainable management of this unique marine ecosystem.  The model may also be used to gather information about the potential effects of boat traffic on marine mammals, for example, proximity of heavy traffic to ecologically critical zones or the frequency of collisions between boats and whales. The St. Lawrence estuary is a site of exceptional marine biodiversity and is one of the best regions in the world for whale watching. The region is subjected to heavy marine traffic due to commercial shipping, ferries, fishing, tourism and recreation.  The proposed decision-support tool will help managers from Fisheries and Oceans and Parks Canada find ways of mitigating the impact of this intense human activity on the ecological integrity of the marine ecosystem. In addition to meeting the immediate needs of resource managers, the proposed project will advance the field of geographic information science in Canada through the use of novel approaches such as spatiotemporal GIS data modelling, ecosystem simulation with adaptive agents, and interactive cartographic animation. The use of these emerging technologies to solve a pressing problem in marine management will be a first in Canada, and may serve as a model for the management of other Canadian conservation areas.