Data Management Plan (Deprecated)

These feature classes reside within the BIOLOGY Feature Data Set of the Lake Ontario 2023 ESI Geodatabase. It contains vector polygons and points representing FISH data for Lake Ontario.

The study area includes the United States portion of Lake Ontario, covering the islands in New York: Association Island, Bass Island, Calf Island, Carl Island, Cherry Island, Eagle Island, Fox Island, Galloo Islands, Grenadier Island, Horse Island, Hoveys Island, Six Point Town, and Stony Island. Major Lake Ontario bays mapped include: Black River Bay, Blind Sodus Bay, Braddock Bay, Chaumont Bay, Guffin Bay, Irondequoit Bay, Henderson Bay, Little Sodus Bay, Mexico Bay, Port Bay, Sawyer Bay, and Sodus Bay.

These data sets contain sensitive biological resource data for freshwater fish species in Lake Ontario. Vector polygons in this data set represent fish distribution, concentration areas, and spawning areas. Vector points in this data set represent fish spawning areas.

Species-specific abundance, seasonality, status, life history, and source information are stored in associated data tables (described in Entity Attribute Overview below) designed to be used in conjunction with this spatial data layer. This data set is a portion of the ESI data for Lake Ontario.

As a whole, the ESI data characterize the marine and coastal environments and wildlife by their sensitivity to spilled oil, and include information for three main components: shoreline habitats, sensitive biological resources, and human-use resources.

Bounding box for the Great Lakes Lake Ontario study region.

Process Steps:

• 2023-08-15 00:00:00 - Three main sources of data were used to depict fish distribution and seasonality for the FISH data layer are as follows: 1) personal interviews with resource experts from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and State University of New York (SUNY); 2)digital data and hardcopy maps from NYSDEC, USGS, and SUNY; and 3) published literature on fish seasonalities. Fish species depicted in this atlas include species of conservation interest, or species of commercial, recreational, or ecological importance. General distributions: Fish general distributions were mapped using expert knowledge collected during workshops, coupled with statewide and lake-wide survey data. Species included were determined by the experts for Lake Ontario. For fish general distributions, Lake Ontario was divided into a western portion (waters west of the Bogus Point), a central portion (waters from Bogus Point to Stony Point), and an eastern portion (waters from Stony Point to the St. Lawrence River). This division follows natural differences in the fish community, and within each of these portions, fish were mapped according to bathymetry. Polygons were created for the following depth zones, based on expert guidance: 0-25 m, 25-75 m, and >75 m. These polygons were overlaid with data from the USGS and NYSDEC Lake Ontario adult lake trout gillnet survey to determine species within each polygon. Species from the USGS/NYSDEC data that also occurred on the expert-generated species list were mapped to each respective general distribution polygon. Following this analysis, the species found in the western, central, and eastern 25-75 m depth polygons were identical, so those polygons were merged to create a single 25-75 m depth polygon for the entire basin. Similarly, the species information for all three >75 m depth polygons was identical, so those polygons were merged to create a single >75 m depth polygon for the entire basin. Species assemblages and appropriate life history stages and seasonalities were mapped in each zone. Expert knowledge and data for mapping of fish general distributions were supplemented with information from NYNHP and publications. Concentration areas and tributaries and bays: Concentrations areas of various species were mapped using expert knowledge collected in workshops. Experts were asked to identify concentrations areas for any of the mapped species, and the species were mapped in polygons covering each of these areas. Experts also provided species lists and life history stages present in the tributaries and bays of Lake Ontario, which were supplemented for each tributary/bay using data from the NYSDEC Statewide Fishery Database, a dataset of fish species caught in bays of Lake Ontario, and conservation priority species data from NYNHP. Spawning locations: Spawning locations were included from expert knowledge collected in workshops and maps provided by NYSDEC.
• 2023-08-15 00:00:00 - Two main sources of data were used to depict fish point distribution and seasonality for the FISHPT data layer are as follows: 1) digital datasets from Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat Framework (GLAHF) and State University of New York (SUNY); and 2) published literature on fish seasonalities. Spawning locations: Point locations of spawning sites were provided by GLAHF. Additional spawning locations were included from digital data provided by SUNY. Seasonalities used were from Smith CL. 1985. The inland fishes of New York State. NYSDEC, Albany, NY. 522 pp.
• 2023-08-15 00:00:00 - The above digital and/or hardcopy sources were compiled by the project biologist to create the FISH & FISHPT data layers. Depending on the type of source data, three general approaches are used for compiling the data layer: 1) information gathered during initial interviews and from hardcopy sources are compiled onto U.S. Geological Survey 1:42,000 topographic quadrangles and digitized; 2) hardcopy maps are digitized at their source scale; 3) digital data layers are evaluated and used "as is" or integrated with the hardcopy data sources. See the Lineage section for additional information on the type of source data for this data layer. The ESI, biology, and human-use data are compiled into the standard ESI digital data format. A second set of interviews with participating resource experts are conducted to review the compiled data. If necessary, edits to the FISH & FISHPT data layers are made based on the recommendations of the resource experts, and final hardcopy maps and digital data are created.

Data can be accessed by downloading the zipped ArcGIS geodatabase from the Download URL (see Distribution Information). Questions can be directed to the ESI Program Manager (Point Of Contact).