Mapping and Characterizing Benthic Habitats in Northern Labrador: Insights for Marine Conservation and Indigenous Resource Management

In the face of rapid climate change impacting Canada’s northern coastlines, northern fish, benthic ecosystems, and ecosystem services are being heavily impacted. The ongoing environmental pressures continue to influence the social, cultural, and physiological well-being of Labrador Inuit who are intrinsically linked with the marine environment. Collaborating closely with the Nunatsiavut Government, this research presents a detailed map of benthic faunal assemblages in an understudied northern inshore system, providing essential information on benthic habitats and incorporating community-identified fishing locations for ogak (Greenland cod). A total of 75 drop-camera transects unveiled 44,809 organisms belonging to 50 morphotaxa, clustered into three distinct faunal assemblages. Fishing locations were represented in two of three assemblages which were heterogeneous and composed mainly of pebbles, boulders, and rhodolith beds. The unrepresented assemblage was homogeneous and composed entirely of fine sediments. Numerous benthic taxa, potentially sensitive to environmental disturbances, were identified, including tube-dwelling anemones, large sea squirts, erect bryozoans, and extensive rhodolith beds. Insufficient data on benthic species and their associated habitats limit our comprehension of species distributions, abundances, and functional roles in northern waters, creating obstacles for effective self-governance. This research identifies the distribution and structure of benthic habitats in a culturally and economically important region of the Labrador coast, feeding directly into conservation and management strategies of marine habitats under the pressures of climate change in Nunatsiavut.